Tuesday, January 7, 2014

First Chapter ~ First Paragraph #44


 

First Chapter ~ First Paragraph Tuesday Intros is a weekly meme hosted by Diane at Bibliophile by the Sea. It's an opportunity to share the first paragraph(s) of a book I am currently reading or planning to read sometime soon.

This week I'm featuring the opening paragraphs from The Book of Eve by Constance Beresford-Howe which I purchased in 2013 and am currently reading.



 The Book of Eve

The real surprise - to me anyway - was not really what I did, but how I felt afterwards.  Shocked, of course.  But not guilty.  You might say, and be right, that the very least a woman can be is shocked when she walks out on a sick and blameless husband after forty years.  But to feel no guilt at all - feel nothing, in fact, but simple relief and pleasure - that did seem odd, to say the least.  How annoying to God (not to mention Adam), after all, if Eve had just walked out of Eden without waiting to be evicted, and left behind her pangs of guilt, as it were, with her leaf apron?

In any case, I just walked out.  There was no quarrel with Burt.  No crisis at all.  The clock chimed nine-thirty.  I laid down the breakfast tray carefully (an apple and a cup of cocoa) on the hall desk, and went to my room and packed.  Not a word to anyone, even myself, by way of apology or excuse.  Why?  And why just then?  Truly I'm not sure yet, although my name is Eva.

What do you think?  Would you continue reading?
The opening really aroused my curiosity.  Who is Eva and what makes her tick?  What prompted such an abrupt, life-altering decision?  How will it all work out?

First Chapter ~ First Paragraph #44 was originally published by Catherine for bookclublibrarian.com.  This post cannot be republished without attribution.



No comments:

Post a Comment