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18 Books With the Best First Lines in Fiction

From Penguin:
"'First sentences are doors to worlds,' wrote Ursula Le Guin in her essay The Fisherwoman's Daughter. Which is to say: in the hands of our greatest writers, opening lines cast an immediate spell, grab your attention like a starter's gun, set the tone and even foreshadow what is to come.
Here, we've picked 18 of our favourite opening lines in fiction. It's not exhaustive – there are far too many exquisite openers in literature to make space for them all – but these are some we find hard to forget."
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1
The Fortune Men (Nadifa Mohamed)
The Fortune Men (Nadifa Mohamed)
2
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
3
Moby Dick (Herman Melville)
Moby Dick (Herman Melville)
4
Invisible Man (Ralph Ellison)
Invisible Man (Ralph Ellison)
5
The Restaurant at the End of the Universe (Douglas Adams)
The Restaurant at the End of the Universe (Douglas Adams)
6
The Outsider (Albert Camus)
The Outsider (Albert Camus)
7
The Bell Jar (Sylvia Plath)
The Bell Jar (Sylvia Plath)
8
Their Eyes Were Watching God (Zora Neale Hurston)
Their Eyes Were Watching God (Zora Neale Hurston)
9
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (Hunter S. Thompson)
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (Hunter S. Thompson)
10
The Color Purple (Alice Walker)
The Color Purple (Alice Walker)
11
1984 (George Orwell)
1984 (George Orwell)
12
Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)
Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)
13
The Secret History (Donna Tartt)
The Secret History (Donna Tartt)
14
Trainspotting (Irvine Welsh)
Trainspotting (Irvine Welsh)
15
Beloved (Toni Morrison)
Beloved (Toni Morrison)
16
Metamorphosis (Franz Kafka)
Metamorphosis (Franz Kafka)
17
The Secret Garden (Frances Hodgson Burnett)
The Secret Garden (Frances Hodgson Burnett)
18
I Capture the Castle (Dodie Smith)
I Capture the Castle (Dodie Smith)
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