Friday, May 25, 2012

Book Beginnings and Friday 56 - The Rebel wife by Taylor M. Polites



Book Beginnings is a weekly meme hosted by Gilion at Rose City Reader. To play along, please do the following:
  1. Share the first line (or two) of the book you are currently reading on your blog or in the comments. 
  2. Make sure to share the name of the book and the author so we know what you're reading. 
  3. Feel free to share your first impressions with us based on the first line. 
  4. Link your post at Rose City Reader, or if you don't have a blog, leave it in the comments below. 

The book I picked up for this today is The Rebel Wife by Taylor M. Polites:


                              


I knew that Eli is dying.
     Rachel said the rattlesnakes were a bad sign, but that doesn't signify.  The Negroes give so much credence to conjuring and signs.  But there is something about Eli.  He looks so much like Pa before he died.  Eli trembles in his bed like Pa did.  He has the same fever in his eyes.  Loosing Pa was terrible, but I don't feel that with Eli.  He is not a bad husband, but it will not be like when Pa died.  






My Thoughts:  To be honest, I'm not sure how I feel about this as a book beginning.  I know this book covers the civil war but I'm just a tad uncomfortable with the main characters thoughts and her dialogue.  



The Friday 56 is a weekly meme hosted by Freda at Freda's Voice. To play along:
  1. Grab the book closest to you, any book will do.
  2. Turn to page 56.
  3. Choose the fifth (5th) sentence or a few more (just don't spoil it too much).
  4. Post it on your blog, or if you don't have a blog, post it in the comments below.
  5. Link your post to Freda's Voice.
I'm using the same book for my Friday 56 (The Rebel Wife

     Mama and I road in the carriage while Hill and Mike walked behind the hearse.  Behind us, the whole town and  virtually every servant in the neighborhood walked in silent mourning, such was the great love my father's people felt for him.  They came all the way from the farthest plantations in the county simply to walk him to his burial place. 

So what are you Friday Book Beginnings and Friday 56?  Please play along and if you decide to follow my blog, let me know in the comments and I'll return the favor.


About The Rebel Wife:


Augusta Branson, born of a prominent Southern family made destitute by the Civil War, is forced by her family into marriage with a wealthy upstart. Ten years after her marriage and the end of the war, she watches her husband, Eli, die from a horrifying blood fever.

Newly widowed, Augusta begins to wake to the realities that surround her: her social standing is stained by her marriage, she is alone and unprotected in a community that is being destroyed by racial prejudice and violence, the fortune she thought she would inherit does not exist, and the deadly blood fever is spreading like wildfire. Nothing is as she believed, everyone she trusts is hiding something from her, and if Augusta can’t find a missing package, she and her son face certain death.

Using the Southern Gothic tradition to subvert literary archetypes like the white Southern Gentleman, the good Mammy, the conniving scalawag, and the defenseless Southern Belle, The Rebel Wife shatters the myths that still cling to the antebellum South and creates an unforgettable heroine for our time.

          

10 comments:

  1. I have heard of this one, but up close, it looks mesmerizing. Thanks for sharing!

    Here's MY FRIDAY MEMES POST

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  2. Reading the beginning I thought that didn't sound unlike Gone with the Wind in some respects, but then reading the blurb it sounds a lot different. Hope you enjoy reading it.

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  3. From the opening I could tell she was not that fond of her husband. Sounds like an interesting book. Here is my post: Book Beginnings

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  4. Definitely intriguing, I want to find out more about this one. Thanks for sharing.

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  5. Sounds like he was loved and respected.

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  6. I'm going to put this on my list. I read two reviews a week ago. love the snippet.
    http://sidnereading.blogspot.com

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  7. What a really cool idea! I love this post and think I would like to take part in it too. I can just imagine all the books I would find like this. Sometimes the first line is what hooks me in. Thanks for this!

    I'm not into civil war stuff all that much, but I could handle it if the story was engaging.

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  8. Kind of an odd beginning, but it sounds like it could be a good story.

    Thanks for participating in Book Beginnings!

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  9. Not sure if this beginning would draw me in or not. I hope you enjoy it anyway. Thanks for visiting my blog earlier and have a great weekend.

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  10. This sounds interesting and is a new author for me =)

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