Thursday, May 17, 2007

Favourite first line

Inspired by this blog, my favourite first line is from Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides, which I recently finished:

I was born twice: first, as a baby girl, on a remarkably smogless Detroit day in January of 1960; and then again, as a teenage boy, in an emergency room near Petoskey, Michigan, in August of 1974.

I'm curious to read his debut novel, Virgin Suicides, to see if the writing is as tight and intelligent as I found in Middlesex. I did not see the ending coming...and I'm usually pretty good at figuring things out if given enough hints from the author along the way.

2 comments:

will anderson said...

“What’s it going to be then, eh?” – the opening line of Anthony Burgess’ A Clockwork Orange

it immediately puts me in my most comfortable position...a bar stool. you know the bartender doesn't know your drink, so something interesting is about to unfold. this maynot be my favorite, but it struck me as compelling. i enjoyed this book years ago. and i still smile when i pick it up and look through the language. its interesting, and unlike most of anything else that i read.

hope youre having a great day.

ciao.

phoenix said...

I've never read A Clockwork Orange - don't even know what it's about, actually - but it's such a classic that I know I'll be reading it sooner or later.

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