As much as I like Camus's The Stranger, and am not familiar with Marquez, I still agree with coldtea. In a single opening line (when you know nothing of the res

As much as I like Camus's The Stranger, and am not familiar with Marquez, I still agree with coldtea. In a single opening line (when you know nothing of the rest of the book), Marquez places a beginning (seeing ice) an ending (the firing squad), and makes you want to read more to see what happens in between.