In a real visit to the library, I picked up The Eighth Detective by Alex Pavesi to read for Book Beginnings on Fridays.
Book Beginnings is a fun meme hosted by Rose City Reader blog. To participate, share the first sentence or so of a novel you are reading and your thoughts about it. When you are finished, add your URL to the Book Beginnings page linked above. Hope to see you there!
The Eighth Detective by Alex Pavesi
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Summary: When editor Julia Hart contacts retired mathematics professor Grant McAllister about republishing the book of seven mystery stories he had written 30 years ago, he agrees. As they read through the old stories, Julia notices inconsistencies. Are the problems mistakes or are they clues to a real life mystery?
First Sentence:
Spain, 1930
The two suspects sat on mismatched furniture in the white and almost featureless lounge, waiting for something to happen.
Discussion:
Based on the date, this is the first story of main character McAllister’s book, therefore a fictional book within a book of fiction. I love the layer upon layer aspects of metafiction, so I’m excited to get started with this one. I’m already seeing possibilities for deeper meaning.
56
The Friday 56 is hosted by Freda’s Voice. The premise is simple. Turn to page 56 in the book and pick a quote.
“Morning, Maggie,” she said to her sister. “What are you two doing?”
Rose stood up. “It’s afternoon, silly.”
Discussion:
Based on the names of the characters, this is likely another of McAllister’s stories . I haven’t read this far, so I’m not sure what is going on. I do wonder about the mistake with the time of day.
What do you think? Do you enjoy metafiction? Have you read this book?
