Friday, May 8, 2015

Friday Focus: The Friday 56 & Book Beginnings #80

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It's Friday . . . time to share excerpts book excerpts with:
  • Book Beginnings on Fridays hosted by Rose City Reader, where bloggers share the first sentence or more of a current read, as well as initial thoughts about the sentence(s), impressions of the book, or anything else that the opening inspires.  
  • The Friday 56 hosted by Freda's Voice, where you grab a book and turn to page 56 (or 56% of an ebook), find one or more interesting sentences (no spoilers), and post them.
Today I'm featuring
 1906: A Novel 

Beginning:  PROLOGUE
THE UNOFFICIAL STORY
TELEGRAPH HILL
MAY 30, 1906, 8:00 A.M.

It was a month ago that I finally managed to convince myself I was still alive.  That day--a week after the inferno burned out--the fire clap had faded from my ears enough that I was able to hear a knock on the door of our singed Victorian.

I arose from a seated position on the floor where I had been typewriting day and night on the Remington, and shuffled through inch-deep ash, little clouds erupting with every step.  I jerked open the brittle front door to discover an overdressed man waiting on the puffy stoop.

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Page 56 (of e-book):  "At five feet nine and a hundred and sixty-five pounds, he was the greatest bare-knuckle boxer on the Barbary Coast, where such matters are routinely determined.  He had Byron's square jaw, Isabella's deep-set eyes and a face so chiseled it created its own shadows."
*********************  


From Goodreads:   Set during the great San Francisco earthquake and fire, this page-turning historical novel reveals recently uncovered facts that forever change our understanding of what really happened. Narrated by a feisty young reporter, Annalisa Passarelli, the novel paints a vivid picture of the Post-Victorian city, from the mansions of Nob Hill to the underbelly of the Barbary Coast to the arrival of tenor Enrico Caruso and the Metropolitan Opera. Central to the story is the ongoing battle fought even as the city burns that pits incompetent and unscrupulous politicians against a coalition of honest police officers, newspaper editors, citizens, and a lone federal prosecutor. James Dalessandro weaves unforgettable characters and actual events into a compelling epic.



Which book are you reading now or about to start?



Friday Focus: The Friday 56 & Book Beginnings #80 was originally published by Catherine for bookclublibrarian.com. This post cannot be republished without attribution.  Retweeting and sharing on Google+ are encouraged and appreciated.


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