Book Beginnings (12) - Ten Things I've Learnt About Love by Sarah Butler

Gilion at Rose City Reader hosts Book Beginnings on Fridays

The idea is '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.' Hash tag #BookBeginnings for twitter and a master linky list on the host's blog. 

My Book Beginning

Ten Things I've Learnt About Love by Sarah Butler

Published by Picador

'Ten things I will say to my father

1) I met a man in Singapore who smelt like you - cigarette smoke and suede.

2) I remember that holiday in Greece - endless ruins, and you having to explain the difference between Doric, Ionic and Corinthian columns again and again.

3) I wish you'd talked about Mama. I wish you'd kept something of hers.

....'

I've been really looking forward to reading this debut novel and I'm happy I've finally started it. I love this opening. The list carries on until all 'ten things' have been mentioned. I wonder how long it is since the narrator has seen their father, and what happened with regard to their mother. Smells can strongly evoke a memory of a person and evidently the narrator remembers clearly the aromas that she associates with her father. A flick through the pages reveals that there are further, different lists of 'ten things' to be discovered throughout the story; a clever idea. Looking forward to reading on!

Here's the synopsis:

Alice has just returned to London from months of travelling abroad. She is late to hear the news that her father is dying, and arrives at the family home only just in time to say goodbye. Daniel hasn't had a roof over his head for years, but to him the city of London feels like home in a way that no bricks and mortar every did. He spends every day searching for his daughter; the daughter he has never met. Until now...Heart-wrenching and life-affirming, this is a unique story of love lost and found, of rootlessness and homecoming and the power of the ties that bind. It is a story for fathers and daughters everywhere.

Downstairs at Picador Event

Downstairs at Picador

'celebrating our next generation of writers'

Last month I went along to an evening at Picador in London to hear about some of their exciting new releases for 2013 and to hear some of their new writers talk about and read from these forthcoming titles. This was a lovely evening and I am really looking forward to reading many of the wonderful new books that were introduced to us all.

The authors featured, and their books, are as follows:

How to be a Good Wife by Emma Chapman

Ten Things I've Learnt About Love by Sarah Butler

The View on the Way Down by Rebecca Wait

Meeting the English by Kate Clanchy

The Heretics by Will Storr

Kiss Me First by Lottie Moggach
(no cover available at the time)

There is more information about each of these titles, together with extracts from the books, online here.

Thanks very much to the publisher for the opportunity to attend this event. 

Here's a link to a lovely post on 'And then I read a book' blog about the event too.