This week's first line is an interesting one to me. It's definitely not a line that I would write. The line doesn't introduce any characters, places, nor any sort of plot component. Instead, it stands alone as a simple expression of an idea, which is a fascinating way to commence a novel. Here is the first line:
"The idea of eternal return is a mysterious one, and Nietzsche has often perplexed other philosophers with it: to think that everything recurs as we once experienced it, and that the recurrence itself recurs ad infinitum!"
Obviously, this first line resides in Milan Kundera's famous novel, "The Unbearable Lightness of Being." What are your thoughts? Do you like it? Does it work?
It strikes me as the opening of a peer-reviewed academic article.
ReplyDeleteIf I were holding some non-descript magazine in my hands, I'd probably say, "meh" and put it down.
But with a novel in my hands I'd probably read on, to see where he's going with this.
Two and a half stars.