3 ms·
My favorite opening line in a book is from Peace by Gene Wolfe: > The elm tree planted by Eleanor Bold, the judge’s daughter, fell last night. It's very plain
by karaterobot 5y ago
My favorite opening line in a book is from Peace by Gene Wolfe:
> The elm tree planted by Eleanor Bold, the judge’s daughter, fell last night.
It's very plain. The kind of sentence your eye just passes over while looking for something more obviously relevant. But the book itself is a mystery hidden in plain sight, and this mystery is both declared and resolved in the very first line of the book. That level of subtle, elegant engineering is what's so impressive about Wolfe, and what makes this book in particular so rewarding.
- Narretz 5y agoA line that becomes great(er) after you've read the book is not what most people would think of as a great opening line. Personally I think a plain line can work as well as a more baroque one, and that's in general what Wolfe does so well. Fifth Head of Cerberus left a big impression on me for that reason.