Tuesday, February 10, 2015

First Chapter, First Paragraph



Every Tuesday Bibliophile by the Sea hosts First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros, where we are asked share the first paragraph or, a few, of a book we are reading or thinking about reading soon.


Here is mine:

Late one July evening in 1994, Red and Abby Whitshank had a phone call from  their son Denny. They were getting ready for bed at the time. Abby was standing at the bureau in her slip, drawing hairpins one by one from her cattery sand-colored topknot.  Red, a dark, gaunt man in striped pajama bottoms and a white T-shirt, had just sat down on the edge of the bed to take his socks off; so when the phone ran on the nightstand beside him, he as the one who answered.  "Whitshank residence," he said.
And then, "well, hey there."
Abby turned from the mirror, both arms still raised to her head.
What's that," he said, without a question mark.
"huh?" he said.  "Oh, what the hell Denny!"
Abby dropped her arms.
"Hello?" she dsaid.  "Wait.   Hello?  Hello?"
He was silent for a moment, and then he replaced the receiver.
"What?" Abby asked him.
"Says he's gay."
"What?"

"Said he needed to tell me something: he's gay."


Sooooo --- what do you think?   Do you think I should read more?



I think I will.



4 comments:

Literary Feline said...

I've always wanted to read something by Anne Tyler. I like the opening quite a bit and definitely want to continue on.

JoAnn said...

Seems you can never go wrong with Anne Tyler. I want to read this one, too!

(Diane) Bibliophile By the Sea said...

I do like Anne Tyler and hope to read this one soon.

kayerj said...

That would be quite a thing to hear over the phone right before bed! Kelley at the road goes ever ever on

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