10 of the best opening paragraphs i ever read
for the pages that cracked something open and called it chapter one
i’ve been really busy catching up with college work, so here is a compilation of opening paragraphs i read over the last 2/3 years that i truly loved.
from pinterest
“i was born in a time when most young people had lost faith in god, for the same reason their elders had had it — without knowing why. and so, because the human spirit naturally tends to make judgments based on feelings rather than on reason, they surrendered to the first voice that told them, with some semblance of logic, that the universe is an aimless mechanism, and that the only truth is that there is no truth.”
-the book of disquiet by fernando pessoa
“in the beginning, sometimes i left messages in the street. somebody is living in the museum, i wrote once, on the pavement in huge letters. nobody came, of course. eventually i stopped leaving messages.”
-wittgenstein's mistress by david markson
“the lake lay silent, its surface a mirror reflecting the overcast sky. gimpei walked along the shore, each step stirring memories he wished to forget. the water, unchanged by time, seemed to mock his aging form and the secrets he carried.”
-the lake by yasunari kawabata
“mabel had known there would be silence. it was the reason she had come to this place. yet the stillness of the cabin, the absence of voices, was more profound than she had anticipated. it pressed against her, a tangible weight, as she stared out at the endless expanse of snow.”
- the snow child by eowyn ivey
“the frost had crept into their bones, a silent invader that numbed not just fingers and toes, but thoughts and dreams. marja pulled her children closer, their breaths forming fleeting clouds in the icy air, as they trudged forward into the white oblivion.”
-white hunger by aki ollikainen
“the scent of chlorine clung to my skin, a reminder of the hours spent watching him dive. each movement, each splash, etched into my memory, became an obsession i couldn't escape.”
-the diving pool by yoko ogawa
“i remember my seventh birthday party. the cake was chocolate, the balloons blue, and the magician pulled coins from behind our ears. but what i remember most is the girl at the end of the lane, and the ocean she claimed was in her backyard.”
-the ocean at the end of the lane by neil gaiman
“he watched the waves crash against the rocks, each one erasing footprints and secrets alike. the lighthouse stood as a sentinel, bearing witness to choices made and the lives altered by them.”
-the light between oceans by m.l. stedman
“the morning sun cast a golden hue over the thatched roofs, as lila stepped out, balancing a pot on her hip. the village stirred awake, each sound a testament to the resilience woven into its fabric.”
-the village by the sea by anita desai
“each step creaked underfoot, the forest's silence amplifying every sound. the staircase, overgrown and forgotten, beckoned with secrets buried deep within the woods.”
-the staircase in the woods by unknown