Today's first line is a rockstar pioneer of a line. Written in 1951, I am unaware of this type of tone in any other literary work from the period, let alone to commence a masterpiece novel. Now remember, this was written in 1951 (the era of Leave-It-To-Beaver):
"If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don't feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth."
It's a great first line because the tone itself slaps you in the face. You reach the end of the sentence and are left thinking, "Hmm, I didn't expect that. This kid sounds like a real ass." And you're only one sentence into the novel.
This novel is so prominent and respected and blah blah blah that I would assume most of you recognize the line immediately. As such, I am not going to disclose it here. If you don't recognize it, you'd 'better get your shit together.' (I am confident that Holden would phrase it that way too, if he lived in 2012).
Our first post with two swear words. You are a trail blazer, Tucker.
ReplyDeleteGreat first line. I get tired of all the hate directed at Catcher in the Rye, or more specifically, at its whiny protagonist. Just because it has become popular to dismiss it as a book for angst-ridden teenagers, does not mean that it isn't a certified classic.