Good opening lines

Good opening lines are an art unto themselves. A few have become more famous than the story they introduce (and a perceptive article in The Guardian takes issue with the opening assertions of Anna Karenina, Moby-Dick, and Pride and Prejudice). Here are a few I like, both for the “hook” quality and for the way they encapsulate the story to follow:

“My name is Asher Lev, the Asher Lev whom you have read in newspapers and magazines, about whom you talk so much at your dinner affairs and cocktail parties, the notorious and legendary Lev of the Brooklyn Crucifixion.” – My Name is Asher Lev, Chaim Potok

“I had the story, bit by bit, from various people, and, as generally happens in such cases, each time it was a different story.” – Ethan Frome, Edith Wharton

“The curious and sometimes creepy effect which Mr. Pond produced upon me, despite his commonplace courtesy and damper decorum, was possibly connected with some memories of childhood; and the vague verbal association of his name.” – The Paradoxes of Mr. Pond, G.K. Chesterton

“My name was Salmon, like the fish; first name, Susie.” – The Lovely Bones, Alice Sebold

“Perhaps I could have saved him, with only a word, two words, out of my mouth. Perhaps I could have saved us all. But I never spoke them.” – Too Late the Phalarope, Alan Paton

Any favorites you want to add?

28. August 2006 by Mindy
Categories: Your turn | 7 comments

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