What makes a great opening line in books? Some writers argue for avoiding descriptions of weather at all costs. Others say keep it short and sweet. And a handful of experts praise the uncanny openers that add tension right from the start.
But with so many exceptions to the rules, the exact science behind the art is hard to pin down. Some of the most praised writers don’t follow these rules at all.
Photo by Jilbert Ebrahimi
Our Picks | Great Opening Lines
When it comes to great opening lines in books, there are too many to list. Plain and simple. The canon alone is packed with classics.
So narrowing them down to a top ten was no easy task. Some you’ll know all too well:
- Moby Dick, Charles Dickens: “Call me Ishmael.”
- 1984, George Orwell: “It was a bright cold day in April and the clocks were striking thirteen.”
- Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury: “It was a pleasure to burn.”
- The Bell Jar, Sylvia Plath: “It was a queer, sultry summer, the summer they electrocuted the Rosenbergs, and I didn’t know what I was doing in New York.”
- Chronicles of Narnia, Voyage of the Dawn Treader, C. S. Lewis: “There was a boy called Eustace Clarence Scrubb, and he almost deserved it.”
- Lolita, Vladimir Nobokov: “Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins.”
- One Hundred Years Of Solitude, Gabriel Garcia Marquez: “Many years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendía was to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice.”
- The Crow Road, Iain Banks: “It was the day my grandmother exploded.”
- The Go-Between, L. P. Hartley: “The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there.”
- Chromos, Felipe Alfau: “The moment one learns English, complications set in.”
Whatever your stance might be, opening lines have been an important part of writing books for a long time. They’re the writer’s chance to make a first impression and hint at the type of story ahead as well. And when they hit the spot just right, there are great opening lines from books that stay with us for one reason or another.
Struck by the metaphor, clashing images, or subtle tension, we readers are lured into the rest of the story like fish on a hook.
More Reading
If you’re looking for more great opening lines, you’ll find plenty of other books, resources and reviews to check out below:
- Inspirational Book Quotes For Kids
- Daily Writing Prompt: What Is Your Favorite Quote?
- The Most Famous Books Of All Time
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The opening line of a book that most immediately caught my attention was, “The order to abandon ship was given at 5 P. M.” This is the first line of the book “Endurance,” by Alfred Lansing, which chronicles the events of Sir Ernest Shackleton’s 1914 attempt to cross Antarctica. Things went disastrously wrong, and it took all of Shackleton’s experience and leadership to save most of the crew. It’s an incredibly good story. If you are interested, I recommend that you read these three books in the following order: (1) The Endurance by Caroline Alexander, (2) Endurance by Alfred Lansing, and (3) Shackleton’s Boat Journey by F. A. Worsley. Each book fills out the story a bit more, but if you can only read two, read numbers 2 and 3.
That is a great opening line! Punchy and straight into the drama. Thank you for the recommendations as well. You won’t be surprised to hear that my reading list is incredibly long, but I’ll look into them 🙂
For more–much, much more–on the subject, check out the website: http://www.GreatOpeningLines.com