An opening line of a book can be many things. It can invite you in. It can repel you.
The first sentence, paragraph, page and chapter can set the tone and with a few perfectly placed words, the reader is instantly immersed into the location, the mood and the atmosphere of the book.
A few of my favourite opening lines are:
“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.” Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
“When Mary Lennox was sent to Misselthwaite Manor to live with her uncle everybody said she was the most disagreeable-looking child ever seen.” The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
“If I have learned anything in this long life of mine, it is this: In love we find out who we want to be; in war we find out who we are.” The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
I love that one of them summarises the plot, another gives us a glimpse into the main character’s key personality traits and another almost foreshadows the ending of the book.
Join me on YouTube for 7 more of my favourite opening lines from books.
"Someone must have been telling lies about Joseph K. for without having done anything wrong he was arrested one fine morning." The Trial (Franz Kafka)