Zuhause in Germany: First Sentences

Saturday, April 13, 2013

First Sentences

Whenever I read a book I usually spend a moment thinking about the first sentence. Sometimes I'll also cheat a bit and flip to the back of the book to read the last sentence. Anybody else do this? I always think the first and last sentences must be the hardest to write as they seem to carry the most weight. The sentence above is from this month's book club assignment, Richard Flanagan's 'The Sound of One Hand Clapping'. I can't decide whether it sounds presumptuous or mysterious, compelling or off-putting. It's definitely a flowery style of writing that I don't typically go for.

What do you think? Does this sentence make you want to read the book? Do you look at first and last sentences? What are you reading?

2 comments :

likeschocolate said...: Yes, sometimes I cheat and read the ending of the book. I can't sleep sometimes if I don't know the ending.; April 15, 2013 at 1:46 AM
sallyavena said...: Somewhat of a lurker here...never commenting, but getting my dose of Germany from far away. I read this and had to laugh, because I was having these exact same thoughts last night as a read a book. How the first sentence caught my attention and how, because it was getting late and I knew I wouldn't be able to get to sleep without knowing the ending, I looked at the last few pages. I do that a lot, just so I can force myself to go to sleep and not stay up till 3am to finish the book.
Love your blog and the inside glimpse of your life in Germany!; April 15, 2013 at 4:12 PM