The Blue Sweater: Prologue

 p. xi - xiv


"They say a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. I took mine and fell flat on my face."

Those are the first two lines with which Novogratz begins her book, and with those, she immediately manages to hook the reader. She clearly writes from a first-person point-of-view, and talks directly to the reader. Novogratz's diction---word choice----is magnificent. It is not overly extravagant; her words flow smoothly and they just seem to... fit.

Novogratz is a master at imagery; with a few lines she has already described the look of a suffering grandmother. How a simple spark in the eyes of a woman can tell her life story. "She buried three of her nine children before they were 5 years old, went to church every day, and had a beautiful, shy laugh accompanied by downcast eyes. [...] "

As of now, the author has used no imagery whatsoever. However, her words are full of verisimilitude, since I know for a fact that some of the events depicted actually took place. Like the Rwandan genocide, which caused the deaths of thousands of people in Africa.

The first two sentences of this blog, which are the same sentences that start the book off, are a great example of foreshadowing. One already has a vague idea of what the author is going to tell us about next, knowing that she'll either be humorous about it (considering that the first two sentences are a bit funny) or quite serious at explaining why her journey to her dream career backfired on her.

Finally, flashbacks. Novogratz has tons of these. She is constantly giving examples of how past events of her life has led her to where she is now; the stories she was told, and the things she dreamed about. Some of these are mightily interesting, and others are simply amusing.

Not yet a chapter into the book, and I am already hooked.