Fiction Books with Great Descriptions

I’m a sucker for a great description. I love the visuals they create for me as well as the way they bring our other senses into play: sound, touch, smell and taste. Check out these novel excerpts. They inspire me when I write my stories. Let me know if you agree.

The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd

It was the time of year when migrating crows wheeled across the sky, thunderous flocks that moved like a single veil. (kindle location:  1910 of 5663)

The Secret River by Kate Grenville

Morning and evening the Government chain gangs clanked and shuffled to and from the half-timbered barracks where their hammocks were packed in so close together the convicts because   part of each other’s dreams (p.83)

A Paris Apartment by Michelle Gable

Makeup settled into her wrinkles like cracked mud in a dry riverbed. (p.129)

Paris Letters by Janice MacLeod

le temps de cerise (the time of cherries) came to represent the fat days of summer when so many fruits and vegetables were in season and markets were piled high with colors and textures that begged for you to touch and squeeze and smell and taste. (after p.240)

Tiger Tail Soup by Nicki Chen

It was getting late, Knife-sharp shadows fell across the lane, dividing everything into light and darkness. (p.169)

 

You may also like...

2 Responses

  1. Nancy Jo Jenkins says:

    You chose some excellent examples – they satisfy the reader’s heart and inspire us to delve deeper into our imaginations when we write.

  2. Behind the Story says:

    I’m flattered to be in the company of such wonderful writers as Sue Monk Kidd.

    That line from A Paris Apartment makes me want to avoid using makeup.