YvonneAt first it took some getting used to. All Katie’s life she had been schooled – first by her mother, then by circumstances – to be secretive, even to lie if necessary, so that shameful truths should not be disclosed. Anyone who asked questions was seen as a suspect. But Maudie asked questions – lots of them. And not only that, she talked, straightforwardly and with an artless trust that Katie found astonishing.
Katie started to see just how obsessed her own mother had been with keeping things secret: Uncle Patrick’s condition, and even the details of her husband’s death, which was hardly something to be ashamed of. As the weeks passed, under Maudie’s interested questioning Katie found herself, for the first time in her life, beginning to talk.
Paperback pages 272 and 273
Clicking on the book’s cover image will link you directly to its Amazon ‘buy’ page.
Check out those all important first lines, … Would they make you want to read on?
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Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by … Jenn at ‘Books And A Beat’
Anyone can take part, by just doing the following:
Grab your current read.
Open to a random page.
- Share a couple of “teaser” sentences, from somewhere on that page.
- Be careful not to share “spoiler” sentences.
- Remember to share the title and author too.
- Head on over to ‘A Daily Rhythm’ and leave a link to your post, so that others can share it and you can share other people’s.
It would be great if you then decided to leave a comment for Jenn, as we all like to receive them and are interested in sharing your thoughts.
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Yes, I want to know the secrets!
My teaser today is from a YA new release about bullying. A real page-turner. https://wp.me/p3Nz8P-XL
I think that human nature dictates that we all like to be let in on a good secret – The only difference between us, is that some can then keep that secret, whilst other just have to tell ‘one more close friend, who they trust not to repeat it’ 🙂
Thanks for stopping by, I always appreciate your comments.
Watching Katie begin to open up and see how it changes her life would be interesting. (I’d also like to know what the secrets are!) Here’s my link for today: http://wp.me/p4DMf0-1i9
Hi Lorraine,
All three of the main protagonists have had quite sad and brutal childhoods, although arguably it could be said that Katie had suffered the most. So to see her have the confidence to open up and begin to talk, is quite a breakthrough and sets her well on the road to becoming an independent person, with her own opinions, which for the first time have found a voice.
Thanks for visiting this week and for taking the time to leave a comment 🙂
Looking back at the opening lines in your earlier post, I wonder about the connections between the characters there and Katie. I’ve read several books based during this time period over the past year, mainly set in Britain or France – so perhaps this novel would fit right in.
Here’s a teaser from me:
“Gavius was a likable man, with decent parents. I really did not want to see him harmed. But as soon as we reached the end of the alley, we knew.
Women were standing out on their doorsteps. A small knot of short, wide, horrible men with whips must be mule-drovers. A couple of raggedly dressed little children sat in the gulley by the nonexistent pavement, watching the adults. Everyone seemed to be waiting. They stood and stared. They knew something was wrong. Nobody took the initiative.”
– ‘The Graveyard of the Hesperides’ by Lindsey Davis
Hi Kelly,
In the opening paragraph I shared, the little boy’s mother is Em (Emma), who together with Katie and Molly, are the three friends and main protagonists of this post war story and journey of discovery.
Annie Murray has written quite a few war time books, with much of the remainder being fiction novels with a strong social history storyline to them. Not thinking to check first, I was a little perturbed to discover that ‘All The Days Of Our Lives’ is in fact the third book in the ‘Hopscotch Summer’ trilogy. This one does read great as a stand-alone, although knowing how you like to be all over a series, I would suggest that you try for the two previous books first.
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Gavius sounds as though he could be in trouble judging by that teaser excerpt, but such are those times, that I very much doubt whether any of the bystanders will actually speak out for him against his pursuers.
The person speaking says they don’t want to see Gavius harmed, however I am left wondering whether they drove the man down the lane in the first place, fully knowing what would happen to him and are now having second thoughts … I wonder what Gavius has done to receive this potentially life threatening beating?
Thanks for sharing and I hope that you are enjoying the book so far 🙂
Family secrets are almost always fascinating! This sounds like a good story.
My Tuesday post features ARE YOU THERE, ERMA? IT’S ME, GAYLE.
