Fabio from Post-Weird Thoughts has tagged me for the Page 123 meme, and how can I resist it? So simple, so short. You know the score:
Pick up the nearest book, turn to page 123 and write down the fifth sentence.
I'm pretty much surrounded by books right now, and I guesstimate that three are equidistant. I'll give you a sentence from each, because I'm generous like that.
First, a little non-fiction, although it is Esther's rather than mine:
'The North Eastern, for example, realised that its local mineral industries would be a major source of income and installed private sidings for factories and even for large farms.'
That comes from a chapter of Fire and Steam: How the Railways Transformed Britain by Christian Wolmar enticingly titled 'The Agatha Christie Railway'. Thrilling stuff, eh?
Second, some historical fiction, also Esther's (my books have all been tucked away after a day working on my scheme to entice minority communities to use archives). This from Star of the Sea by Joseph O'Connor:
'You do know there's a famine in Ireland now, do you?'
A sentence which I imagine anticipates the plot and themes of the book rather nicely.
Finally, a taste of Elizabeth Bear's Undertow, a science fiction novel that I can't help but enjoy. And yes, it really is about an uprising of frog people against their human slave masters. Classic stuff.
'Probability pollution, weird coincidences.'
Which is also a highly relevant capsule of a sentence. Yes, really.
I won't tag anyone, since I can't remember now who has and hasn't already played the game, but consider yourself tagged if you want to be.
With that, I'm going to go and watch a film about an old British tennis player (played by Paul Bettany) getting it on with a lithe, young tennis star (in the person of Kirsten Dunst) before winning Wimbledon in a silly flush of romcom fantasy. It's becoming a yearly habit that I can't break.
~~Victoria~~