7.27.2012

Book Beginnings - Coal Black Horse



Book Beginnings is a meme hosted by Rose City Reader. Share the first sentence (or so) of a book you are currently reading, along with your initial thoughts and impressions about the sentence or book. Remember to include the title of the book and the author AND link up at the Rose City Reader


The evening of Sunday May 10 in the year 1863, Hettie Childs called her son, Robey, to the house from the old fields where he walked the high meadow along the fence lines where the cattle grazed, licking shoots of new spring grass that grew in the mowing on the edge of the pasture. He walked a shambling gait, his knees to and fro and his shoulders rocking. His hands were already a man's hands, cut square, with tapering fingers, and his hair hung loose to his shoulders. He was a boy whose mature body would be taller yet and of late he'd been experiencing frightening spurts of growth. On one night alone he grew an entire inch and when morning came he felt stretched and his body ached and he cried out when he sat up.

Okay, so I included a little more than usual of the beginning, but only because this book is so good! Please do not write this off as an 'animal' book. It's not about a horse. I repeat: it is not about a horse.
I know animal books or even books with animals in the title can turn off many readers. I read this for the color-coded reading challenge and it's easily one of my favorite reads for that challenge and quite possibly of all the reads I've done this year. You can read my review here



16 comments:

  1. Thanks for sharing...I like how we can see the character from the descriptions...

    Enjoy!

    Here's MY FRIDAY MEMES POST

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  2. Yep! Not the usual beginning! Funny growing an inch in one night!

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  3. This does sound like a good book, and you wrote an excellent review for it. I'm going to add it to my to read list. I wonder why the author doesn't talk about slavery much, though.

    Here's my Book Beginning.

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    1. Yeah, I wondered that too...I don't know I guess Olmstead really wanted to focus on Robey's task.

      It really is a good book.
      Thanks for visiting, Chris!

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  4. I truly like the title of your blog. Seems very honest and personal. I would love to read Coal Black Horse. Never heard of it.

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    1. Thank you very much. I would like to think it's both of those things.

      And Coal Black Horse is great. So glad I read it.

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  5. Sounds like a good one! Glad you found it for the Color Coded Challenge.

    Here are my Friday Memes

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  6. I'll go read your review because it sounds like a good book.

    Thanks for posting on Book Beginnings!

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  7. I went over and read your review I can see where it would make an impact. Thanks for visiting.

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  8. That is a great opening--such good writing. I can see why you'd like it and am so glad the book lives up to the opening.

    Have a great weekend!

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  9. I love that you have your disclaimer that it's NOT about a horse! Now you've got me really intrigued (and off to read your review!)

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