But how to begin? I thought I'd be clever and borrow a classic first line from literature, but what I came up with was either too grandiose--"Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show" (David Copperfield)--too bleak--"I am a sick man...I am a spiteful man" (Notes From Underground)--or just too immaterial and awkwardly erotic--"Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins" (Lolita).
While I was more than slightly concerned that my very first attempt to quasi-publicly lean on literature for an answer to a real-life issue seemed to be failing miserably, I also realized the potential potency of first lines in literature: they can suggest entire worlds, establish whole characters, and even break your heart a little bit. Of course, this realization didn't make me feel any better about my current predicament. But then I asked myself whether I could remember the first lines of some of my favorite books:
The History of Love: "When they write my obituary."
Cloud Atlas: "Beyond the Indian hamlet, upon a forlorn strand, I happened on a trail of recent footprints."
Middlemarch: "Miss Brooke had that kind of beauty which seems to be thrown into relief by poor dress."
Fact: I couldn't remember any of these first lines off the top of my head and had to go to the source each time to get the first line. Turns out there are some pretty incredible books with rather non-incredible (or at least forgettable) first lines. Phew!
Anyway, even if--like me--you've accepted that great works of literature (or pedestrian blogs) do not require a great first line, it's still fun to read over some of the best openings of all time. Check out this link for 100 famous first lines in literature as determined by the American Book Review and see if they inspire any new beginnings!
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