tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31402520.post4336788115557236091..comments2023-10-24T04:43:53.179-04:00Comments on KGMom Musings: Another opening. . .KGMomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05165941950953938943noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31402520.post-7765595378881958812007-12-17T13:32:00.000-05:002007-12-17T13:32:00.000-05:00Oh, Donna, you hit on almost all my faves and Trix...Oh, Donna, you hit on almost all my faves and Trixie finished it up with her Gatsby opener. My favorites that you did were Kafka's The Metamorphosis (which just might be the best opening line ever), Camus's The Stranger, Melville's Moby Dick, and Dangarembga's Nervous Conditions, which is my favorite book written by an African. <BR/><BR/>Probably my favorite opening paragraph can be found in Charles Brockden Brown's Wieland: The Transformation: "I feel little reluctance in complying with your request. You know not fully the cause of my sorrows. You are a stranger to the depth of my distresses. Hence your efforts at consolation must necessarily fail. Yet the tale that I am going to tell is not intended as a claim upon your sympathy. In the midst of my despair, I do not disdain to contribute what little I can to the benefit of mankind. I acknowledge your right to be informed of the events that have lately happened in my family. Make what use of the tale you shall think proper. If it be communicated to the world, it will inculcate the duty of avoiding deceit. It will exemplify the force of early impressions, and show, the immeasurable evils that flow from an erroneous or imperfect discipline." What a great beginning!<BR/><BR/>This would make a great post for my site too--thanks for the great idea, and sorry for my overly long comment!dguzmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01811101661607351661noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31402520.post-8669685045164995052007-12-16T10:05:00.000-05:002007-12-16T10:05:00.000-05:00http://vermeulenblog.wordpress.com/2007/10/11/book...http://vermeulenblog.wordpress.com/2007/10/11/books-the-old-fashioned-way/ <BR/><BR/>My favorite is this one:<BR/><BR/>He was an old man who fished alone in a skiff in the Gulf Stream and he had gone eighty-four days now without taking a fish. (Old Man and the Sea)Ms. V.https://www.blogger.com/profile/08714984422389618597noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31402520.post-12575651305691582392007-12-15T19:37:00.000-05:002007-12-15T19:37:00.000-05:00I've posted a few of my favorite "opening lines" h...I've posted a few of my favorite "opening lines"<A HREF="http://californiateacherguy.blogspot.com/2007/10/reading-judiciously-with-middlemarch.html" REL="nofollow"> here</A>.CaliforniaTeacherGuyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03765655907043136511noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31402520.post-56065009402009194252007-12-15T18:31:00.000-05:002007-12-15T18:31:00.000-05:00Which translation of Homer is that from? I'm gues...Which translation of Homer is that from? I'm guessing Fitzgerald's. Have you read the Fagel's translation? I love it! It is really alive. I always love when they refer to the "wine dark sea." <BR/><BR/>Oh and the rest of the Tale of Two Cities opening goes like this...<BR/>"it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way."<BR/><BR/>I just re-read this last year with Zoey. It was tough prose for her, but once she got into it, she really liked it.entotohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04765602736333069178noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31402520.post-39784370689608631592007-12-15T17:08:00.000-05:002007-12-15T17:08:00.000-05:00Hurray--Trixie--I was wondering if someone would d...Hurray--Trixie--I was wondering if someone would do the opening from The Great Gatsby. <BR/>And the One Hundred Years of Solitude is another good one. Strangely, I have not yet read One Hundred Years. I have read several other Marquez's but not his masterpiece.<BR/><BR/>Jean--I don't know The Twelfth Physician. Good opening line, though.<BR/><BR/>Come on, the rest of you--memorable openings?KGMomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05165941950953938943noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31402520.post-76732410848278868122007-12-15T14:51:00.000-05:002007-12-15T14:51:00.000-05:00"In my younger and more vulnerable years my father..."In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I've been turning over in my mind ever since." The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, but the last few pages are the best!<BR/><BR/>"Many years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendia was to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice." One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquezentotohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04765602736333069178noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31402520.post-28860695499529029952007-12-14T17:13:00.000-05:002007-12-14T17:13:00.000-05:00You are the literary one, aren't you. I love thos...You are the literary one, aren't you. I love those quotes. I recognized a couple...by the way, I love the songs you've mentioned.Beverlyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07269872465115056916noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31402520.post-3288042685757057562007-12-14T15:15:00.000-05:002007-12-14T15:15:00.000-05:00Beautiful sunrise and sentiments, Donna!Beautiful sunrise and sentiments, Donna!Maryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02040099513110890878noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31402520.post-50587345347848905802007-12-14T12:19:00.000-05:002007-12-14T12:19:00.000-05:00"The skeleton was old, and held together with silv..."The skeleton was old, and held together with silver wires." (The Twelfth Physician" by Willa Gibbs.JeanMachttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14536421799031706759noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31402520.post-51721438237019435932007-12-14T10:53:00.000-05:002007-12-14T10:53:00.000-05:00I could only guess the two Dickens books, even tho...I could only guess the two Dickens books, even though I have read neither.Anvilcloudhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07974744042579564912noreply@blogger.com