Thursday, May 28, 2020

Book Beginning: The Narcissism of Small Things by Michael Zadoorian


Another week and another chance to share our Book Beginnings! Please share the opening sentence (or so) of the book you are featuring this week.

Leave a link to your post with the linky widget below. Or play along by posting your opening lines in the comments. You can also participate on social media and leave a comment letting us know where to find you.

If you post anything on social media, please use the hashtag #BookBeginnings so we can find each other.

Read more about Book Beginnings here.

MY BOOK BEGINNING



"Are we weird?"
Joe closed his eyes and quietly sighed. Not another on of these conversations.

The Narcissism of Small Things by Michael Zadoorian, new from Akashic Books.

I don't usually include more than the very first sentence, but I like the way this beginning rolls out.

Everything about this book appeals to me. I love the juicy cover, the retro font, the indecipherable title that is so fun to say. And mostly I am curious to read the story about an aging hipster and his long-term girlfriend in Detroit in 2009.

The jacket copy describes the book like this:

Joe Keen and Ana Urbanek have been a couple for a long time, with all the requisite lulls and temptations, yet they remain unmarried and without children, contrary to their Midwestern values (and parents' wishes). Now on the cusp of forty, they are both working at jobs that they're not even sure they believe in anymore, but with significantly varying returns. Ana is successful, Joe is floundering--both in limbo, caught somewhere between mainstream and alternative culture, sincerity and irony, achievement and arrested development.
What do you think? Does The Narcissism of Small Differences appeal to you?

YOUR BOOK BEGINNING

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TIE IN: The Friday 56 hosted by Freda's Voice is a natural tie in with Book Beginnings. Post a teaser from page 56 of your book, or 56% of the way through an ebook or audiobook. Find details and the Linky for your Friday 56 post on Freda’s Voice.

MY FRIDAY 56

Incredulous, Ana looked at her. "What? You know what I'm going to say?"



14 comments :

  1. I like the sound and look of this one. Thanks for sharing.

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    1. Me too! As soon as I finish my book club book, I am going to start this one.

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  2. I think it should be opening lines not just opening sentence. Usually more is needed to set the stage.

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    1. Yes, you usually need more than the first sentence to know what the opening scene and the book is about. I started Book Beginnings to compare actual first sentences - more of an experiment to look at the exact first sentence authors use to start their books. But people can play this game however they like.

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  3. I have to admit that I like the retro aesthetic of the cover, even though it doesn't really tell much about the story. I'm glad that you also included the summary :)

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    1. I know - having no picture on the cover makes it even more 1970s looking.

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  4. Sounds really good and I like the cover.

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    1. Me too. I haven't started it yet, but I plan to as soon as I finish Orphan Train, which my book club is reading.

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  5. Hi,
    Love the cover...the books sounds a little
    on the mysterious side...have a great day!

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  6. It's a nice clean cover! Very pretty. Yeah, I am intrigued by your snippets. Are they both narcissists then? lol

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  7. Sounds like an interesting premise. Hope you enjoy it.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks! I've read the first couple of chapters and I like it so far. It's funny and well written.

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