Tuesday, September 27, 2016

Tuesday Intros -- The Light of Paris


Every Tuesday, Diane at Bibliophile by the Sea posts the first paragraph of her current read. Anyone can join in. Go to Diane's website for the image and share the first paragraph of the current book you are reading.
I'm not doing nearly enough reading these days, but teaching seven college courses keeps me pretty
busy. I'm truly enjoying Eleanor Brown's The Light of Paris. She has some lovely passages as she tells the story of Madeleine in 1999, a woman in a sterile marriage living in a Chicago high rise with her powerful husband, and that of her grandmother, Margie in 1924, who travels to Paris as a chaperone to her younger cousin and decides to stay. I love traveling back in time and to Paris during that time after World War I as artists, writers and philosophers tried to make sense of the world.
Here's the intro, actually, the 2nd paragraph, which I think is more representative of the novel:

I had the best of intentions, always: to make my mother happy, to keep the peace, to smooth my rough edges and ease my own way. But in the end, the life I had crafted was like the porcelain figurines that resided in my mother's china cabinets: smooth, ornate, but delicate and hollow. For display only. Do not touch. 

Hope you're reading something fabulous and have more reading time than I do.

6 comments:

Laurel-Rain Snow said...

I have been curious about this one, as a few years ago (2011), I read the author's book The Weird Sisters, and enjoyed her writing style.

Thanks for sharing...this one has a lovely cover, and the opening lines drew me in. Here's mine: “THE KEPT WOMAN”

Nise' said...

I hope you can get more reading time in soon! I love this author and would pick up this book.

Kay said...

Wow, 7 classes. You are busy. I love that paragraph. Very descriptive and poignant. I'd keep reading. :-)

Margot said...

I like the paragraph and the sound of this story. I'd like to read more. Hang in there with your busy schedule. I'll bet you're a good teacher.

(Diane) Bibliophile By the Sea said...

I do like that intro, but wow, you have a busy life!

Anonymous said...

I love this way of finding out about books.
Seven classes! Just the thought makes my head spin.
My reading at the moment is all about politics.
BTW, a Dutch friend worried about the U.S. election sent me a link to make sure I'm registered to vote. In fact, I have tried for years to register, but they always wanted information like which precinct I previously was registered in. How can you even find that out? I spent hours on the phone to no avail. Anyway, it seems that isn't necessary. A group called Avaaz has the forms that you can just fill in and mail (and they even give you the right address). Just FYI for your move.

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