Bad Back-story 18
Jeff parked his car in front of the house. Turning off the engine, he slowly made his way towards the green door.
The door, and the house it belonged to, had been built in 1688 after a spate of horse thefts angered the people of nearby Boston. This house had been built by French immigrants, who had copied their familiar Mansard roofline into the unforgiving Massachusetts landscape. Mansard style roofs, named after Francois Mansart (1598-1666) are common in France, and were popularized during the 17th C by nobles looking to emulate Louis XIV (1638-1715).
This roof had been made of slate, a gray-to black sedimentary stone that can be found in many parts of the world. Jeff's grandfather, Peter Rochelle, had a business that refurbished old slate roofs. He worked at it through the years of the Great Depression (1929-1940) and through World War II (1939-1945). Every time he worked on a roof, he signed a single slate with his name.
This signature was a holdover of the ancient Egyptian practice of signing pyramid blocks with the names of the workmen who had placed that particular black in place on the side of the particular pyramid that the builders were building.
"Here's your pizza," said Jeff to the woman at the door.
--Khazar-khum
The door, and the house it belonged to, had been built in 1688 after a spate of horse thefts angered the people of nearby Boston. This house had been built by French immigrants, who had copied their familiar Mansard roofline into the unforgiving Massachusetts landscape. Mansard style roofs, named after Francois Mansart (1598-1666) are common in France, and were popularized during the 17th C by nobles looking to emulate Louis XIV (1638-1715).
This roof had been made of slate, a gray-to black sedimentary stone that can be found in many parts of the world. Jeff's grandfather, Peter Rochelle, had a business that refurbished old slate roofs. He worked at it through the years of the Great Depression (1929-1940) and through World War II (1939-1945). Every time he worked on a roof, he signed a single slate with his name.
This signature was a holdover of the ancient Egyptian practice of signing pyramid blocks with the names of the workmen who had placed that particular black in place on the side of the particular pyramid that the builders were building.
"Here's your pizza," said Jeff to the woman at the door.
--Khazar-khum
posted by Evil Editor | 10:34 AM
14 Comments:
Brilliant! I laughed out loud at this one. The sad thing is, I think I could actually come across an opening like this in a published novel.
Including the dates of the Great Depression and WWII was a nice touch ;)
The last line is priceless.
Beutifully, badly done!
I love how incredibly irrelevant the back story is!
I like it, Good work. Very good work.
Oooh. Love the info-dump, KK,and
I echo the irrelevance-love and admiration FH mentioned!
It was hard for me to see the error of backstory, because the information was so interesting!!! (LOL with a side of snide)And I have a soft spot for Mansard roofs, with or without a handyman named Rod.
Meri
It would be a shame to let all that research go to waste. Jam it in there!
Bravo!!! Fabu!
I too love how irrelevant the backstory is. Great job!
Brilliant.
Actually, on page 312, the protagonist must answer roofing questions and provide critical dates in American history in order to prevent a nuclear detonation in a large American city. It only looks irrelevant.
What a wonderful terrible opening!! Well done.
I love this!
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