Thursday, April 24, 2014

Book Beginning: The Black-Eyed Blond by Benjamin Black



THANKS FOR JOINING ME ON FRIDAYS FOR BOOK BEGINNING FUN!

Please join me every Friday to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. Please remember to include the title of the book and the author's name.

EARLY BIRDS & SLOWPOKES: This weekly post goes up Thursday evening for those who like to get their posts up and linked early on. But feel free to add a link all week.

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YOUR BOOK BEGINNING



MY BOOK BEGINNING



It was one of those Tuesday afternoons in summer when you wonder if the earth has stopped revolving. The telephone on my desk had the air of something that knows it's being watched.

The Black-Eyed Blonde by Benjamin Black. Brilliant idea! Take Raymond Chandler's anti-hero, Philip Marlowe, and get the literary author John Banville to write a new mystery under his noir-novel pen name, Benjamin Black.  A recipe for a terrific read!

14 comments:

  1. This book sounds amazing! This is the first I am learning about it. I am adding this to my list now. Thanks for sharing and for hosting Book Beginnings!
    Happy Reading,
    Rebecca @ The Key to the Gate

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  2. Interesting opening! I think I might have seen this book in passing once on GoodReads. Happy reading :)

    My Friday Book Memes

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  3. Great opening. I love the cover and the title too!

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  4. I do love the opening...I am definitely curious now!

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  5. Sounds like a fun story! The opening definitely made me want more.
    Thank you for hosting Book Beginnings.

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  6. Hi Gilion,

    I hate hot days like the author seems to be describing here, when there is no air and people are lethargic and desultory ... The lines are really descriptive and would definitely make me want to know more.

    Probably not a book I would read though, as I don't tend to read books which tamper with the classics, written as they were intended by their original author. It would have been so much more appealing if this author had had the courage to introduce us to his own new character, then I wouldn't have known any differently and would have relished getting my hands on a copy of the book.

    This is just my personal opinion.

    Thanks for hosting BB and have a great weekend,

    Yvonne

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  7. I'd read this - I haven't read any of Raymond Chandler's books, so I wouldn't have anything to compare it too, but I have read and enjoyed books by Banville/Black.

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  8. Sounds excellent! I hope you are enjoying it. Happy reading!

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  9. I love that beginning! Just those couple of sentences effectively sets the tone for the story.

    Here is my Beginning

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  10. I love the beginning, because I can totally empathize with it. Sometimes, in summer, it really does feel like time has simply stopped. And annoyingly, phones never ring when you want them too!
    Thanks for sharing and hosting :) I hope you have a great weekend!
    My Friday post
    Juli @ Universe in Words

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  11. That sounds like a lot of fun. I will have to look into the book.

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  12. I love it.

    I hope you enjoy the book.

    Have a wonderful day.

    Elizabeth
    Silver's Reviews
    My Book Beginnings

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  13. I have my eyes on my phone right now ...

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