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Best Opening Lines in Literature

Here are 50 of the best, most captivating opening lines in literature, from classics to contemporary works.
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1
Murder on the Orient Express (Agatha Christie)
Murder on the Orient Express (Agatha Christie)
2
The Stranger (Albert Camus)
The Stranger (Albert Camus)
3
The Color Purple (Alice Walker)
The Color Purple (Alice Walker)
4
A Tale of Two Cities (Charles Dickens)
A Tale of Two Cities (Charles Dickens)
5
David Copperfield (Charles Dickens)
David Copperfield (Charles Dickens)
6
The Road (Cormac McCarthy)
The Road (Cormac McCarthy)
7
I Capture the Castle (Dodie Smith)
I Capture the Castle (Dodie Smith)
8
The Secret History (Donna Tartt)
The Secret History (Donna Tartt)
9
The Restaurant at the End of the Universe (Douglas Adams)
The Restaurant at the End of the Universe (Douglas Adams)
10
Night (Elie Wiesel)
Night (Elie Wiesel)
11
The Old Man and the Sea (Ernest Hemingway)
The Old Man and the Sea (Ernest Hemingway)
12
The Great Gatsby (F. Scott Fitzgerald)
The Great Gatsby (F. Scott Fitzgerald)
13
The Metamorphosis (Franz Kafka)
The Metamorphosis (Franz Kafka)
14
The Trial (Franz Kafka)
The Trial (Franz Kafka)
15
Anxious People (Fredrik Backman)
Anxious People (Fredrik Backman)
16
Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoevsky)
Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoevsky)
17
One Hundred Years of Solitude (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
One Hundred Years of Solitude (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
18
1984 (George Orwell)
1984 (George Orwell)
19
To Kill a Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
To Kill a Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
20
Moby Dick (Herman Mellville)
Moby Dick (Herman Mellville)
21
Siddhartha (Hermann Hesse)
Siddhartha (Hermann Hesse)
22
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (Hunter S. Thompson)
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (Hunter S. Thompson)
23
Trainspotting (Irvine Welsh)
Trainspotting (Irvine Welsh)
24
If on a Winter's Night a Traveller (Italo Calvino)
If on a Winter's Night a Traveller (Italo Calvino)
25
Peter Pan (J. M. Barrie)
Peter Pan (J. M. Barrie)
26
The Catcher in the Rye (J.D. Salinger)
The Catcher in the Rye (J.D. Salinger)
27
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (J.K. Rowling)
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (J.K. Rowling)
28
Finnegans Wake (James Joyce)
Finnegans Wake (James Joyce)
29
Ulysses (James Joyce)
Ulysses (James Joyce)
30
Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)
Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)
31
Catch-22 (Joseph Heller)
Catch-22 (Joseph Heller)
32
Slaughterhouse-Five (Kurt Vonnegut)
Slaughterhouse-Five (Kurt Vonnegut)
33
Anna Karenina (Leo Tolstoy)
Anna Karenina (Leo Tolstoy)
34
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (Lewis Carroll)
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (Lewis Carroll)
35
Little Women (Louisa May Alcott)
Little Women (Louisa May Alcott)
36
In Search of Lost Time (Marcel Proust)
In Search of Lost Time (Marcel Proust)
37
The Handmaid's Tale (Margaret Atwood)
The Handmaid's Tale (Margaret Atwood)
38
Gone With the Wind (Margaret Mitchell)
Gone With the Wind (Margaret Mitchell)
39
The Book Thief (Markus Zusak)
The Book Thief (Markus Zusak)
40
Don Quixote (Miguel De Cervantes)
Don Quixote (Miguel De Cervantes)
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