Welcome to another Tuesday celebrating bookish events, First Chapter/Intros, hosted by Bibliophile by the Sea; and Teaser Tuesdays hosted by The Purple Booker.
Today’s feature is The Burning Girl, by Claire Messud, a bracing, hypnotic coming-of-age story about the bond of best friends, from the New York Times best-selling author of The Emperor’s Children.
Intro: You’d think it wouldn’t bother me now. The Burneses moved away long ago. Two years have passed. But still, I can’t lie in the sun on the boulders at the quarry’s edge, or dangle my toes in the cold, clear water, or hear the other girls singing, without being aware the whole time that Cassie is gone. And then I want to say something—but you can’t, you know. It’s like she never existed.
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Teaser: The path, such as it was, would seem to come and go, and the greenery overhead became more dense, the sun more obscured, as if we were going ever deeper into the woods. I tried to trace a mental map—we turned right at the broad rotted stump, we bore left where the two maple trunks had grown intertwined, we kept the water behind our left ears and its gurgly sound came near, and retreated, and came again. (p.58).
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Synopsis: Julia and Cassie have been friends since nursery school. They have shared everything, including their desire to escape the stifling limitations of their birthplace, the quiet town of Royston, Massachusetts. But as the two girls enter adolescence, their paths diverge and Cassie sets out on a journey that will put her life in danger and shatter her oldest friendship. The Burning Girl is a complex examination of the stories we tell ourselves about youth and friendship, and straddles, expertly, childhood’s imaginary worlds and painful adult reality—crafting a true, immediate portrait of female adolescence.
Claire Messud, one of our finest novelists, is as accomplished at weaving a compelling fictional world as she is at asking the big questions: To what extent can we know ourselves and others? What are the stories we create to comprehend our lives and relationships? Brilliantly mixing fable and coming-of-age tale, The Burning Girl gets to the heart of these matters in an absolutely irresistible way.
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What do you think? Do the excerpts draw you in? Would you keep reading?
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The Burning Girl sounds really good Laurel, I do hope you are enjoying it. The feeling of loss for her friend comes through in that image at the quarry
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Yes, that snippet grabbed me, too, Cleo….thanks for stopping by, and enjoy your pick.
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Great excerpts. I really like the authors writing style.
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Thanks, Ali, I’m glad you could stop by, and I’ve enjoyed this author.
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Looks intense, and maybe rather sad. Hope you’re enjoying it!
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Thanks, Kym, I agree….and I’m glad you could stop by. Enjoy your pick!
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This does grab me especially since I love novels about friendships. Look forward to your thoughts on the books.
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Thanks, Nise, novels about friendship are my favorites, too…and I’m eager to dive into this one.
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I’ve been on the fence about adding this book to my TBR. It sounds like a good read from the excerpts. I hope your enjoying it!
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Thanks, Tina, what tipped the scales for me was the author; I’ve enjoyed her books.
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The teaser paints such a picture and is at the same time foreboding. I’d keep reading between that and the intro. Hope you enjoy it! My Teaser is from Love, Sasquatch, and Other Imaginary Things.
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Definitely! I liked how I could visualize everything. Thanks for stopping by, Laura, and enjoy your book.
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There is a real sense of loss communicated in that short extract – thank you for sharing, Laurel. My TT this week is a fantasy adventure I’ve just started – https://sjhigbee.wordpress.com/2017/09/05/teaser-tuesday-5th-september-2017/
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Thanks for visiting, Sarah, and I am looking forward to this one…I hope you are loving your pick.
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I hope I do, too – I’ve had a great run of books during August:)
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Great intro, makes me want to read more and, I like this author a lot as well.
Thanks for coming back after my summer blogging break.
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Thanks, Diane, it’s good to see you back and enjoying a book I want to read, too. Have a great week!
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Maybe not one for me but I hope you enjoy 🙂
Thanks for stopping by!
Colletta
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Thanks, Colletta, glad you could stop by. Enjoy your reading!
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This sounds powerful stuff, yew I would really like to read it!
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Thanks for stopping by, Miss Cellany…and enjoy your pick.
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I’ve read this author before not this particular book. Thanks for the intro.
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Thanks for visiting, Mystica, I enjoyed the author’s The Woman Upstairs.
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Ok, that teaser is a bit sad, but but so is the beginning, as well! Great pick! Thanks for stopping by! Happy reading!
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Thanks for stopping by, Louisa; the book was kind of sad, too.
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