What’s worse than a mediocre book? A book that starts out really, really well and then loses you.

I began Canada by Richard Ford with great anticipation. How’s this for an opening –

“First I’ll tell you about the robbery our parents committed. Then about the murders, which happened later. The robbery is the more important part, since it served to set my and my sister’s lives on the courses they eventually followed. Nothing would make complete sense without that being told first.”

Kapow! Opening lines don’t much better than that, do they? I imagine for authors it’s always a risk to reveal the ending, or the climax of the story on the first page and then slowly reveal how the characters got there. It may be difficult to pull off, but when this kind of ‘reverse story-telling’ (I’m sure there is a technical name) is executed well, it makes for compelling reading. Interestingly, for a book that starts out with a punch, Canada unfolds in a measured, languorous way, perfectly matched to the hot, lazy summer that the first scenes are set in. Continue reading →