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Location: First Lines to Remember

Discussion: Great first lines to remember...

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litelady-ajh	Great first lines to remember... Aug 19 2007, 9:52 PM EDT The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint, by Brady Udall "If I could tell you only one thing about my life it would be this: when I was seven years old the mailman ran over my head." Post reply 1 out of 1 found this valuable. Do you find this valuable? Do you?
llibrariann	RE: Great first lines to remember... Aug 24 2007, 3:18 PM EDT Out of Africa by Izak Dinesen "I had a farm in Africa..." Post reply Do you find this valuable?
llibrariann	RE: Great first lines to remember... Oct 12 2007, 4:11 PM EDT Here's another. 'My name is Ishmael' from Melville's Moby Dick. It was one of the longest books I ever read, but now in page numbers. One of the few times I had to stop and read sentences over and over to sort out the meaning. It really needs to be read with a commentary built in. Post reply Do you find this valuable?
ellyzee ellyzee	RE: Great first lines to remember... Dec 4 2007, 5:54 PM EST "Here's another. 'My name is Ishmael' from Melville's Moby Dick. It was one of the longest books I ever read, but now in page numbers. One of the few times I had to stop and read sentences over and over to sort out the meaning. It really needs to be read with a commentary built in." It's "Call me Ishmael" actually, which has quite a different meaning and much more significance to the book. Post reply 1 out of 1 found this valuable. Do you find this valuable? Do you?
llibrariann	RE: Great first lines to remember... Dec 8 2007, 2:51 PM EST "It's "Call me Ishmael" actually, which has quite a different meaning and much more significance to the book." Ouch! That stings, but proves my point exactly. I had a hard time sorting out the meaning, as I said. "Call me Ishmael.....My name is Ishmael" I still see no special significance in either way. Is the author referring to the unhappy story of the Biblical Ishmael? Who knows? Even PInk Monkey, the internet equivalent of Cliff Notes says, "Several motifs are begun in this first chapter--the main one being that there is no one meaning of any occurrence." Post reply Do you find this valuable?