A First Novel

The other day I was updating my "To Be Read" (or TBR, as my fellow book addicts call it) list with a book from an author I thought I had read before. The title of his first novel sounded familiar so I popped over to Amazon to check if I had read it.

What follows is the description for the book:

"A Scandinavian tourist visiting a small, often-overlooked Greek island encounters a community bound by religion, ritual, and superstition, and everyone involved is transformed by the experience. A first novel."

I noted on my Fb that this description did not help me at all to remember. Furthermore, what is with that little "A first novel." tacked there on the end?  Is it an apology? Because you know how first novels can be sometimes.


Sometimes you read a first novel and it gets high praise. The blurbs on the back say things like: "An arresting and poignant first novel. Masterful prose and well-drawn characters. This novel is a worthy addition to the genre from an author you should definitely watch!" Then we watch and the author never writes anything ever again. 

Other times the first novel is awful and no one wants you to watch the author. In fact the publisher wants to pretend the novel never existed but then the author writes a second novel and something magical happens. That second novel is really good so there is suddenly a demand for the backlist.

I began to imagine that all first novel descriptions were written the way that one up there was written:

"A Turkish -American student attending a prestigious, well-respected university encounters a student body bound by academics, friendship, and angst, and everyone involved is confused by the experience. A first novel."
 
"An American teenager residing in a unnamed, California institution recounts memories bound by sadness, loss, and alienation, and everyone involved is depressed by the experience. A first novel."

“A young girl living in a small, well-meaning Alabama town encounters a community bound by racism, manners, and history, and everyone involved is chastened by the experience. A first novel."
 
“A Midwestern college grad assisting a demanding, enigmatic fashion magazine editor encounters a community bound by Prada, Yves Saint Laurent, and Chanel, and the college grad is the only one transformed by the experience. A first novel."
 
"A Southern belle living in a once-grand, stately plantation encounters a war bound by poverty, slavery, and states’ rights, and curtains are involved and they're transformed into a dress. A first novel."
 
“An American journalist visiting a boisterous, popular desert city encounters a community bound by gambling, drugs, and excess, and everyone involved is high as a kite. A first novel.”

Clearly, some first novels are better than others and almost all first novels make good movies.