Great First Lines in Literature

My friend Theresa reminded me that there are a ton of great first lines of novels out there. I've constantly tried to make sure that my opening lines are eye-catching and memorable. Most recently, I've started trying to find a way to make my first lines tell the reader everything they need to know about the book. Those that encapsulate the very essence of the books they precede, I believe, contain the greatest amount of power. To have completely summarized the emotional and possible physical action of your book in a first line or paragraph is an incredibly hard thing to do, but oh so satisfying when you've nailed it. Here are some of my favorite first lines and why. This will be part book review/part spoiler, so if you plan on reading any of these books and don't want the end ruined, don't read much farther.

"The man in black fled across the desert and the gunslinger followed."

• from "The Dark Tower Series: Book One - The Gunslinger" by Stephen King

I should preface this one by saying that I normally can't stand King's horror/terror/suspense work. Though I've read most of them at least once, it's his more traditional stories I find the most interesting. Even this series, about a gunslinger in a post-apocalyptic kind of magical world, is more engaging than his suspense. I've read all 7 books in the series at least 8 times. I'll probably pick them up again near the end of the year. But this first line says EVERYTHING about the series. For 7 books, Roland Deschain chases a wizard across his world in hope of avenging the deaths of his parents. That's the real simple summary. Anything more specific would need several blog posts and really, you should just pick up the series.

"It was a pleasure to burn."

• from "Farenheit 451" by Ray Bradbury

Man! What a great first line. Probably one of my favorites on this little list. Fire or heat are often viewed as cleansers of a sort; burning and boiling eliminate germs and spores or completely decimate objects. But in this classic by Ray Bradbury, it's used by the government to eliminate ideas and words. Special firemen are dispatched to the homes of individuals suspected to have libraries. Once they've confirmed, they burn not only the books, but often the houses as well. One of the firemen begins reading some of the material up for burning and finds that he doesn't understand why the books are being destroyed as he reads more and more. That a colony of people, each sanctioned to memorize one book out of the millions available, springs up from this government vs. the people dystopian-esque society is no surprise.

Fire, fire everywhere, and not a book to read...

"As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect."

• from "The Metamorphosis" by Franz Kafka

Easily one of the most classic pieces of literature, one so strange that it's bizarre so many people are required to read it at so early an age. A man wakes up no longer a man, but as a beetle, in his parents' house. His struggle to adapt to his new form along with wondering how to get along with his family in this new shape create an atmosphere of the true outsider, despite Gregor being a member of the family. Where the title "Choke" (see below) failed as both a metaphor and hint at the physical and emotional natures of its text, "The Metamorphosis" excels. Gregor learns to utilize his new body in ways he couldn't have before, but the fascinating parts are the family members slowly losing their interest in him as a member of the family. They begin to treat him like the bug he has become. Immediately, this first line sets up the entire premise of the book. Kafka gives it all to us right up front without reason or warning; it is simply the situation.

"On those cloudy days, Robert Neville was never sure when the sunset came, and sometimes they were in the street before he could get back."

• from "I Am Legend" by Richard Matheson

Before you roll your eyes and judge this book based on the three movies it's been adapted into, let me tell you that all three movies completely missed the entire point of the book. The novel finds us right with Robert Neville, one of the only men left alive and still human after an outbreak. The beauty of the novel is in the ending, which hasn't shown itself on the silver screen yet; Neville has been captured by the creatures and stares out through barred windows. The roles of monster and man have been reversed. Neville is now the "monster" to the ever-growing population of creatures (who have become the norm rather than the exception). To arrive at this ending, Matheson writes an incredibly captivating book where you care for the main character, but eventually end up understanding (if not flat out siding with) the creatures who constantly hunt him down. This first line sets up a kind of parameter for the novel to work within; daylight is important for Neville's survival against whatever "they" seem to be.

"If you’re going to read this, don’t bother."

"Choke"
by Chuck Palahniuk

This was the book by Chuck P. that finally made me say "enough." For me, his opening line was prophetic and I should've paid attention. Palahniuk gets progressively worse with every new book; characters with such bizarre traits and severely flawed moralities (typically) put themselves into weird situations. Even on a story level, the title barely touches on the interesting (if not despicable) notion of the main character pretending to choke in restaurants, getting saved by patrons, and collecting money from them later. When used as a metaphor for the emotional content of the book, the phrase 'choke' is even worse. This character works crap jobs, does crap things, all while his mother is in the hospital. And yet again, we have a sex addict. Snooze This was easily one of the least interesting, conceptually, of Palahniuk's books.

I read it. I shouldn't have bothered.

What are some of your favorite first lines in literature?