54 great opening lines: 27

One day in the spring of 1998, Bluma Lennon bought a secondhand copy of Emily Dickinson’s poems in a bookshop in Soho, and as she reached the second poem on the first street corner, she was knocked down by a car.

The Paper House, Carlos María Domínguez (Trans. Nick Caistor)

*****

This is a small novel I found on my daughter-in-law’s bookshelf.  I was hooked from the first line, and took it home.

4 Replies to “54 great opening lines: 27”

  1. I reckon! In the first half we learn her name, what she did, when and where she did it, and in the second half, the detailed consequence. One sentence.

  2. It was a good story, about an obsession. My daughter-in-law bought it in a second-hand shop so I don’t know if it’s still easy to find. But I recommend it if you can find a copy.

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