27 July 2015

BEST FIRST LINES OF FICTION

BEST FIRST LINES OF FICTION © Farouk Asvat  

THE JOYS OF LITERATURE 
     towards an international library  

     a beginner's guide to the best first lines of fiction -
     to understand the cultures of the world in the context of our time. 


[] BEST FIRST LINES OF FICTION © Farouk Asvat  

Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way. 
     ● Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy

Many years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendía was to remember
that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice. 
     ● One Hundred Years Of Solitude - Gabriel García Márquez

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 - Jane Austen

Now is the winter of our discontent 
Made glorious summer by this sun of York; 
     ● Richard III - William Shakespeare (Edward de Vere)

"You see, my dear Sophie, I am keeping my word." 
     ● Les Liaisons Dangereuses - Choderlos De Laclos

Call me Ishmael. 
     ● Moby Dick - Herman Melville

It was the best of times, 
it was the worst of times, 
     ● A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens

One morning, when Gregor Samsa woke from troubled dreams, he found himself transformed in his bed into a horrible vermin. He lay on his armour-like back, and if he lifted his head a little he could see his brown belly, slightly domed and divided by arches into stiff sections. The bedding was hardly able to cover it and seemed ready to slide off any moment. His many legs, pitifully thin compared with the size of the rest of him, waved about helplessly as he looked. 
     ● Metamorphosis - Franz Kafka

I am nothing but a corpse now, a body at the bottom of a well.  Though I drew my last breath long ago and my heart has stopped beating, no one, apart from that vile murderer, knows what's happened to me. 
     ● My Name Is Red - Orhan Pamuk


[] And One of Non-Fiction: 

Under the volcanoes, beside the snow-capped mountains, among the huge lakes,
the fragrant, the silent, the tangled Chilean forest …  
     ● Memoirs - Pablo Neruda


© farouk asvat

composed: 2010 [johannesburg, south africa under new apartheid].

[] Acknowledgements:
Best First Lines of Fiction was previously published in:
     Weapons of Words (kindle, 2016);
     Weapons of Words (amazon paperback, p117, 2016).
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[§] Books by Farouk Asvat:

● Sadness In The House Of Love (novel)
● The Gathering Of The Storm (novel)
● I Dream In Long Sentences (poetry)
● The Wind Still Sings Sad Songs (poetry)
● A Celebration Of Flames (poetry)
● The Time Of Our Lives (poetry)
● This Masquerade (short stories)
● Bra Frooks … (poetry)*
● The Paanies Are Coming (short stories)*
● In The House Of Love (novel)*
● Weapons Of Words (comparative literature & literary criticism)

¨ all my books are now available on amazon: in paperback & kindle
___________________________________________________________________________  
[] please check out my blogs @:


[] please join me on:

___________________________________________________________________________  
© farouk asvat.  All rights reserved.
Farouk Asvat asserts his moral right to be identified as the author of this work.
No part of this publication may be reproduced by any means whatsoever, or transmitted in any form or any means whatsoever, mechanical or electronic, including recording, printing, photocopying, or via any computerised means or media, including the internet.  This publication shall also not be stored in a retrieval system.  And the writing shall not be sold, lent, hired, resold or circulated in any form or binding or cover other than that in which it is published,
without the prior permission of the author in writing.
Permission to publish or reproduce the writings in any format can be obtained from the author.
Reproduction of this work without permission, except for scholarly & nonprofit purposes,
is liable to a payment of 10, 000 ren men bi or US$ 1,500.

FEEL FREE TO USE THIS LIST FOR TEACHING PURPOSES.

[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]
the NOVEL Sadness In The House Of Love by Farouk Asvat
is now available on amazon: in paperback @ $15 & kindle @ only $5
[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]

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#faroukasvat #weapons #of #words #comparative #literature #literary #criticism
#weapons #of #words #viewpoint
#best #first #lines #of #fiction #firstlines


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