Beginning ~ with a funeral

Today's selection is from Leeway Cottage, a 2005 novel by Beth Gutcheon.

"The funeral is over.  The ashes, in matching urns, are on the mantelpiece.  There is no way to know whose last will or testament is in force, so they have decided to close the house as always, and leave it for the winter.  Next summer, when the flood tides of memories and mourning currently swamping them have receded, they will be better able to cope."

This story is set in Denmark, where the young husband's family is "hostage to what the fortunes of Hitler's war will bring. By the time the war is over, Laurus's family has played an active role in Denmark's grassroots rescue of virtually all seven thousand of the country's Jews" (according to the back cover).

Having read and enjoyed this author's earlier novel More Than You Know, I've been wanting to read this book for years.  The sentence following what I quoted above (still on page one) is what "grabbed me" and makes me want to keep reading:

"They have decided that each of them will take home one thing from Leeway for the winter, for comfort."

Monica finds what she and Eleanor and Jimmy all were searching for:

"Although none of them has said so, what each of them most wants to take home is the house guestbook" (p. 2).

Yes, now I'm really curious about several things: how their parents died, what's in the guestbook, and how the Danes saved the Jews from Hitler.

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.