Thumbs up or thumbs down on these first sentences?
In most issues of
Poets & Writers you'll find a fun section called "Page One" where they print the first line or sentence from new and notable books.
I thought it'd be fun to look at first sentences from 20 books that have already become classics (plus some semi-recent hits and a few more-obscure favorites) in order to see if the magic was happening right from the start, or if it took the author a little while to get cooking.
You be the judge and let me know what you think in the comments section below.
First sentences from popular books:
When he woke in the woods in the dark and the cold of the night he'd reach out to touch the child sleeping beside him.
— from
The Road, by Cormac McCarthy
Robert Cohn was once middleweight boxing champion of Princeton.
— from
The Sun Also Rises, by Ernest Hemingway
