{"id":2152,"date":"2010-07-16T14:58:04","date_gmt":"2010-07-16T21:58:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bspcn.com\/?p=2152"},"modified":"2010-07-16T14:58:04","modified_gmt":"2010-07-16T21:58:04","slug":"the-25-best-opening-lines-in-western-literature","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/2010\/07\/16\/the-25-best-opening-lines-in-western-literature\/","title":{"rendered":"The 25 Best Opening Lines in Western Literature"},"content":{"rendered":"

Collected by shmoop<\/a><\/p>\n

Introducing a story to a reader is a lot like dropping a pickup line on someone: do it the wrong way and they\u2019ll wind up under the covers with a different\u2026 book.<\/p>\n

Here to show you how it\u2019s done are the top twenty-five cold openings in Western literature. For some additional insight, we\u2019ve included speculations as to the thought process that might have influenced each author\u2019s writing. Enjoy!<\/p>\n

\"One<\/a>1. <\/strong>Ice, Ice Ba\u2014Whaaat?<\/strong><\/h5>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Opener: <\/strong>\u201cMany years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buend\u00eda was to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice.\u201d<\/p>\n

Book: <\/strong>One Hundred Years of Solitude<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Author: <\/strong>Gabriel Garc\u00eda M\u00e1rquez<\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Creative Thought Process: <\/strong>Before getting into that whole \u201cice\u201d thing, unceremoniously mention that Buend\u00eda eventually has to stare down a firing squad. That\u2019ll buy at least a hundred pages of curiosity.<\/p>\n

\"Fahrenheit<\/a>2. <\/strong>A Real Page-Burner<\/strong><\/h5>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Opener: <\/strong>\u201cIt was a pleasure to burn.\u201d <\/strong><\/p>\n

Book: <\/strong>Fahrenheit 451<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Author: <\/strong>Ray Bradbury<\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Creative Thought Process: <\/strong>Juxtapose the anarchic verb \u201cto burn\u201d with an alluring noun like \u201cpleasure.\u201d Hope a major cigarette company doesn\u2019t steal the phrase some forty years down the road.<\/p>\n

\"1984\"<\/a>3. <\/strong>April Cowers<\/strong><\/h5>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Opener: <\/strong>\u201cIt was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.\u201d<\/p>\n

Book: <\/strong>1984<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Author: <\/strong>George Orwell<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Creative Thought Process: <\/strong>To properly set the mood for a futuristic dystopia, combine the elements of springtime, coldness, an unlucky number, and bells tolling. Then, watch people fight over the feasibility of a clock that can strike thirteen.<\/p>\n

\"Beloved\"<\/a>4. Post-Partum Possession<\/strong><\/h5>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Opener: <\/strong>\u201c124 was spiteful. Full of a baby\u2019s venom.\u201d <\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Book: <\/strong>Beloved<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Author: <\/strong>Toni Morrison<\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Creative Thought Process:<\/strong> Make the subject of the sentence an obscure sequence of numbers to get the reader\u2019s attention. In case that doesn\u2019t work, follow up with a terrifying, baby-related metaphor.<\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>5. <\/strong>F. M. L. <\/strong><\/h5>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Opener: <\/strong>\u201cAs Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a monstrous vermin.\u201d<\/p>\n

Book: <\/strong>Metamorphosis<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Author: <\/strong>Franz Kafka<\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Creative Thought Process: <\/strong>Ease the reader into Gregor Samsa\u2019s misfortunes by describing his nightsweats about\u2026 Meh, skip to the giant cockroach.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>6. <\/strong>Ve Believe In Nah-sing, Lebowski!<\/strong><\/h5>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Opener: <\/strong>\u201cMama died today. Or yesterday maybe, I don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n

Book: <\/strong>The Stranger<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Author: <\/strong>Albert Camus<\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Creative Thought Process: <\/strong>In order to sell the whole involuntary-manslaughter thing, start by making the guy seem detached. Okay, more detached. Just a little more. PERFECT!<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>7. <\/strong>Hole-y Middle-earth, Batman!<\/strong><\/h5>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Opener: <\/strong>\u201cIn a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort.\u201d <\/strong><\/p>\n

