# Judging a book by its first line (or great first lines)



## Gastro Detective (Feb 17, 2011)

I really enjoyed reading through this compilation...It brought goose bumps, thinking back to when I read some of them...

Best First Lines of Novels (compiled by American Book Review)

http://www.infoplease.com/ipea/A0934311.html

My favorites was from Graham Greene's End of An Affair

A story has no beginning or end; arbitrarily one chooses that moment of experience from which to look back or from which to look ahead.


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## Kenneth Rosenberg (Dec 3, 2010)

Thanks, great list! I'm always partial to Dickens' _A Tale of Two Cities_ opening (#9 on the list):

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.


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## Julia444 (Feb 24, 2011)

As a fan of THE STRANGER, I'm also partial to Camus's famous beginning, but the list Gastro provided uses the old translation.  The new translation by Matthew Ward says:

"Maman died today."

Ward says it's an important distinction, because apparently in the French "Maman" is more intimate than "Mother,"--closer to "Mommy."  Therefore, it establishes Meursault's bond with his mother despite his detached tone in the novel.


Julia


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## J.L. McPherson (Mar 20, 2011)

This was not on that list, but the opening line of Robert McCammon's _Gone South _ is one of my favorites. _It was hell's season and the air smelled of burning children. _


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## tim290280 (Jan 11, 2011)

"It was a dark and stormy night."

Of course Paul Clifford by Edward Bulwer-Lytton.


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## 41419 (Apr 4, 2011)

Only one winner for me

_Many years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendía was to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice._

- The opening lines of One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez


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## brettjirvine (May 3, 2011)

For me it's always the opening of Stephen King's Dark Tower series:


> The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed.


Love it!


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## Mehryinett (Feb 19, 2011)

What a great list. It make me want to read Miss Lonelyhearts right now.


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## Gastro Detective (Feb 17, 2011)

David Gaughran - just downloaded your book. Looking forward to reading it.

And yes, Gabriel Garcia Marquez breaks your heart with that opening line.

I was surprised that Norman Mailer's Naked and the Dead salvo did not make the cut

"Nobody could sleep."

Thanks to all for comments and hope they keep coming


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## lori_piper (Oct 7, 2010)

Didn't make the list, but I nominate



> I am doomed to remember a boy with a wrecked voice-not because of his voice, or because he was the smallest person I ever knew, or even because he was the instrument of my mother's death, but because he is the reason I believe in God;
> I am a christian because of Owen Meany.


_A Prayer for Owen Meany_, John Irving


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

"Where's Papa going with that Ax?"

_Charlotte's Web_ by E. B. White.


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## RobynB (Jan 4, 2011)

That is a great list. I'm partial to the opening of _The Lovely Bones_ by Alice Sebold: "My name was Salmon, like the fish; first name, Susie. I was fourteen when I was murdered on December 6, 1973."

Okay, so it's _two_ lines. Still love it though!


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## EliRey (Sep 8, 2010)

RobynB said:


> That is a great list. I'm partial to the opening of _The Lovely Bones_ by Alice Sebold: "My name was Salmon, like the fish; first name, Susie. I was fourteen when I was murdered on December 6, 1973."
> 
> Okay, so it's _two_ lines. Still love it though!


Robyn you took mine! Finally one I could site as one of my favorite aside from the classic and still my very favorite.

"It is truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife."

Austen of course. =)


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## apbschmitz (Apr 22, 2011)

Okay:

Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins. 

Pretty much sums up the book.


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## KRCox (Feb 18, 2011)

In my opinion, the first line from _*Old Man's War*_ by John Scalzi:

"I did two things on my seventy-fifth birthday. I visited my wife's grave. Then I joined the army."


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## Cindy416 (May 2, 2009)

EliRey said:


> Robyn you took mine! Finally one I could site as one of my favorite aside from the classic and still my very favorite.
> 
> "It is truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife."
> 
> Austen of course. =)


The opening first line of _Pride and Prejudice_ is my all-time favorite, as well.


