Welcome to another Tuesday celebrating bookish events, from Tuesday/First Chapter/Intros, hosted by Bibliophile by the Sea; and Teaser Tuesdays hosted by Should Be Reading.
Just grab your book and share the opening lines; then find another excerpt that “teases” the reader. Today I’m featuring a book that’s been on my TBR stacks, languishing away, and I’m now eager to dive in. The Good Life, by Jay McInerney, is a story of love, family, conflicting desires, and catastrophic loss in his most powerfully searing work thus far.
Opening Lines: Summer used to be as endless as the ocean when she was a girl and her family rented the gray shingled cottage on Nantucket. Now she found it hard to believe she was already back in Manhattan and the kids were in school and she was already racing home, late again, feeling guilty that she’d lingered over a drink with Casey Reynes. The kids had been home for hours after their first day in first grade, and she had yet to hear about it.
Women blamed themselves; men blamed anything but.
This was Corrine’s interpretation of the guilt nipping at her high heels as she cantered up Hudson Street from the subway, passing the hand-lettered sign in the window of their Chinese takeout: FRESHLY GROUND COFFEE. Guilt about leaving the kids for so long, about not helping Russell with dinner, about attempting to restart her long-dormant professional life. Oh, to be grounded herself. Seven-fifteen by her watch. Still attuned to the languorous rhythm of the summer—they’d just closed up the house in Sagaponack four days ago—she’d barely had time to kiss the kids good-bye this morning and now the guests would be arriving at any minute, Russell frenzied with cooking and child care.
Bad mother, bad wife, bad hostess. Bad.
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What do you think? Would you keep reading?
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Teaser: How were you supposed to trust your judgment when your sense of proportion and balance had been shattered, when the governing body that generally checked your emotions was overthrown, anarchy threatening to break out at any moment? p. 161
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Amazon Description: Clinging to a semiprecarious existence in TriBeCa, Corrine and Russell Calloway have survived a separation and are thoroughly wonderstruck by young twins whose provenance is nothing less than miraculous, even as they contend with the faded promise of a marriage tinged with suspicion and deceit. Meanwhile, several miles uptown and perched near the top of the Upper East Side’s social register, Luke McGavock has postponed his accumulation of wealth in an attempt to recover the sense of purpose now lacking in a life that often gives him pause—especially with regard to his teenage daughter, whose wanton extravagance bears a horrifying resemblance to her mother’s. But on a September morning, brightness falls horribly from the sky, and people worlds apart suddenly find themselves working side by side at the devastated site, feeling lost anywhere else, yet battered still by memory and regret, by fresh disappointment and unimaginable shock. What happens, or should happen, when life stops us in our tracks, or our own choices do? What if both secrets and secret needs, long guarded steadfastly, are finally revealed? What is the good life?
Posed with astonishing understanding and compassion, these questions power a novel rich with characters and events, both comic and harrowing, revelatory about not only New York after the attacks but also the toll taken on those lucky enough to have survived them. Wise, surprising, and, ultimately, heart-stoppingly redemptive, The Good Life captures lives that allow us to see–through personal, social, and moral complexity–more clearly into the heart of things.
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What are you sharing today? I hope you’ll come on by with some comments and links.
Oh the guilt of motherhood and careers….I am curious for more. Thanks so much for stopping by today.
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I remember it well, Diane! Thanks for stopping by, and for hosting this event. Your book sounds SO good!
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hmm. interesting read but i dont think this is something i’d pick up…
Trish – My Teaser
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That’s okay, Trish…thanks for stopping by, and enjoy your week!
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After reading your tease, I can understand why you want to read this one!! Have a great week. Thanks for stopping by.
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Thanks, Cheryl…I’m looking forward to it, and I’m glad you could stop by. Have a great week.
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This sounds like a really interesting, but intense book. Hope you enjoy it. 🙂
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Yes, I’m sure it will be, autumn reviews….and thanks for visiting. Enjoy your week!
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This one does sound interesting. I may have to give it a try.
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Thanks, Kim…it’s been on my stacks for awhile, so I suspect that I’ve been putting it off for some reason. I’ll find out soon enough if I enjoy it! Glad you could visit….
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Good choice. Thanks for visiting.
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Thanks, Jo…hope you have a great week!
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Sounds quite interesting.
You can find my TT here:
http://cmbrown-books.blogspot.com.au/
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Thanks for stopping by, C. M., and I hope you have a great week!