Book: <\/strong>The Hobbit<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Author: <\/strong>J.R.R. Tolkien<\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Creative Thought Process: <\/strong>In the interest of thoroughness, approach the most epic alternate universe in all of literature by starting with a hole in the ground. <\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Neuromancer\"<\/a>8. <\/strong>Gray-Per-View<\/strong><\/h5>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Opener: <\/strong>\u201cThe sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Book: <\/strong>Neuromancer<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Author: <\/strong>William Gibson<\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Creative Thought Process:<\/strong> Methinks I shall write the greatest opening line ever. Donesies.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>9. <\/strong>Out There<\/strong><\/h5>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Opener: <\/strong>\u201cThey\u2019re out there. Black boys in white suits up before me to commit sex acts in the hall and get it mopped up before I can catch them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Book: <\/strong>One Flew Over the Cuckoo\u2019s Nest<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Author: <\/strong>Ken Kesey<\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Creative Thought Process: <\/strong>First, open with something that conveys paranoia. Mentioning the ambiguous ol\u2019 \u201cthey\u201d is a good start, but driving it home will require something more specific. Hmm\u2026<\/p>\n

\"I<\/a>10. <\/strong>Fragile: Do Not Stack<\/strong><\/h5>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Opener: <\/strong>\u201cWhen I was three and Bailey four, we had arrived in the musty little town, wearing tags on our wrists which instructed \u2013 \u2018To Whom It May Concern\u2019 \u2013 that we were Marguerite and Bailey Johnson Jr., from Long Beach, California, en route to Stamps, Arkansas, c\/o Mrs. Annie Henderson.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Book: <\/strong>I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Author: <\/strong>Maya Angelou<\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Creative Thought Process: <\/strong>Casually inform the reader that these children might not be in the best hands. Start by Fed-Ex-ing them 1,600 miles.<\/p>\n

\"Moby<\/a>11. <\/strong>Hi, My Name Is (WHAT?!)<\/strong><\/h5>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Opener: <\/strong>\u201cCall me Ishmael.\u201d<\/p>\n

Book: <\/strong>Moby-Dick<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Author: <\/strong>Herman Melville<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Creative Thought Process: <\/strong>Well, you should probably include at least one short sentence.<\/p>\n

\"Anna<\/a>12. <\/strong>\u2026Goes To-gether Like a Horse and Car-riage!<\/strong><\/h5>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Opener: <\/strong>\u201cAll happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.\u201d <\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Book: <\/strong>Anna Karenina<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Author: <\/strong>Leo Tolstoy<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Creative Thought Process: <\/strong>Give the readers an impossibly oversimplified statement about mankind, then sit back and watch them realize that it\u2019s actually true.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>13. <\/strong>The Reckonin\u2019<\/strong><\/h5>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Opener: <\/strong>\u201cYou don\u2019t know about me without you have read a book by the name of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer<\/a><\/em>, but that ain\u2019t no matter. That book was made by Mr. Mark Twain, and he told the truth, mainly.\u201d <\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Book: <\/strong>A<\/em><\/a>dventures of Huckleberry Finn<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Author: <\/strong>Mark Twain<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Creative Thought Process: <\/strong>Write a 43-chapter novel entirely in rural slang. From the perspective of a 13-year-old boy. Who\u2019s uneducated. While you\u2019re at it, make it the greatest novel in American history.<\/p>\n

\"Pride<\/a>14. <\/strong>Universal Spoof<\/strong><\/h5>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Opener: <\/strong>\u201cIt is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.\u201d <\/strong><\/p>\n

Book: <\/strong>Pride and Prejudice<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Author: <\/strong>Jane Austen<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Creative Thought Process: <\/strong>Write sarcastically during an era so prudish that future generations will actually mistake you as being serious.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>15<\/strong>. <\/strong>Whatever, Nevermind<\/strong><\/h5>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Opener: <\/strong>\u201cIf you really want to hear about it, the first thing you\u2019ll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don\u2019t feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Book: <\/strong>The Catcher in the Rye<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Author: <\/strong>J.D. Salinger<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Creative Thought Process: <\/strong>Offhandedly trash-talk the classics, gloss over any specifics, and leave everyone wanting more. Make sure Holden, the narrator, is one hundred percent unable to repeat this technique on women.<\/p>\n

\"Lolita\"<\/a>16. <\/strong>Great Balls of Fire<\/strong><\/h5>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Opener: <\/strong>\u201cLolita, light of my life, fire of my loins. My sin, my soul.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Book: <\/strong>Lolita<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Author: <\/strong>Vladimir Nabokov<\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Creative Thought Process: <\/strong>Subtly allude to the fact that the love interest is only thirteen by writing her name in the diminutive, \u201c-ita\u201d form. Throwing the word \u201csin\u201d in there probably isn\u2019t a bad idea either.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>17. <\/strong>Bombs Over Bag-Lady<\/strong><\/h5>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Opener: <\/strong>\u201cIt was the day my grandmother exploded.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Book: <\/strong>The Crow Road<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Author: <\/strong>Iain Banks<\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Creative Thought Process:<\/strong> Open with a bang. Scratch that \u2013 open with a violent human combustion. See where it takes you\u2026<\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Notes<\/a>18. <\/strong>Old Man Liver<\/strong><\/h5>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Opener: <\/strong>\u201cI am a sick man\u2026 I am a spiteful man. I am an unattractive man. I think my liver is diseased.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Book: <\/strong>Notes from the Underground<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Author: <\/strong>Fyodor Dostoevsky<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Creative Thought Process: <\/strong>Start with some creepy character building. Sick? Check. Spiteful? Check. Unattractive? Check. TMI? Double check.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>19. <\/strong>Prose In Different Area Codes<\/strong><\/h5>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Opener: <\/strong>\u201cIt 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, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way\u2014in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.\u201d<\/p>\n