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## Erica Sloane (May 11, 2011)

Kenneth Rosenberg said:


> Thanks, great list! I'm always partial to Dickens' _A Tale of Two Cities_ opening (#9 on the list):
> 
> It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.


Every time I hear this I think of that episode of _Cheers_ in which Frasier is reading that book to the guys at the bar. When he reads that line, Cliff says: "This Dickens guy really liked to cover his ass, huh?"


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## Cindy416 (May 2, 2009)

Erica Sloane said:


> Every time I hear this I think of that episode of _Cheers_ in which Frasier is reading that book to the guys at the bar. When he reads that line, Cliff says: "This Dickens guy really liked to cover his ass, huh?"


I think of that scene, too, when I read or think about the first line of _A Tale of Two Cities_. Just saw that _Cheers_ episode the other evening.


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## WrongTale (Feb 16, 2011)

"Jack Torrance thought: Officious little prick."

From Stephen King's The Shining.

Kinda took you by surprise


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## Jon Olson (Dec 10, 2010)

Kerouac's ON THE ROAD: I first met Dean after my wife and I broke up.


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## Cheryl Bradshaw Author (Apr 13, 2011)

"It was one hell of a night to throw away a baby." 

This is from In the Bleak Midwinter by Julia Spencer-Fleming


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## Gastro Detective (Feb 17, 2011)

From: Love in the time of cholera
by: GGM

It was inevitable: the scent of bitter almonds always reminded him of the fate of unrequited love. 


Wouldn't it be nice to have the guts to write that sentence and make it stick.


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## Michelle Muto (Feb 1, 2011)

The man in black fled across the desert and the gunslinger followed. ~The Gunslinger, Dark Tower series by Stephen King.


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## Chad Winters (Oct 28, 2008)

"THE MAN WHO was not Terrence O’Grady had come quietly. And that, Sam insisted, was clear proof. Terry had never done anything quietly in his life if there was a way to get a fight out of it. "

Agent of Change by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller


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## kCopeseeley (Mar 15, 2011)

I was going to mention _Their Eyes Were Watching God_ because no one ever remembers that one and the language is so beautiful, but to my surprise, there was Zora Neale Hurston! A well compiled list, to be sure.

I will add a line from one of my favorite authors of all time, Barbara Kingsolver, from her book, _Prodigal Summer_:

"Her body moved with the frankness that comes from solitary habits."

*sigh* Every chapter starts with a line that grabs at your attention. I don't know how she does it, but I strive to be as skilled one day.


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## NapCat (retired) (Jan 17, 2011)

"...At  the foot of an old, old wharf lives the cutest, silliest little tugboat you ever saw..."

                                  LITTLE TOOT

                                        ~Hardie Gramatky


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## Erick Flaig (Oct 25, 2010)

For me, it's a given:  

"Call me Ishmael."

Best line.  Best novel.  Best, best, best.  Only my opinion, of course.  Your mileage may vary.  Check with your physician before starting ANY exercise routine.  Professional driver, closed course.  Do not attempt at home.  Do not eat.  Do not run with scissors, shrieking like the mad spirits that live under my file cabinet, restrained only by heavy piles of notes, manuscripts, and scraps of discarded poetry!


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## spex.kowalski (May 10, 2011)

"This morning I got a note from my aunt asking me to come for lunch.  I know what this means."

The Moviegoer, Walker Percy

ok, so two lines but the second line is required for effect


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## Cindy416 (May 2, 2009)

Erick Flaig said:


> For me, it's a given:
> 
> "Call me Ishmael."
> 
> Best line. Best novel. Best, best, best. Only my opinion, of course. Your mileage may vary. Check with your physician before starting ANY exercise routine. Professional driver, closed course. Do not attempt at home. Do not eat. Do not run with scissors, shrieking like the mad spirits that live under my file cabinet, restrained only by heavy piles of notes, manuscripts, and scraps of discarded poetry!


