Congratulations to Andy for encapsulating the story of Mao’s Last Dancer in these three lines…
Little peasant boy
Chosen for China’s Ballet
Made his dream come true
Andy, you are the winner of our Haiku reviews competition – come to the library and collect a prize!
Mrs Sweeney
OK, you may not have a novel in you, but can you come up with an absolutley stunning first line…one that will have readers leaping from tall buildings, running across quicksand, or at least falling off their chairs to get to the next line?
To inspire you, here are some great first lines…
‘He woke, and remembered dying.’ — Ken MacLeod, The Stone Canal
‘I’ve watched through his eyes, I’ve listened through his ears, and I tell you he’s the one.’ – Orson Scott Card, Ender’s Game
‘A whisper: sssshh…the thinnest vehicle of breath.’ – Gail Jones, Sorry
‘ Wind howled through the night, carrying a scent that would change the world.’ - Christopher Paolini, Eragon
Post your entries here. Brilliance, as usual, will be rewarded!
Mrs Sweeney
It’s a biography of 6 women significant during the French Revolution. They ranged from women living in poverty who became activists for women’s rights, to noblewomen who supported the revolution for intellectual reasons and had to flee. Even though I’ve read a good deal about the revolution, I found this approach refreshingly different. It’s a moving and very engaging read.
Mr M. Johnston
In 1978 two English climbers, Peter Boardman and Joe Tasker, ascended the west wall of Changabang, a mountain in the Everest Range which is not as tall as Mt Everest (of course!) but is characterised by sheer granite faces, especially to the west. The fact that a party of two climbers was to attempt this, among the most difficult of climbs, was remarkable and seen by some at the time as foolhardy. The two men did not find it easy but triumphed after a number of setbacks, the recounting of which was, for me, a gripping read. I am not a rock-climber but found the descriptions, from the men’s training in the local meatworks freezer to the designing of hammocks which could be slept in whilst suspended from an almost vertical face by a single 8mm cord, quite fascinating.
Mr Wemyss
