Welcome to another Bookish Friday, in which we share excerpts from books…and connect with other bloggers who do the same.
Let’s begin the celebration by sharing Book Beginnings, hosted by Rose City Reader; and let’s showcase The Friday 56 with Freda’s Voice.
To join in, just grab a book and share the opening lines…along with any thoughts you wish to give us; then turn to page 56 and excerpt anything on the page.
Today’s feature is Such Kindness, by Andre Dubus III.
Book Beginning: Our Good Samaritan drives us through softly falling snow under streetlamps that have come on early. The boy’s car is filled with cigarette and pot smoke, and over the rap Jamey plays he’s just asked Trina a question.
***
Friday 56: “In the shade of the house, in the sunshine of the riverbank near the boats, in the shade of the Salwood forest, in the shade of the fig tree is where Siddhartha grew up.”
***
Synopsis: Tom Lowe’s identity and his pride are invested in the work he does with his back and his hands. He designed and built his family’s dream home, working extra hours to pay off the adjustable rate mortgage he took on the property, convinced he is making every sacrifice for the happiness of his wife and son. Until, in a moment of fatigued inattention, shingling a roof in too-bright sunlight, he falls.
In constant pain, addicted to painkillers at the cost of his relationships with his wife and son, Tom slowly comes to realize that he can never work again. If he is not a working man, who is he? He is not, he believes, the kind of person who lives in subsidized housing, though that is where he has ended up. He is not the kind of person who hatches a scheme to commit convenience-check fraud, together with neighbors he considers lowlifes, until he finds himself stealing his banker’s trash.
Who is Tom Lowe, and who will he become? Can he find a way to reunite hands and heart, mind and spirit, to be once again a giver and not just a taker, to forge a self-acceptance deeper than pride?
Andre Dubus III’s soulful cast includes Trina, the struggling mom next door who sells her own plasma to get by; Dawn, the tough-talking owner of the local hairdressing salon; Jamie, a well-meaning pothead college student ready to stick it to “the man”; and a mix of strangers and neighbors who will never know the role they played in changing a life. To one man’s painful moral journey, Dubus brings compassion with an edge of dark absurdity, forging a novel as absorbing as it is profound.
***
What do you think? Would you keep reading? I am glad to be back to this Friday event!
***
This looks like a story with an interesting cast of characters. I would keep reading. Have a great weekend!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, Breana, I have loved other books by this author, so I’m eager to dive in. Enjoy your reading.
LikeLike
The opening line is very intriguing. Why do they need a ride? I’d read on. Welcome back. I’ve missed you.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, Anne, I have missed this event, too! I hope to be back on track now. Enjoy your week.
LikeLike
I’ve been eyeing this one. Thanks for sharing!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, Lauren, I am excited about this one. Enjoy your pick.
LikeLike
Welcome back to Friday! You’ve been missed. This sounds like a really good book. Here’s my Friday post
https://socratesbookreviews.blogspot.com/2023/06/book-beginnings-on-fridaysthe-friday-56_01515580375.html
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, Yvonne, next I hope to join all the other events I’ve been missing!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Sounds like a powerful read! Glad to have you back! Happy weekend!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, Freda, I had fun joining in this event again, and I think I’m going to love this book.
LikeLike