I LOVE this book, and credit it with adding the word _ubiquitous_ to my vocabulary many, many years ago! It is, indeed, among the best of the best in my opinion.


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## Not Here (May 23, 2011)

I love the line from The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness

“The first thing you find out when yer dog learns to talk is that dogs don’t got nothing much to say. About anything.”
Followed up by the dogs line. “Need a poo, Todd.”


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

Erick Flaig said:


> For me, it's a given:
> 
> "Call me Ishmael."
> 
> Best line. Best novel. Best, best, best. Only my opinion, of course....


To play Devil's Advocate: is it really a "great" opening line in and of itself, or is it only great because what follows is great (and I am a big fan of _Moby Dick_)? Or is it not so much "great" as it is easy to remember? I mean, take any mediocre-at-best book you've read that was written in first person, change the narrator's name to Ishmael, and make the first line "Call me Ishmael," and is it still a great opening line?

I was thinking about this yesterday and started glancing through some of my favorite novels for great opening lines. Without fail, no first sentence was, in my judgment, particularly "great." Instead, it was more a case of great first paragraphs or even great first pages, but not particularly memorable first sentences -- making me wonder if "great" first lines are generally overrated. Even with _Moby Dick_, for me it's the paragraph that follows that famous first sentence that draws me in, not the easily remembered first three words.

But then, I don't care at all for the [in]famous "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times [etc. _ad nauseum_]" opening line, so what do I know? 

While I'm here, I'll add a pretty darned good opener, though maybe not "great", from one of my all-time favorite books, _Night Watch_ by Terry Pratchett:



> Sam Vimes sighed when he heard the scream, but he finished shaving before he did anything about it.


And as an example of a great first paragraph (or two) that is much more than just the opening sentence, from _Lord of Light_ by Roger Zelazny:



> His followers called him Mahasamatman and said he was a god. He preferred to drop the Maha- and the -atman, however, and called himself Sam. He never claimed to be a god. But then, he never claimed not to be a god. Circumstances being what they were, neither admission could be of any benefit. Silence, though, could.
> 
> Therefore, there was mystery about him.


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## ChrisHoward (May 14, 2010)

I envy Stalin.

Awesome first line of Slights by Kaaron Warren

http://www.amazon.com/Slights-ebook/dp/product-description/B003Z9KFJY


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## Bogbuilder (May 26, 2011)

'It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.'

Nineteen Eighty-Four, by George Orwell. The only first sentence where I've had to do a double-take.

Have to agree with the posters who offered the first line of Stephen King's 'The Gunslinger' too - I believe SK himself holds that opener in pretty high regard.


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## PMCrawford (May 9, 2011)

Another Stephen King one... from the first book of the Dark Tower series...

"The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed."

I think it's the type where if you haven't read the book, it's not so special, but if you have -- it's incredible.


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## Alex Sinclair (May 5, 2011)

This is the line that made me laugh the most. It is from Terry Pratchett's Night Watch or Guards Guards!

They have arrested the bad guy. They are about eight stories up. Cornered him. Sam Vimes says the cliche cop line. "Throw the book at him," which Carrot takes too literal. Hits the bad guy in the head with a book and knocks him out the window.


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## Alex Sinclair (May 5, 2011)

Oh, you said first lines!


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## Bogbuilder (May 26, 2011)

Can't believe I forgot this one: the opening to 'I Am Legend' by Richard Matheson...

'On those cloudy days, Robert Neville was never sure when the sunset came, and sometimes they were in the street before he could get back.'

Best vampire novel ever, IMO.


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## L.J. Sellers novelist (Feb 28, 2010)

First lines can make or break a book for me. If a first line is long, more like a paragraph, and talks about the weather or place, rather than character or dialogue, I get discouraged and may not give the book a fair chance after that.

For fun here's a list of Crimespree magazine's favorite fist lines. http://tinyurl.com/2gymhbq

My favorite of those listed is the first one: "Imagine shoving a cattle prod up a rhino's ass, shouting "April fool!", and hoping the rhino thinks it's funny." - Kill the Dead by Richard Kadrey

Do you judge a book by its first line? What is your favorite opening line?
L.J.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

merged new thread with existing thread on this topic -- sorry for any confusion.


