• Endymion_Mallorn@kbin.melroy.org
    54·
    4 days ago

    My favorite opening lines that I didn’t see yet are:

    Kafka’s “Metamorphosis”

    “When Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from troubled dreams, he found himself changed into a monstrous cockroach in his bed”

    Tolstoy’s “Anna Karenina”

    “Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.”

    And, Gibson’s “Neuromancer”

    “The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel.”

    • klemptor@startrek.websiteEnglish
      17·
      3 days ago

      I especially like that line in Neuromancer because at the time he wrote it, his audience would’ve understood he meant TV snow. Meaning the sky was overcast, giving a gloomy mood. But younger people now will think of that featureless blue that modern TVs use, which indicates a beautiful cloudless day. Totally different mood!

    • Skullgrid@lemmy.worldEnglish
      9·
      3 days ago

      And, Gibson’s “Neuromancer”

      “The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel.”

      absolute classic, came here to post it.

    • Lupus@feddit.orgEnglish
      5·
      3 days ago

      Went into this comment section with Kafkas “Metamorphosis” in mind, I love the opening, the whole story is genius and to this day perfectly describes large parts of German society.

      All three quotes are great, how you can captivate a reader just with one sentence, all three do this perfectly.