Hello, amazing fellow creatives! Here’s to more fun perusing the library’s new releases to see what strikes our fancy. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I’ve retitled Story Cuppings to better fit the premise of the podcast.
As writers, we hear all the time that we’ve got to hook readers in just the first few pages or else. We’ve got to hook agents in the first few pages or else.
Whether you’re looking to get published or just hoping to hook your reader, first impressions are vital. Compelling opening scenes are the key to catching an agent or editor’s attention, and are crucial for keeping your reader engaged.
JEFF GERKE, THE FIRST 50 PAGES
Well then, let’s study those first few pages in other people’s stories, shall we?
Today I snagged from the New Release shelf:
Joan is Okay: A Novel by Weike Wang
The first pages of Joan is Okay by Weike Wang are unlike anything we’ve read on previous episodes of this podcast. We’re not diving into genre fiction here–no fantasy, no science fiction, no horror, etc. This is life, and it’s the life of an Asian American woman who is forced to take on the journey of grief by returning to China for her father’s funeral. What will you, fellow creatives, make of these first five pages? Let’s find out!
If you do not see the audio player above, you can access the podcast here.
The prose is sharp and cuts to the bone in its lack of emotion, which makes readers wonder just what the relationship between the narrator and her family had been. As one who also lost her father suddenly, the journey of grief is not an easy one to walk alone, so I am naturally drawn to Wang’s storytelling here. The blurbs on the back promise wit and humor, which I didn’t see in the opening pages, but I found the narrator’s fixation on the surface-level aspects of her coworkers rather intriguing. It makes me wonder just how well this narrator knows the people in her life–and how well she truly knows herself.
As always, I love hearing what’s on the shelves of your own libraries. Libraries Rock!
Read on, share on, and write on, my friends!