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## Tony Rabig (Oct 11, 2010)

Maybe it's just me, but everything on that Crimespree list of best opening lines except King's feels like it's working a little too hard to grab your attention.

As to some of my own favorite openings:

"Eunice Parchman killed the Coverdale family because she could neither read nor write." -- Ruth Rendell, A JUDGMENT IN STONE

"All right, I'll tell you why the Girl gives me the creeps." -- Fritz Leiber, "The Girl with the Hungry Eyes"

The opening paragraph of Shirley Jackson's THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE

And what I think is the best opening hook to a suspense novel I've ever read -- part one of Stanley Ellin's THE VALENTINE ESTATE:
"At eleven o'clock that sultry April night, Christopher Shaw Monte, age twenty-eight and dead broke as ever, was in the tennis shop of Cobia Isle Spa on Miami Beach restringing a racket and daydreaming of fifty thousand dollars when in walked this girl and apologetically offered him fifty thousand dollars to marry her.
"And in so doing, activated the carefully-drawn plans for his murder."


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## Bogbuilder (May 26, 2011)

Do short stories count? If so, then this one from Clive Barker really did the trick:

'There is no delight the equal of dread.'

'Dread' - Sick, sick story - and pretty damn brilliant too.


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## David M. Baum (Apr 21, 2011)

NogDog said:


> To play Devil's Advocate: is it really a "great" opening line in and of itself, or is it only great because what follows is great (and I am a big fan of _Moby Dick_)? Or is it not so much "great" as it is easy to remember? I mean, take any mediocre-at-best book you've read that was written in first person, change the narrator's name to Ishmael, and make the first line "Call me Ishmael," and is it still a great opening line?
> 
> I was thinking about this yesterday and started glancing through some of my favorite novels for great opening lines. Without fail, no first sentence was, in my judgment, particularly "great." Instead, it was more a case of great first paragraphs or even great first pages, but not particularly memorable first sentences -- making me wonder if "great" first lines are generally overrated. Even with _Moby Dick_, for me it's the paragraph that follows that famous first sentence that draws me in, not the easily remembered first three words.
> 
> ...


 Agreed with you on Moby Dick, and love the opening of Night Watch.

I am also a big fan of the opening of the Dark Tower Series by King, which has been mentioned a few times.


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## Joseph Robert Lewis (Oct 31, 2010)

> For me it's always the opening of Stephen King's Dark Tower series:
> 
> *The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed.*
> 
> Love it!


Ah, you got mine! I love the mystery and tension in that line.


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## Erica Sloane (May 11, 2011)

I wouldn't say this is the best one I've read, but the first line of Linwood Barclay's BAD MOVE stuck with me:

"For years, I envied my friend Jeff Conklin, who, at the age of eleven, found a dead guy."


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## Mike McIntyre (Jan 19, 2011)

Gastro Detective said:


> Best First Lines of Novels (compiled by American Book Review)
> http://www.infoplease.com/ipea/A0934311.html


My favorite opening line on this list is #85, The Last Good Kiss by James Crumley. He died three years ago, much loved by writers, but largely ignored by readers.


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## PMCrawford (May 9, 2011)

So do you guys think it's possible to determine the nature of a book (or quality, for that matter) by a first line? Even if only tangentially?


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## David M. Baum (Apr 21, 2011)

PMCrawford said:


> So do you guys think it's possible to determine the nature of a book (or quality, for that matter) by a first line? Even if only tangentially?


Sometimes, and those are the best ones. But I have read some good books with pretty crappy first lines and some bad books with very nice first lines as well.


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## Wintings (Feb 16, 2011)

My vote goes to the opening lines of Joseph Heller's _Catch-22_:
"It was love at first sight. The first time Yossarian saw the chaplain he fell madly in love with him."

This sets the tone for the funniest, most anarchic book ever written.


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