Thursday, January 7, 2021

Friday Focus: The Friday 56 and Book Beginnings

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It's Friday . . . time to share 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.

 

A belated Happy Book Pub Day to my current read, The Push by Ashley Audrain, which was published earlier this week, on January 5, 2021.  The excerpts shared are from an advance eBook received from the publisher via NetGalley.

 

Beginning:  Your house glows at night like everything inside is on fire.

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56%:  Our dinner was served at five sharp in the dining room. The solo tables were all taken so I sat on the bench of the long farm table and looked around at a sea of rich people.

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My thoughts:  Motherhood doesn't come naturally to Blythe. She struggles to bond with her first-born child Violet, which brings up painful memories of her own childhood. Blythe finds Violet difficult to mother, and her feelings of inadequacy grow. The family seems to settle in after the birth of their second child. Sam is a sweet-natured little boy who restores Blythe's confidence in her ability to nurture her children. The family's foundation is soon shattered by disturbing events that forever change them.

The Push is a taut, suspenseful tale that delves into the psychological aspects of unravelling relationships.

********************

From GoodReads:  A tense, page-turning psychological drama about the making and breaking of a family–and a woman whose experience of motherhood is nothing at all what she hoped for–and everything she feared.

Blythe Connor is determined that she will be the warm, comforting mother to her new baby Violet that she herself never had.

But in the thick of motherhood’s exhausting early days, Blythe becomes convinced that something is wrong with her daughter–she doesn’t behave like most children do.

Or is it all in Blythe’s head? Her husband, Fox, says she’s imagining things. The more Fox dismisses her fears, the more Blythe begins to question her own sanity, and the more we begin to question what Blythe is telling us about her life as well.

Then their son Sam is born–and with him, Blythe has the blissful connection she’d always imagined with her child. Even Violet seems to love her little brother. But when life as they know it is changed in an instant, the devastating fall-out forces Blythe to face the truth.

The Push is a tour de force you will read in a sitting, an utterly immersive novel that will challenge everything you think you know about motherhood, about what we owe our children, and what it feels like when women are not believed.
  


13 comments:

  1. This sounds like a really good one! That opening line is interesting. Is just the opening written in second person, since the second snippet isn't? Thanks for sharing!

    Here's my Friday post.

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  2. I really enjoy books and movies with this type of psychological drama. Honestly, just reading the snippets and summary here was suspenseful and leaves you wanting to know more.

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  3. I have bookmarked this one! I already own another book by the same title...but this one sounds better! Thanks for sharing, and here's mine: “THE WIFE UPSTAIRS”

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  4. I saw that it is written in the second person, which must be intriguing. I'm not a fan of unreliable narrators, though.
    Hope you have a good weekend.

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  5. Hi,
    Sounds interesting...I'll have to check this
    one out...have a great day!

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  6. This book sounds like it has a lot of potential. Enjoy. My Friday post

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  7. I have to add this one to my wishlist. It sounds like something I would like.

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  8. Sounds like the makings of great literature! Happy weekend!

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  9. This makes me want to know Blythe a bit better. I hope you are enjoying it! Have a great weekend, Catherine. Happy Reading!

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  10. Sounds like a good one. Thanks for sharing and have a great weekend!

    Lauren @ Always Me

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