The Top 10 Best First Lines In A Novel (And They’re Not What You’d Expect)
We’ve heard all of the greats, right? The first lines that have permanently etched themselves into the canon, the ones we can recite without, in some cases, having actually read the full novel. Lines like “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” Or how about “It was a bright day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.” Or even the time-honored and succinct, “It was a pleasure to burn.”
Don’t get me wrong, these lines are iconic for a reason — because in a singular sentence, there is contained the entire ethos of the novel itself. Everything about that world contained in just a few short utterances. This is the power, the beauty, and the challenge of a first line.
I’m not here to argue canon with anyone; whether you love them or not, some novels are firmly rooted in our literary history as hallmarks of their time. Whether they stood the test of the ages is subjective, but each in their way left a mark that we collectively acknowledge holds significance and sway on literary generations hence. However, I would like to submit that the list of best first lines should — and ought to — expand beyond the limits of what we commonly accept as canonized.
So here I submit to you my top ten all-time first lines in literature (in no particular order) — with little-to-no explanation, because if I’ve learned nothing else from my own writing, it’s that a good line can stand on its own two feet, readily, and without my help.
- A Prayer for Owen Meaney, by John Irving
I am doomed to remember a boy with a wrecked voice — not because of his voice, or because he was the smallest person I ever knew, or even because he was the instrument of my mother’s death, but because he is the reason I believe in God; I am a Christian because of Owen Meaney.
My note: I’m less invested in the “God” part but absolutely floored by the image of a “wrecked voice.”
2. Oryx and Crake, by Margaret Atwood
Snowman wakes before dawn.
My note: I defy anyone who says Atwood is anything less than miraculous.
3. The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle, by Avi (YA)
Just before dusk in the late afternoon of June 16, 1832, I found myself walking along the crowded docks of Liverpool, England, following a man by the name of Grummage.
My note: Do you remember the book that first sparked your insatiable need for stories? Yeah, me too.
4. Kindred, by Octavia Butler
I lost an arm on my last trip home. My left arm.
My note: Nothing could have prepared me for this book. I mean, nothing.
5. The Beekeeper’s Apprentice, by Laurie R. King
Dear Reader, As both I and the century approach the beginnings of our ninth decades, I have been forced to admit that age is not always a desirable state.
My note: The protagonist could not be any more epitomized than in this line — wickedly smart, reflective, and stubborn. I love her.
6. The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, by Stuart Turton
I forget everything between footsteps.
My note: This line says, “buckle up.”
7. The Library of the Unwritten (Hell’s Library Trilogy), by A.J Hackwith
Stories want to change, and it is a librarian’s job to preserve them; that’s the natural order of things.
My note: A book about books will always and forever belong in my canon.
8. The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, by V.E. Schwab
A girl is running for her life.
My note: I think people came down on one of two sides about this book. I came down on the “Love It” side and there’s nothing you can do to convince me otherwise.
9. Company of Liars, by Karen Maitland
“So that’s settled, then; we bury her alive in the iron bridle. That’ll keep her tongue still.”
My note: The Black Plague, a Canterbury-esque traveling group, a child who needs saving. There is little else, I hope, about which you need convincing.
10. Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter, by Tom Franklin
The Rutherford girl had been missing for eight days when Larry Ott returned home and found a monster waiting in his house.
My note: Please read this one. Just…please.
