Your opening was wonderful and I was drawn right into the story. Look forward to more!
As for opening lines, there are so many. But here are two favorites:
Italian Shoes by Henning Mankell.
The opening line: “I always feel more lonely when it’s cold.”
Then from my favorite book, Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner: “Floating upward through a confusion of dreams and memory, curving like a trout through the rings of previous risings, I surface. My eyes open. I am awake.”
J just now, as I was about to take a bag of books to Goodwill, I pulled out Middlemarch, which was sitting on top of the pile. So, how about THIS one: "Miss Brooke had that kind of beauty which seems to be thrown into relief by poor dress."
"I thought nothing of it at first. The ocean looked a little closer to our hotel than usual. That was all. A white foamy wave had climbed all the way up to the rim of sand where the beach fell abruptly down to the sea. You never saw water on that stretch of sand." - from "Wave," by Sonali Deraniyagala. (a woman who survived the 2004 tsunami) A very powerful book.
Really enjoyed this week’s newsletter. Their Eyes Were Watching God is an all time favorite….I’ve read it many times. I’m going to go back and reread the beginning.
When the train stopped someone was calling ‘Oxgodby, Oxgodby’.
These words as good as open A Month in the Country by J L Carr. Checking, there are a few more but what I remember is good enough for me.
It is also my favourite film, of which I am lucky enough to have a VHS and a DVD.
It is about a shell shocked veteran of The Great War who goes to a rural parish church to recover a lime washed medieval wall painting and restore it to view and the people he encounters. Simply beautiful in every respect.
I am a city urban person through and through but this book encapsulates life for me and I love the lead characters.
Wow - the scene setting, the stakes, the power of your opening! Can't wait for your book... okay, I'll wait as long as it takes because no author needs any pressure other than their own.
My favorite opening line - and the author's favorite among his many books - is "The first time I saw her she made me remember and she made me forget." -- Matt Coyle, Yesterday's Echo
Betsy, your opening paragraphs knock me out. I can't wait to read this book! Clearly, your study of openings has paid off. I do love a good opening to a book, and probably the one that drew me in the fastest was from The Color Purple: “You better not ever tell nobody but God. It'd kill your mammy” . I was also immediately drawn in by Dorothy Allison's The Bastard Out of Carolina, and Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver.
Here are some more candidates for great openings from Kate O'Neill: But who can say that the opening salvo of the Book of Genesis isn't the slam-bam-thank-you-ma'am of all first lines: "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." There you have it, dear reader, protagonist and premise, wrapped up in 10 tidy little words. And if you want to keep religion out of it, you can't deny, however, that "Call me Ishmael," should probably walk home with the prize.
I don't want to see "It was the best of times. It was the worst of times." left off any list you make. And how many novels with the best first lines also end with one of literature's most memorable grand slams: "It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done, it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known."
And this comments about John O'Hara:
Here's O'Hara' s opening sentence: “Our story opens in the mind of Luther L. (L for LeRoy) Fliegler, who is lying in his bed, not thinking of anything, but just aware of sounds, conscious of his own breathing, and sensitive to his own heartbeats.”
From the article I read that led me to this revelation, I learned, according to that author, that this was the first novel that opened with a scene of lovemaking on Christmas morning. (Hard to believe.) I guess Luther L. Fliegler wasn't just being sensitive to his own heartbeats. I read a lot of O'Hara one summer, until I realized that the characters' drinking and sarcasm were getting me seriously down, and I dropped him like a cold fish. But according---again to the author who led me to this opening line---O'Hara was the first author who depicted women as sexual beings. Again, dubious, wouldn't you say? But dubious or not, this scene, and a subsequent Christmas Day hook-up between another couple, led to serious critics of the day dumping on him for portraying women as---basically---slatterns. Yeah, you know, like all women who make love on Christmas morning. Save our discussion of Butterfield 8 for another day!
Harald Poth said it best for me in his comment. I'm also interested in the thought and intention that goes into opening lines. Thanks for the peak inside the process. Next, I'm going to look again at the first paragraphs of my three most recent reads.
How I loved reading the opening to your novel again, Betsy. I could hear your voice reading it.
I'm intrigued, too, by first lines, first paragraphs, first pages of books. Several favorites: "A Prayer for Owen Meany," by John Irving; "Jazz," by Toni Morrison; and "White Oleander," by Janet Fitch. The graphs too long to post here, except maybe Owen Meany:
“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.”
PS Thanks for the shout out for "Prompt Church." It's a fun one!
Betsy, your opening paragraph definitely sets a mood and makes me want to keep reading more. A great beginning.
Your opening was wonderful and I was drawn right into the story. Look forward to more!
As for opening lines, there are so many. But here are two favorites:
Italian Shoes by Henning Mankell.
The opening line: “I always feel more lonely when it’s cold.”
Then from my favorite book, Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner: “Floating upward through a confusion of dreams and memory, curving like a trout through the rings of previous risings, I surface. My eyes open. I am awake.”
