New book! Middlemarch by George Eliot
Miss Brooke had that kind of beauty which seems to be thrown into relief by poor dress. And with this inauspicious beginning we tackle the next book in the Master List, Middlemarch by George Eliot. Here are the details on the novel. Pick up a copy… if you dare. Full title: Middlemarch: A Study of Provincial … Continue reading
The Talented Mr. Ripley – First Page
Tom glanced behind him and saw the man coming out of the Green Cage, heading his way. Patricia Highsmith’s The Talented Mr. Ripley‘s opening has shades of the first page of another book I’ve read for this blog, William Gibson’s Neuromancer. Both books open with a hard-boiled style, dark corners, shady bars, mysterious characters. (See Neuromancer’s … Continue reading
Neuromancer – Looking at the First Page
Reading the first page of William Gibson’s Neuromancer, here are some rapid-fire impressions. Setting is important. Gibson opens not with a description of a person, an action, or a line of dialogue, but with a scene setter. The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel. This sort of … Continue reading
Letters Republic 