Join this
conversation
Download the Swell app and instantly add your voice.
So a better opening to a book I have not seen so far. So what are some of the best opening lines in fiction that you've come across? I'd love to hear about them
Sudha Varadarajan
@sudha · 1:12
I'll just say whether it is The Godfather where she prayed for the soul of Michael Cornelioni, Harry Potter, where and he says this car hadn't painted him for how many years since 13 years or so, or whether it is Gone with the Wind, where he says, frankly, my dear, I don't give a d***. All my favorite books have left me smiling with the ending, and some of those lost lines have stayed with me for a very long time
phil spade
@Phil · 0:41
This is a great topic, and I really don't have anything to offer here. I've been kind of like racking my brain, but I know somebody whose opinion I really want. And I used to work with a person at Barnes and Noble named Jim Mustache. And Jim wrote a book in 2018 called 10 Books To Read Before You Die, a life changing list. I'm going to reach out to him, and I would love to for him to weigh in on this
Neerja Narayanan
@Neerja · 2:22
Great subject line. So here are my top three, although they change depending on the month and year. But currently it's from 100 Years of Solid Attitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez many years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Oreliano Buena was to remember the distant afternoon when his father took him to discover Ice and then the classic from Rebecca, the Daphne Du Maurier book. Last night I dreamt I went back to Mandalay
Swell Team
@Swell · 0:15
Thank you, everyone, for joining in and sharing your favorite picks here. Love them all. And Jim, I must say that I'm really, really intrigued by the book that you mentioned here. The Shadow of the Wind, the opening lines, as you say, are beautiful, very atmospheric. So I'm definitely going to check this book out. And I'm so glad that you shared the link to your book here. And I'm right now on your site checking it out
phil spade
@Phil · 0:40
Thank you, Jim. That made me look very, very good. Although I didn't have much of an answer, I did bring in somebody who I knew would provide a lot more value than myself. And I actually read one of of those books. And I thought, Man, that is absolutely perfect. So I want to thank you for that
And it's also great that you mentioned Harry Potter in here because the opening lines of the book are Incidentally among my favorites. And I think when Rowling actually rode the line, Mr. And Mrs. Dursley of Number Four Privet Drive were proud to say that they were perfectly normal. Thank you very much. I think she's gave us some of the most unforgettable opening lines in fiction. So thank you for bringing that up
Bowie Rowan
@bowie · 1:27
My favorite first line from a novel, maybe ever, is from Kate Atkinson's novel behind the Scenes at the Museum, and the first line is, I Exist. It's the best first line ever, and I'm going to read the rest of the first paragraph, so you just get a bit more of a hint of how beautiful her writing is. And maybe you will read the novel if you haven't read it at this point in your life. Highly highly recommend it. I exist
Thank you for that, Rachel. So people are by nature, complex creatures and dark stories draw attention to aspects that we don't prefer to think about. But I truly feel if well written darkness in a story or a book can be beautiful and illuminating. So I am checking out your suggestion for sure. Thank you so much. And while we are discussing dark opening lines, I'd like to mention Fyodor. Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment. It opens with the line, I am a sick man
Sreeja V
@Wordsmith · 2:25
Hi nameless Journal. Your swell got me to revisit my collection of books, so thank you for that. It's been a while since I have forsaken the pleasure of reading hardbound copies. The first one that I'd like to read out is is from Atlas Truck by NRand. This book, I think it's timeless. Every time I come back to it, I'm surprised by its relevance to the events that are playing out in the times we live in. Who is John Gold?
Danny Moynahan
@Danny · 0:57
I would like to add the first line from James Joyce's, Ulysses, not because I have read it. I have not read it. I will read it. I have promised myself over, over and over again that I will read it. But because today is June 16, it is Bloom's Day. It is the day that the entire story of Ulysses takes place, where Leopold Bloom makes an Odyssey, as it were around the city of Dublin. So here it is. Happy, Bloomsday
Danny Moynahan
@Danny · 0:45
I want to invite my good friend Tim Call to add his favorite first line to this. Wellcast, because, well, one, he loves to read. Two, two. He recommended Confederacy of Dunces, which I'm reading now. And three, he's the only person that I know that started his own lending library. He was about ten years old, and he shared his love of reading with the whole neighborhood by inviting us to borrow from his lending library. So come on, Tim
Syed Ahemed
@azz · 1:39
Never the history of storytelling has there been an opening line for a question and 1000 page of captivating read for an answer. Some other intriguing first, middle and closing lines. I wish to read for you. This is from Mirzar Alib by Gulzar worthy not of running in the veins. The blood that does not trickle down the ice. Arundotiroi an ordinary person's guide to Empire. And this is the closing line. You can't be neutral on a moving train. Cheers
Well, I do have a younger perspective, and I spoke with some of my friends as well, and we share the same opinion that first lines aren't the only thing that helps us decide whether we want to continue reading the book or not, because a lot of us we decide whether we want to read a book or not based on reviews and recommendations, mostly on our own needs to understand the subject or curiosity to know the stories
Shahnaz Ahmed
@bookishpodcast · 2:05
Also, however, what I'm talking about is there are some great books out there. Like if you ask me a little life, I've been singing praises about this book for the past. I don't know. Since I read it, what was the first line in that book? I have no idea what was the last line in that book. I don't know. I just know the story was freaking amazing
Join this
conversation
Download the Swell app and instantly add your voice.