26. Gravity's Rainbow, Thomas Pynchon (1973)
"A screaming comes across the sky." Thomas Pynchon is a tough author to digest, and Gravity's Rainbow is arguably his chewiest novel. The first sentence, though, displays how evocative a single image can be. Here the sound of screaming is treated almost as a visual, blasting across the sky with little indication of direction or, in fact, indication of how the reader should feel. Wonder at a firework? Terror at an incoming missile? Admittedly, if there's one thing Pynchon doesn't stoop to, it's telling his readers how to feel. But regardless of the effectiveness of the rest of the novel, the first sentence of Gravity's Rainbow is one that will draw you in completely.
25. The Good Soldier, Ford Madox Ford (1915)
"This is the saddest story I have ever heard." So much is said inside this seemingly simple opening sentence from Ford Madox Ford's 1915 book The Good Soldier. There is no uncertainty here (not "one of the saddest stories") and yet we aren't sure if the narrator is to be trusted just yet. But the line begs so much of the reader. Quite simply, this self-awareness of story makes the reader want to find out WHY this is the saddest story ever heard, and by extension why this is a story worth telling at all. And that's exactly what a good first line should do.
24. Ethan Frome, Edith Wharton (1911)
"I had the story, bit by bit, from various people, and, as generally happens in such cases, each time it was a different story." Certain entries on this list leave little doubt as to the books they open. Others, like the first line from Edith Wharton's 1911 novel Ethan Frome, could really come from almost any novel. These tend to be observations about life in general, and in the case of Frome, we have an observation about storytelling, rumor, personal history and perspective. The narrator knows little about the title character at this point, spending the duration of the novel delving into the life and times of Ethan Frome. By the end, the opening sentence is no less true. Whatever events took place were perceived countless different ways by those who witnessed them - and you, as reader, now join their ranks.