Friday, July 8, 2011

Book Beginnings...on a Friday



 
A little bit of fun on a Friday, this weekly meme is hosted by A Few More Pages
I'll share the first line (or two) of the book I'm currently reading (including the title and author) and let you know what my first impressions are - good or bad!

"A few weeks before the main events of this story disturbed forever the life of its protagonist, Ivan Andreqevich Ozolin, he had believe himself to be in love with an older woman, Tanya Trepova."
The Jester of Astapovo, by Rose Tremain

The Jester of AstapovoWell, this beginning was quite a mouthful, not least because I had absolutely no idea how to go about pronouncing Ivan's surnames! But it still captured my attention. After all, I wanted to know what these "main events" were. I've since read the book (it's only a sweet 50 page read) and the story was so enjoyable. Ivan is the station master in the little town of Astapovo, and one day the train that pulls up is carrying a passenger who needs help. It turns out that passenger is Leo Tolstoy!

6 comments:

  1. Oh, this one sounds very intriguing...thanks for sharing.

    And thanks for visiting my blog.

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  2. Ah, a nice short read. And yes indeed, a mouthful!

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  3. I was intrigued enough by those first lines to find out more about this book.

    I managed to track down an extract from it, and was so captivated by it, that I have added the book to my reading list.

    Thanks for the recommendation and for finding this little hidden gem.

    Yvonne

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  4. That is somewhat of a mouthful! I hope you get some sentences in the rest of the book that are a little smoother. Looking forward to seeing what you think of this book

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  5. Ooh, this sounds magical! And short? Sounds like something I should look up.

    Thanks for participating in Book Beginnings!

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  6. As a lover of Classics, I am very intrigued to read this fictional mysterious tale featuring Tolstoy as a character!

    -Molly

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