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This week's First Impressions, the competition in which you have to identify a book from its opening sentence, comes from a novel in which the narrator shares a birthday with 1,000 others:

"I was born in the city of Bombay I once upon a time."

The winner receives a ?20 book token and the closing date is August 11.

Entries should be sent to
First Impressions
The THES
Admiral House, 66-68 East Smithfield
London E1 9XY

faxed to 0171-782 3300
or emailed to theschat@thes.co.uk

The winner of last week's competition, who identified Thomas Hardy's Tess of the d'Urbervilles , is Roy Todd of the University of Leeds.