I am never without a book. I read in a newspaper how so much emphasis is now put on first lines in books because authors compete for the reader’s attention span with social media, news and the internet. The opening line must grip the reader, set the scene, paint the atmosphere. Here you can read the 30 Best Opening Lines in literature- below are a few favorite opening lines from books that have stayed with me for years. Do you have favorite opening lines from books?
“The final dying sounds of their dress rehearsal left the Laurel Players with nothing to do but stand there, silent and helpless, blinking out over the footlights of an empty auditorium.”
REVOLUTIONARY ROAD, RICHARD YEATES
“On the pleasant shore of the French Riviera, about halfway between Marseilles and the Italian border, stands a proud, rose-colored hotel.”
TENDER IS THE NIGHT, F. SCOTT FITZGERALD
“The play – for Which Briony had designed the posters, programs and tickets, constructed the sales booth out of a folding screen tipped on its side, and lined the collection box in red crêpe paper – was written by her in a two-day tempest of composition, causing her to miss a breakfast and a lunch.”
ATONEMENT, IAN McEWAN
“A sharp clip-crop of iron-shod hoofs deadened and died away, and clouds of yellow dust drifted from under the cottonwoods out over the sage.”
RIDERS OF THE PURPLE SAGE, ZANE GREY
”Responsible young woman, twenty-eight years old, fond of children, with knowledge of India, will act as chaperone on Tilbury-to-Bombay run in return for half-fare.”
EAST OF THE SUN, JULIA GREGSON
(PUTNEY, 1500) “Felled, dazed, silent, he has fallen; knocked full length on the cobbles of the yard. His head turns sideways; his eyes are turned toward the gate, as if someone might arrive to help him out. One blow, properly placed, could kill him now. ”
WOLF HALL, HILARY MANTEL
“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.”
PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, JANE AUSTEN
“All children, except one, grow up.”
PETER PAN, J.M. BARRIE
“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
“I have never been what you’d call a crying man. “
11.22.63, STEVEN KING
Images: Madonna in Womens Wear Daily (2005)
