pagesofjulia

Thanks to Rose City Reader for hosting this meme. To participate, share the first line or two of the book you are currently reading and, if you feel so moved, let us know what your first impressions were based on that first line.

I am just as pleased as can be to experience again a book I enjoyed in childhood, a book that won several awards including a Newberry. Madeline L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time begins:

It was a dark and stormy night.

In her attic bedroom Margaret Murry, wrapped in an old patchwork quilt, sat on the foot of her bed and watched the trees tossing in the frenzied lashing of the wind.

L’Engle is winking at us, I believe, when she uses this well-worn literary opening line; but it works beautifully, don’t you think? It’s atmospheric, and if it’s “pre-owned,” I find it still effective. It brings to mind the attic reading scene in The NeverEnding Story, which I also loved.

I’m just a few minutes into this audio recording, read by the author, but I’m glad to be back in L’Engle’s world. Happy weekend!

Filed under: book beginnings | Tagged: children's/YA, fantasy |