I picked up 13, rue Thérèse after reading this review from Kathy at Bermudaonion. Elena Mauli Shapiro’s debut novel is an unusual format – it’s an illustrated novel. Not a graphic novel, there’s more text than graphics. About 1/10 of the pages contain a photo, postcard, or other image, and the finished hardcover includes QR codes to additional online content. What are QR codes? They’re those funny little square blobs you can scan with a smartphone, leading you to a specific website, special offer, or protected content.
I’m excerpting a true teaser. Having read only a few pages so far, I can tell you only that this is the perspective of a man about to be married in the late 1800s:
He is frightened the day he gets married. He’s pretty sure he loves the girl, but he isn’t sure about till death do us part. That’s a long way away. How is a man to know how much he will love a woman decades from now, after she has grown old and withered, and perhaps mean and bitter.
Isn’t that something? When I read this passage I thought of several things:
- The answer is that that’s what love is, the faith that you’ll grow together (and, by the way, grow old together — men are not immune to the old and withered look!).
- The Robert Browning poem, beginning Grow old along with me! The best is yet to be … came to mind. Why do we so often see that on sundials? Hmm, am I dating myself now? Do people still put sundials in their gardens?
- Finally, I had to go to tape to remember the words in the vows J and I exchanged – really, I fired up the VCR, we were married in the pre-DVD days. Our vows were fairly traditional, with some personalization and updating. Instead of “till death do us part” we said “as long as we both shall live.” It’s the same length of time, but a little more upbeat, don’t you think?
OK, thanks for putting up with my ramblings and reminiscences … back to the novel … I’ve pointed you to Kathy’s review. She and Julie from BookingMama host the Reagan Arthur Challenge (an imprint of Hachette Book Group). If you have not already signed up for the challenge, and do so before March 31, you will be entered to win your own copy of 13, rue Thérèse.
Wow! Now THAT is definitely a true teaser! I wanted to read it after I read Kathy’s review also, but now, even more so!
I loved your teaser, and agree with you. There is no escape clause, growing old with the person you married is sort of the icing on the cake as far as I’m concerned. Sometimes I will see an old couple shuffling along and tell my husband, “I want us to be like that one day”.
Wow, great tease. I’ve wanted to read this when I first saw it but now with your quote I’m even more interested.
I love your ramblings. I think that today people seem to think there IS an escape clause. Even in my circle of friends, all hell is breaking loose and it is unnerving. (Now I’m rambling.) Anyway, I really want to read this book. I think I got it at SIBA, and I’m going to go in my bedroom right now and dig it out and set it somewhere that will remind me I need to read it soon.
Great post! Definitely some things to think about! Thanks for sharing the challenge!
oh I love the as long as we both shall live switch — definitely more upbeat! We switched ours a bit too
Wow, only a few pages in and the book is already making you reflect on life! I hope you love it. Thanks for the shout out!
Just this week I added this title to my list. Loved your teaser, Dawn!
When one set of my grandparents got married, the battle began–they were both bitter long before they got old! But my other set? They were olding hands in their 80′s and my grandpa loved to spoil my grandma whenever he could. I think they were happier as withered, hard of hearing old people than they were for much of their lives.
It reminded me of how many marriages I’ve seen lately that haven’t lasted longer than 5 years.