The Grab a Book Gamepost

The results of my participation in the "grab a book game":

"This is the beginning of Serval's novel."

From George Perec's 53 Days, which I have not read.

Instructions:

1. Grab the nearest book.
2. Open the book to page 23.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the text of the sentence in your journal along with these instructions.