French Windows by Antoine Laurain: Book Beginnings on Fridays, First Line Friday, The Friday 56, and Book Blogger Hop

 

Today's Featured Book 

French Windows

 by Antoine Laurain

Genre: Fiction

Published: June 6, 2024

Page Count: 176 pages

Summary: 

"Nathalia, a young photographer, has been seeing a therapist. Having accidentally photographed a murder, she finds that she can no longer do her job. Instead, Doctor Faber suggests that she write about the neighbors she idly observes in the building across the street. But as these written snapshots become increasingly detailed, he starts to wonder how she can possibly know so much about them."

 

BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAY is hosted by Rose City Reader. What book are you happy about reading this week? Please share the opening sentence (or so) on BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAY! Add the link to your blog or social media post and visit other blogs to see what others are reading.

Happy Friday and welcome to the FIRST LINE FRIDAY, hosted by Reading is My Superpower! It’s time to grab the book nearest to you and leave a comment with the first line.

"In the middle of the unevenly cobbled courtyard stands a tall tree. No one has ever quite determined its species; some people in the building see a wild cherry, others an oak, though it has never produced an acorn."

THE FRIDAY 56 is hosted by Freda's Voice, but Freda is currently taking a break and Anne of Head Full of Books is filling in. To play, open a book and turn to page 56 (or 56% on your e-reader). Find a sentence or two and post them, along with the book title and author. Then link up on Head Full of Books and visit others in the linky. 

'I veer off in a completely different direction. Another of my techniques:

"Share a thought with me that has occurred to you today, completely unrelated to our discussion here. Something absolutely 'off topic.'"

Silence falls once again, broken only by the beating of a pigeon's wings as it flies past the window.

"I thought...this morning, when I was making coffee...that we should always re-read the epigraph once we're finished a book."

"Go on."

"We read a quote from someone other than the author, which the author has chosen to put on the first page of their book, and then we forget all about it. Except the author went to a great deal of trouble to choose it. It sums up the entire book, and then we forget about it. So we should always read it again once the book is finished. Always. The epigraph is the book's true conclusion. That's what I was thinking about."'

My Review: 

Photographer Nathalia Guitry can't take photos after she photographed a murder, and she goes to see a therapist, Dr. Faber, to help her. Faber assigns Guitry the task of writing down the stories of the people who inhabit each floor of the building opposite Faber's office, and Guitry dutifully pens the stories of the person who lives on each floor each week.

Laurain always takes us readers on a surprising journey in his books between what is real and what is not, all the while firmly planting us in the delight that is France.

The purpose of THE BOOK BLOGGER HOP is to give bloggers a chance to follow other blogs, learn about new books, and befriend other bloggers. THE BOOK BLOGGER HOP is hosted by Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer.    

July 12th-18th - July is the month for reading by the pool or on the beach. What's your favorite summer beach book, and why is it suitable for a sunny day? (submitted by Billy @ Coffee Addicted Writer)

Take a trip across the old American West with Gus and Call this summer in one of my favorite books, perfect for summer reading, Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry.

Il est Juillet et il est temps pour le merveilleux Paris in July, hosted by Emma at Words and Peace.