Hi Sandra,
They do say that we all have at least one ‘skeleton in the closet’.
This is shaping into a good piece of social history writing, with a storyline which empowers women to continue to have their voice, even though the war is over and the men are beginning to return home.
Thanks for the comment and for always supporting my posts 🙂
I would keep reading. I want to know the secrets and why she’s been told to not talk, and even lie.
My TT from Fear Of The Scarecrow
Hi Laura,
I think it might be a generational thing, but I know that my parents (my father in particular), didn’t like anyone outside our immediate family unit, knowing our business and if the truth be known still feels the same way today, despite being 91.
I don’t know that I was ever encouraged to lie, the way that Katie has in the story, but we always knew not to talk out of line.
Thanks for taking the time to comment and for visiting this week. ‘Happy Reading’ 🙂
Hm, I wonder why Katie’s family is so secretive. They must have something to hid.
Hi Kathy,
The lengths some families will go to, just to keep a secret, are amazing.
I don’t know about you, but I know for a fact that my father still keeps secrets from myself and my brother, about things which happened when we were children. I am equally as certain that those secrets will go to the grave with him and I am sure that he isn’t the only person from that generation to have done the same thing!
Thanks for taking the time to comment, I always appreciate your visits 🙂
The title made me think of the soap opera. 🙂
sherry @ fundinmental My TT
Hi Sherry,
I didn’t recognise the name as a soap opera I ever remember watching over here in the UK.
However, on further investigation, I see that different channels tried to air the show 3 times between 1994 and 2010. Due to low viewing figures however, it was pulled each time, after just a few episodes.
Not all things work on both sides of the pond 🙂
Well remembered though and thanks for making it such fun to find out the information 🙂
The type of novel I used to really enjoy but alas not so much these days.
Not excerpts that jump out at me but then you never should say never.
Hi Tracy,
I must admit that I would prefer to read a good thriller or murder/mystery these days. However, even those storylines can become a bit too ‘samey’ after a while, so switching genres occasionally, does me good and recharges the batteries!
Thanks for taking the time to read the excerpts, even if ultimately ‘All The Days Of Our Lives’ isn’t one for you 🙂
Sounds like plenty of secrets involved here! Happy reading.
Hi Naida,
Between them, the three friends seem to have an inordinate amount of family secrets which need to be kept hidden.
They do however, come to realise that getting some things out into the open, rather than hiding everything away, is good for everyone concerned and that perhaps they won’t be judged as harshly as they might have anticipated.
This story was everything I have come to expect from the author, so smiles all round from me 🙂
These excerpts are a good hook for the book. I like novels that thoughtfully explore family secrets.
I recently read a YA novel, The Mystery of Hollow Places, that shows a teenaged girl going in search of her long-lost mother after her father disappears. It’s not an amazing book, but a good solid read that explores the myths in families and how they can shape (and stunt) people as they grow. Plus it explores the impact of poor mental health in parents.
Hi Hila,
It sounds very much as though ‘The Mystery Of Hollow Place’ is running along similar storylines of family secrets, myths in families and missing people, to my own book ‘All The Days Of Our Lives’.
I’m not too sure about the mental health aspects of the storyline, although this is mentioned in such a thoughtful way in the synopsis and the many ratings and reviews have been pretty middle-of-the-road and non judgmental, that it doesn’t sound as though health issues will over-power the story …
“a woman who was always possessed by a powerful loneliness, a woman who many referred to as “troubled waters.””
Thanks for sharing your book, after all, we all love a good secret 🙂
Not a book I’d read myself, but Annie Murray is one of the authors my mum reads, either on Kindle or paperback.
Hi Nikki,
I like to mix up my genres on a regular basis, so sometimes an author like Annie Murray will make a relaxing change from the cut and thrust of some of the blood thirsty thrillers I seem to indulge in.
This time I did make the mistake of trying to read the two genres simultaneously, something I don’t make a habit of doing and which I won’t be attempting again. With two such diverse writing styles and storylines, adjusting from one to the other wasn’t an easy transition and left me feeling decidedly dissatisfied.
Thanks for stopping by, it is great to hear from you and I hope that all is well in your neck of the woods 🙂