Alphabet Noir.
Apr. 4th, 2012 08:59 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
matt_doyleRead Sue Grafton's A Is For Alibi today. Or, I should say, re-read: I don't recall reading it before, and I didn't remember any details ahead of time, but as each scene played out I knew its ups and downs in a way that is only true on a re-read. Well, whether I remembered it or not, it's an excellent book, and I greatly enjoyed it. Now I need to find 'B'.
The best thing about this book, though, is its absolutely marvelous first paragraph. Have other people read this book? Do you remember what I'm talking about?
The protagonist is giving this bland, just-the-facts-ma'am terse summary of her life, and in the middle of the paragraph she says she killed a man the day before yesterday and she's dealing with it... and then she goes back to her humdrum recitation of personal details until the very end of the paragraph. It's beautiful in terms of craft. It gets the action going right away, and it leaves you riveted to her brief autobiography, paying rapt attention to everything she says while you wait for her to go back and explain how and why she killed a dude.
Just fantastic.
The best thing about this book, though, is its absolutely marvelous first paragraph. Have other people read this book? Do you remember what I'm talking about?
The protagonist is giving this bland, just-the-facts-ma'am terse summary of her life, and in the middle of the paragraph she says she killed a man the day before yesterday and she's dealing with it... and then she goes back to her humdrum recitation of personal details until the very end of the paragraph. It's beautiful in terms of craft. It gets the action going right away, and it leaves you riveted to her brief autobiography, paying rapt attention to everything she says while you wait for her to go back and explain how and why she killed a dude.
Just fantastic.
