A couple of weeks ago, I was fortunate enough to attend a reading by three fantastic novelists, among them Miriam Toews, reading from her brand-spanking-new novel, Irma Voth. Miriam is no stranger to readings and book launches, and she spoke and read with so much charisma, humour, and ease that you really couldn’t help but fall in love with the book. But outside of how impressive Miriam was (and is), what really struck me was the part of the book she chose to read: she read from the beginning, right from page one.
In my experience, this is a rarity, especially from fiction writers. A lot of authors choose to read the funniest, or the most climactic, or most disturbing portions of their books in order to get the biggest reaction from their audience, to get across the tone, style, or content of the novel, or simply because those are their favorite parts of their books. But really, what better place to catch your audience’s interest than at the beginning?
A novel’s opening pages are arguably its most important part, because they have to draw the reader in as quickly as possible and pique the reader’s interest enough to propel him or her through the hundreds of pages that follow. An effective opening also sets the book’s tone and style, and lets the reader know what to expect from the rest of the novel. So assuming your novel has such an opening, why not read from there?
Miriam’s reading certainly caught my attention, and I’ll be picking up and reading Irma Voth at my next opportunity. And I implore all you novelists out there to give it a try: at your next reading or book launch, try starting from page one.