J just now, as I was about to take a bag of books to Goodwill, I pulled out Middlemarch, which was sitting on top of the pile. So, how about THIS one: "Miss Brooke had that kind of beauty which seems to be thrown into relief by poor dress."
Middlemarch keeps coming up. We will have to do something about that! Meanwhile, yes, this is a terrific opening line.
Betsy, did you get my other "first line" nominations? I sent them a couple of days ago.
Yes! I can add them here so others can see them. A few were in the article itself or the lists that I linked to. I meant to let you know.
It does keep coming up, but what a commitment! And in my copy, the type is small.
Wow love that opening to The Replacements! Will stay tuned! :)
"I thought nothing of it at first. The ocean looked a little closer to our hotel than usual. That was all. A white foamy wave had climbed all the way up to the rim of sand where the beach fell abruptly down to the sea. You never saw water on that stretch of sand." - from "Wave," by Sonali Deraniyagala. (a woman who survived the 2004 tsunami) A very powerful book.
This is gripping, Beth. Thank you for sharing it.
Really enjoyed this week’s newsletter. Their Eyes Were Watching God is an all time favorite….I’ve read it many times. I’m going to go back and reread the beginning.
When the train stopped someone was calling ‘Oxgodby, Oxgodby’.
These words as good as open A Month in the Country by J L Carr. Checking, there are a few more but what I remember is good enough for me.
It is also my favourite film, of which I am lucky enough to have a VHS and a DVD.
It is about a shell shocked veteran of The Great War who goes to a rural parish church to recover a lime washed medieval wall painting and restore it to view and the people he encounters. Simply beautiful in every respect.
I am a city urban person through and through but this book encapsulates life for me and I love the lead characters.
Yes, it does matter, as you have shown us. Thanks for a thoughtful piece loaded with resources.
Wonderful column. Thanks for the preview of your latest. Now we all want to read it. I think it's safe to say the beginning is successful!
Wow - the scene setting, the stakes, the power of your opening! Can't wait for your book... okay, I'll wait as long as it takes because no author needs any pressure other than their own.
My favorite opening line - and the author's favorite among his many books - is "The first time I saw her she made me remember and she made me forget." -- Matt Coyle, Yesterday's Echo
That line of Matt's is terrific!
Betsy, your opening paragraphs knock me out. I can't wait to read this book! Clearly, your study of openings has paid off. I do love a good opening to a book, and probably the one that drew me in the fastest was from The Color Purple: “You better not ever tell nobody but God. It'd kill your mammy” . I was also immediately drawn in by Dorothy Allison's The Bastard Out of Carolina, and Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver.
Here are some more candidates for great openings from Kate O'Neill: But who can say that the opening salvo of the Book of Genesis isn't the slam-bam-thank-you-ma'am of all first lines: "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." There you have it, dear reader, protagonist and premise, wrapped up in 10 tidy little words. And if you want to keep religion out of it, you can't deny, however, that "Call me Ishmael," should probably walk home with the prize.
I don't want to see "It was the best of times. It was the worst of times." left off any list you make. And how many novels with the best first lines also end with one of literature's most memorable grand slams: "It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done, it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known."
And this comments about John O'Hara:
Here's O'Hara' s opening sentence: “Our story opens in the mind of Luther L. (L for LeRoy) Fliegler, who is lying in his bed, not thinking of anything, but just aware of sounds, conscious of his own breathing, and sensitive to his own heartbeats.”
From the article I read that led me to this revelation, I learned, according to that author, that this was the first novel that opened with a scene of lovemaking on Christmas morning. (Hard to believe.) I guess Luther L. Fliegler wasn't just being sensitive to his own heartbeats. I read a lot of O'Hara one summer, until I realized that the characters' drinking and sarcasm were getting me seriously down, and I dropped him like a cold fish. But according---again to the author who led me to this opening line---O'Hara was the first author who depicted women as sexual beings. Again, dubious, wouldn't you say? But dubious or not, this scene, and a subsequent Christmas Day hook-up between another couple, led to serious critics of the day dumping on him for portraying women as---basically---slatterns. Yeah, you know, like all women who make love on Christmas morning. Save our discussion of Butterfield 8 for another day!
Harald Poth said it best for me in his comment. I'm also interested in the thought and intention that goes into opening lines. Thanks for the peak inside the process. Next, I'm going to look again at the first paragraphs of my three most recent reads.
How I loved reading the opening to your novel again, Betsy. I could hear your voice reading it.
I'm intrigued, too, by first lines, first paragraphs, first pages of books. Several favorites: "A Prayer for Owen Meany," by John Irving; "Jazz," by Toni Morrison; and "White Oleander," by Janet Fitch. The graphs too long to post here, except maybe Owen Meany:
“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.”
PS Thanks for the shout out for "Prompt Church." It's a fun one!