Visible beginnings ~ Every Visible Thing

Today, Helen shared the first lines of a book she is about to read.  My first lines are from a book I don't even have yet.  Curious?  Even "curiouser" (as Alice would say), I'm quoting from two places in the book I don't have.

The story:  Some of my neighbors don't have cars, so I often take one or two with me to the grocery store, the bank, the library, the pharmacy.  Today, I took Catherine to the library with me, and she checked out a couple of books.  While she was in the bank, I picked up ...

Every Visible Thing by Lisa Carey (2006) because I've read one of her earlier books (The Mermaids Singing, 1998) and think she's a very good writer.  Catherine took long enough that I jotted down the first lines of both the Prologue and Chapter 1.  Both are interesting, and I can never decide which one constitutes the book's actual "beginning" for this meme.

Prologue
"Lena's favorite part of kindergarten is the end, when her brother comes to pick her up."

Chapter 1
"The first time I tried killing myself, nobody noticed."

Both of these first lines intrigue me.  Both are about Lena (I think).  The prologue is 1975, and the first chapter is 1985.  Now I wonder what happened to Lena during those ten years.  She was in kindergarten in 1975, so that would make her a high school student in 1985.  What's going on?  I came home and got online to put the book on hold to read it myself.  Who knows?  Maybe Catherine and I will be able to discuss the book some day.

This meme is hosted by Katy at A Few More Pages. Share the first sentence or two of the book you are reading. Then, share your impressions of that beginning. Click this link to see what others say about the books they are reading this week.