Welcome to another Tuesday celebrating bookish events, First Chapter/Intros, hosted by Bibliophile by the Sea; and Teaser Tuesdays hosted by Books & a Beat.
Today’s featured book is one I downloaded in July, and I plan to start reading it tonight. This Must Be the Place, by Maggie O’Farrell, is a book I’ve been eagerly anticipating, as I’ve enjoyed several books by the author. An irresistible love story, an unforgettable family. Best-selling author Maggie O’Farrell captures an extraordinary marriage with insight and laugh-out-loud humor in what Richard Russo calls “her breakout book.” Perfect for readers of Where’d You Go, Bernadette.
Intro: (The Strangest Feeling in My Legs – Daniel – Donegal, 2010)
There is a man.
He’s standing on the back step, rolling a cigarette. The day is typically unstable, the garden lush and shining, the branches weighty with still-falling rain.
There is a man and the man is me.
I am at the back door, tobacco tin in hand, and I am watching something in the trees, a figure, standing at the perimeter of the garden, where the aspens crowd in at the fence. Another man.
He’s carrying a pair of binoculars and a camera.
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Teaser: They are waiting, Lucas and Maeve, on a strip of gravel outside the thing like a cattle shed that serves as an airport in this part of the world. He has a rucksack at his feet, a hat with earflaps pulled down low on his head; Maeve is huddled inside her waterproof. (45%).
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Blurb: Meet Daniel Sullivan, a man with a complicated life. A New Yorker living in the wilds of Ireland, he has children he never sees in California, a father he loathes in Brooklyn, and a wife, Claudette, who is a reclusive ex–film star given to pulling a gun on anyone who ventures up their driveway. Claudette was once the most glamorous and infamous woman in cinema before she staged her own disappearance and retreated to blissful seclusion in an Irish farmhouse.
But the life Daniel and Claudette have so carefully constructed is about to be disrupted by an unexpected discovery about a woman Daniel lost touch with twenty years ago. This revelation will send him off-course, far away from wife, children, and home. Will his love for Claudette be enough to bring him back?
“O’Farrell’s prose manages to be both intimate and expansive and keenly perceptive in its insights about the complexities of marriage. Beautiful and bittersweet, THIS MUST BE THE PLACE will make O’Farrell’s longtime fans swoon while prompting new readers to wonder why they’ve only just discovered her.”
–BookPage
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I am excited at the journey ahead, as it’s been a while since I read this author. But I remember loving her work. What do you think? Would you keep reading?
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I do like the sound of this book from the synopsis although the opener had me worried that this was going to be another arty type of read that frustrates me but the teaser was much more solid. I’m looking forward to your verdict Laurel.
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Thanks, Cleo, and I wasn’t sure about those opening lines, either, but I have faith in this author, so it’s full speed ahead. Thanks for visiting.
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I have this on my list too… must get started. I too love her books.
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Thanks, Candace, I can’t remember the last one of her books I read, but it’s been too long. Thanks for visiting.
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This will be the first book I’ve read by this author. I’m looking forward to it. Happy Reading!
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Thanks for stopping by, Heather…hope you love it!
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This does sound interesting. Both the blurb and the man in the trees with the camera.
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Yes, I’m curious about that man with the camera! Off to read some of it now. Thanks for visiting, Suzie.
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I haven’t read any of this author’s books, but now I’m definitely interested. The opening seemed kind of distant and didn’t draw me in, but I like the synopsis. Also, laugh-out-loud humor sounds good!
Thanks for visiting my blog today.
Sandy @ TEXAS TWANG
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Yes, and even as I read the book, I am not completely immersed, as it flips back and forth in time, and I haven’t really connected to the characters yet…but I’m hopeful. Thanks for visiting, Sandy.
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This is a new to me author. I liked the into, blurb and setting!
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Thanks, Nise, and so far, this book is not like the others I’ve read by the author, but I’m still hopeful that I’ll love it.
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A reclusive starlet is not going to like that camera. So much for a peaceful cigarette break.
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Ah, yes, that was definitely not a good way to start the day. Thanks for stopping by, Alice Audrey.
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Sounds like an intriguing read.
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Thanks, Mary Ann, and enjoy your reading.
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I’m liking everything about this book. And the cover is intriguing, a window into another world or dream.
My TT from Diary Of A Haunting
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I love the cover, too, Laura, and thanks for stopping by.
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I had a Maggie O’Farrell book for my RL book club but have to admit I didn’t read as it just didn’t appeal to me. Will be interested to see what you think.
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Which one was it? My favorite so far was The Hand That First Held Mine.
Hope you enjoy your reading, Ali, and thanks for visiting.
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Instructions for a Heatwave. I have heard it’s not her best.
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Oh, I checked my review on Goodreads, and I apparently loved that one. But we can’t all enjoy the same books. Sorry you didn’t like that one.
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Hm… first person, present pov. I’ve recently finished writing a book in that viewpoint and it has its challenges. The blurb is really intriguing – I’ll be interested to know how you get on with it, as it sounds like something I should read with my writing tutor hat on… Thank you for swinging by earlier and have a great week:)
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The POVs switch up throughout the book, and some I like better than others. Thanks for stopping by, Sarah, and enjoy your reading and writing.
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I want to read this and, the intro made me flash back to my grandfather rolling his own cigarettes and keeping them in a metal bandaid box LOL
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I love how books can take us back to things in our lives, images like your grandfather rolling his own cigarettes (and keeping them in a metal bandaid box!). That is definitely vivid. Thanks for sharing, Diane, and for stopping by….and for hosting! Thanks all around. LOL
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I haven’t heard about this one, but the intro sounds good.
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Thanks, Yvonne, I am enjoying it so far. Glad you could stop by, and have a great week!
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This sounds like a book that I would definitely keep reading. I like the premise and I think that this character seems very interesting. I hope that you enjoy it! 🙂
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Thanks, Candid Cover, and I’m enjoying it so far. But because there are numerous characters, from the past and the present, it will take a while for me to connect to them. Thanks for visiting.
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I like the teaser. Makes me wonder where they are and where the are going and why. Thanks for coming by Through Raspberry Colored Glasses.
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Yes, those scenes pulled me in, too, Laura. Thanks for stopping by!
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Hmm, I don’t care for the opening, although the blurb makes it seem much more interesting. Happy reading!
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Thanks for stopping by, Mia….I do like the blurb better than the opening lines.
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