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Ooh intriguing teaser! Thanks for stopping by. Happy reading!
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Thanks, Kelly, and I’m glad you could stop by. Enjoy your week!
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Great teaser feels very disjointed. Thanks for checking out my teaser 🙂
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Yes, like someone rushing about….I could feel the stress! Thanks for visiting, Jess, and enjoy your week.
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Wow, your teaser raises some interesting questions.
Thanks for stopping by my blog!
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I agree, Eustacia…glad you could stop by, and enjoy your week.
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I don’t think I’d read on unless friends had insisted it was good. The typical morning routine isn’t a fresh opening, and the misandry of men not blaming themselves is a lie. I blame myself too often.
http://johnwiswell.blogspot.com/2012/04/teaser-tuesday-years-top-ten-tales-of.html
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Thanks for stopping by, John…interesting points. Enjoy your week!
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Well, that’s a very good question to ask oneself! Thanks for sharing and getting my brain rolling 🙂
Thanks for stopping by my teaser!
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Oh, you’re so welcome, Candace! Glad you liked it; enjoy your read!
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Great teaser, but I probably wouldn’t read on. I’m just not willing to entertain the guilt in my reading when I have more than enough of it in my life.
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Ha-ha…good to know, Alice Audrey. Reading about other people’s guilt makes me feel better, however…go figure.
Thanks for stopping by, and enjoy your week.
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This introduction is already making me feel guilty. I don’t think I could read it. Guests too? That put me over the ege. Here’s Mine
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I suspect that the stress and guilt in the opener will unfold into something quite interesting…just guessing.
Thanks for visiting, Paulita, and enjoy your read.
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Ooh very nice! Very thought provoking!
Thanks for visiting my teaser!
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I like it, too, Jessica…glad you could stop by, and enjoy your read.
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Very interesting and distinct voices. I like how they open up and introduce the characters. thanks for dropping by our blog.
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Glad you liked it, Iphigene…hope you enjoy your read!
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I would keep on reading. Very easy to relate to her feelings.
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Definitely! I can’t wait to find out more…thanks for visiting, Nise, and enjoy your week.
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I’m not sure that I would read on either, but I did like the visual of her cantering up the street. Thanks for visiting my teaser.
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Ha-ha…that is a funny image! Thanks for visiting, Shelley…and enjoy your week.
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Bad mother? Oh, the guilt, but I’d keep reading a bit more.
Thanks for visiting Quirky Girls Read
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Yes, I agree, Margot…sometimes reading about someone else’s guilt can be a good thing. Thanks for stopping by, and have a great week.
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This sounds exactly like the kind of book I love. I’m getting it for sure. Thanks so much for posting the synopsis (and opening) along with your teaser.
My Teaser is from A DIFFERENT KIND OF FOREVER: Sandy’s Teaser
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You’re welcome, Sandra…I also love finding books that I can connect to…and these memes are great for that! Thanks for visiting, and enjoy your read.
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I would keep would reading.
I love the teaser.
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Definitely, Monique…I like reading an intro that gives us a glimpse of the story. Thanks for visiting, and have a great week.
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What an interesting teaser!
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Thanks, Yvonne, this is my first foray into this author’s work; hopefully I will enjoy it a lot. Glad you could stop by, and have a great week.
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I haven’t heard about this book before, but it’s quite intriguing, especially the opening lines!
And thank you for stopping by my blog. 🙂
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Thanks, Petra…it becomes very interesting the further you go into it….glad you could stop by, and enjoy your week.
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Interesting. Nothing in those first lines or the teaser would have led me to believe that this novel had something to do with 9/11.
Thanks for visiting my blog today!
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I didn’t realize that at first, either, until I read the blurb…and now that I’m into it…wow!
Thanks for stopping by, Celia….
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Hi! Thanks for dropping by my blog!
Interesting teaser. Thanks for sharing!
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Thanks, Wuthering Willow…and I am glad you could stop by. Have a great week!
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It sounds like she has some major issues happening in her life. Thanks for stopping by.
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Oh, yes indeed, Beth…I read into the story for awhile last night…and now I can’t wait to find out more. Thanks for stopping by, and have a great week.
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Interesting teaser! Provides much to think about. Thanks for sharing!
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I agree, Andrea…glad you could stop by, and enjoy your week.
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Not sure I would go on reading.
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To each her own, Sonia…lol
Thanks for stopping by, and enjoy your week.
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