Book: <\/strong>A Tale of Two Cities<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Author: <\/strong>Charles Dickens<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Creative Thought Process: <\/strong>It was earth, it was sky, it was sun, it was moon, it was salt, it was pepper\u2026 Um\u2026<\/p>\n

\"Running<\/a>20. <\/strong>That Peaceful, Queasy Feeling<\/strong><\/h5>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Opener:<\/strong> \u201cMy mother is standing in front of the bathroom mirror smelling polished and ready; like Jean Nat\u00e9, Dippity Do and the waxy sweetness of lipstick. Her white, handgun-shaped blow-dryer is lying on top of the wicker clothes hamper, ticking as it cools. She stands back and smoothes her hands down the front of her swirling, psychedelic Pucci dress, biting the inside of her cheek. \u2019Damn it,\u2019 she says, \u2019something isn\u2019t right.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Book: <\/strong>Running with Scissors<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Author: <\/strong>Augusten Burroughs<\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Creative Thought Process: <\/strong>Throw the reader into the body of an innocent young kid. Drop some hints that mom may be a lot of work. Buckle up; this ain\u2019t The Brady Bunch.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>21. <\/strong>Nowhere Man<\/strong><\/h5>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Opener: <\/strong>\u201cFar out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the Western Spiral arm of the Galaxy lies a small unregarded yellow sun. Orbiting this at a distance of roughly ninety-eight million miles is an utterly insignificant little blue-green planet whose ape-descended life forms are so amazingly primitive that they still think digital watches are a pretty neat idea.\u201d<\/p>\n

Book: <\/strong>The Hitchhiker\u2019s Guide to the Galaxy<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Author: <\/strong>Douglas Adams<\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Creative Thought Process: <\/strong>Put the readers in their place. You know, light-eons away from anything of significance.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>22. <\/strong>A Nicens Little Title<\/strong><\/h5>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Opener: <\/strong>\u201cOnce upon a time and a very good time it was there was a moocow coming down along the road and this moocow that was coming down along the road met a nicens little boy named baby tuckoo.\u201d<\/p>\n

Book: <\/strong>A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Author: <\/strong>James Joyce<\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Creative Thought Process: <\/strong>What haven\u2019t you tried yet ah yes baby talk that will be new.<\/p>\n

\"Fear<\/a>23. <\/strong>Road Trippin\u2019<\/strong><\/h5>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Opener: <\/strong>\u201cWe were somewhere around Barstow on the edge of the desert when the drugs began to take hold.\u201d<\/p>\n

Book: <\/strong>Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Author: <\/strong>Hunter S. Thompson<\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Creative Thought Process: <\/strong>Dropkick the readers into chaos. Right after dropping some\u2026 ahem.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>24. <\/strong>Shark Bait Hoo-Ha-Ha!<\/strong><\/h5>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Opener: <\/strong>\u201cHe was an old man who fished alone in a skiff in the Gulf Stream and he had gone eighty-four days now without taking a fish.\u201d <\/strong><\/p>\n

Book: <\/strong>The Old Man and the Sea<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Author: <\/strong>Ernest Hemingway<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Creative Thought Process: <\/strong>Write about an old, grizzled man\u2019s man who takes on an entire ocean. To distract everyone from the fact that mother used to dress you as a girl.<\/p>\n

\"Trainspotting\"<\/a>25. <\/strong>Scottish Rogue<\/strong><\/h5>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Opener: <\/strong>\u201cThe sweat wis lashing oafay Sick Boy; he wis trembling.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Book: <\/strong>Trainspotting<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Author: <\/strong>Irvine Welsh<\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Creative Thought Process: <\/strong>If readin aboot heroin junkies disnae make ya sweat, readin throo mah brogue will.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Collected by shmoop Introducing a story to a reader is a lot like dropping a pickup line on someone: do it the wrong way and they\u2019ll wind up under the covers with a different\u2026 book. Here to show you how it\u2019s done are the top twenty-five cold openings in Western literature. For some additional insight, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2152"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2152"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2152\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2153,"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2152\/revisions\/2153"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2152"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2152"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2152"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}