Welcome to another Tuesday celebrating bookish events, from Tuesday/First Chapter/Intros, hosted by Bibliophile by the Sea Every Tuesday, Diane at Bibliophile by the Sea posts the opening paragraph (sometime two) of a book she decided to read based on the opening. Feel free to grab the banner and play along.
My opening comes from The Night Watch by Sarah Waters
Blurb
Moving back through the 1940s, through air raids, blacked out streets, illicit liaisons, sexual adventure, to end with its beginning in 1941, The Night Watch is the work of a truly brilliant and compelling storyteller.
This is the story of four Londoners – three women and a young man with a past, drawn with absolute truth and intimacy. Kay, who drove an ambulance during the war and lived life at full throttle, now dresses in mannish clothes and wanders the streets with a restless hunger, searching . . . Helen, clever, sweet, much-loved, harbours a painful secret . . . Viv, glamour girl, is stubbornly, even foolishly loyal, to her soldier lover . . . Duncan, an apparent innocent, has had his own demons to fight during the war. Their lives, and their secrets connect in sometimes startling ways. War leads to strange alliances . . . Amazon
~ ~ ~
First Chapter ~ First Paragraph ~ Intro
So this, said Kay to herself, is the sort of person you’ve become: a person whose clocks and wrist-watches have stopped, and who tells the time, instead by the particular kind of cripple arriving at the landlords door.
For she was standing at her open window, in a collarless shirt and a pair of greyish underpants, smoking a cigarette and watching the coming and going of Mr Leonard’s patients. Punctually, they came — so punctually, she could tell the time by them: the woman with the crooked back, on Mondays at ten; the wounded soldier, on Thursdays at eleven. On Tuesdays at one an elderly man came with a fey-looking boy to help him. Kay enjoyed watching form them. She liked watching for them. She liked to see them making their slow way up the street: the man neat and dark-suited as an undertaker, the boy patient, serious, handsome—like an allegory of youth and age, she thought, as done by Stanley Spencer or some finicky modern painter like that.
This paragraph goes on for some time but hopefully that is enough to give you a taster?
Do you want to know more? Or perhaps you’ve already read this book?
Anyone who watches her neighbors that closely reminds me of Gladys Kravitz. LOL.
LikeLike
Haha – it does sound a little OTT!
LikeLike
Oh, this does sound interesting, Cleo! I like the setting very much. What a sense of detail, too! I’ll be interested in what you think of it when you’ve finished it.
LikeLike
Sarah Waters does detail so well, I love this style which suits the tone of her novels so well…
LikeLiked by 1 person
I like it…I’d keep reading!
LikeLike
Yay! I’m really enjoying it.
LikeLike
This sounds interesting, and very long and very detailed! Maybe too long? I’ll wait for your review to see what you think of it.
LikeLike
She does write in a detailed way which suits the tone of her novels but it wouldn’t be for everyone.
LikeLike
I read this several years ago and enjoyed it. Hope you do, too!
LikeLike
Thank you – I’ve heard good things about it so I’m sure I will
LikeLike
I like the descriptive writing style and the setting. This one goes on my list.
LikeLike
Oh excellent news – I’m really enjoying it.
LikeLike
I love Waters and this one is one that I still need to read. I do like the intro already.
LikeLike
It was the only one I’d missed over the years so it’s good to finally get around to reading it.
LikeLike
The intro is familiar, I wonder if I started it and set it down somewhere. I have to check!
LikeLike
Oh that made me smile as it’s the sort of thing I’d do!
LikeLike
I’m so looking forward to reading this book! I love her writing.
LikeLike
Me too!
LikeLike
I’m like Margaret – I feel it might be too detailed… but we’ll see what your review says! 🙂
LikeLike
She does write in a detailed way but somehow it suits the style of book and I love every word and as you know I’m not a big fan of fluffed out books as a rule
LikeLiked by 1 person
I read this and loved it. A great story and one I would definitely recommend. Hope you enjoy.
LikeLike
Thank you Emma – I’m loving it so far 🙂
LikeLike
I love the sound of this one…and I enjoyed The Paying Guests by this author. Thanks for sharing! And thanks for visiting my blog.
LikeLike
I am a huge Sarah Waters fan and like you, loved The Paying Guests. This is shaping up very well. Thank you for the return visit.
LikeLike
This author is on my To-Read list. I like all the details in this intro. Perhaps this book is the one to start with.
LikeLike
I really loved The Paying Guests which was one of my favourite reads of last year but this is exceptionally good too.
LikeLike
I haven’t tried one of Sarah Waters’ books, but these characters look really interesting. I like the opening, so I’d keep reading!
LikeLike
Great news, I really do enjoy this author’s books.
LikeLike
I can’t make up my mind about this one. I hear such mixed opinions. I saw it in the charity shop and got as far as the counter before returning it to the shelf
LikeLike
I have been wanting to read this book for awhile now. I really liked another book by Sarah Waters I read. I had always assumed this one would be my first, but I got to Fingersmith first.
LikeLike
it is an intriguing introduction! The summary sounds quite good too. I’ll be curious to see what you think of the book.
Lauren
http://www.shootingstarsmag.blogspot.com
LikeLike
I like Sarah Waters; this sounds like a good one! I would definitely keep reading and thank you for sharing this!
LikeLike