Top 10 killer novel openings
I recently saw some survey results listing Novels that Korean have loved for a long time. I think it `s going to be fun to look up and write down each of their opening lines.
10th
There are 2 novels tied for 10th
[A tale of Two Cities] _Charles Dickens
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, It was the age of wisdom, It was the age of foolishness, It was the epoch of belief...'
[Iliad] _Homer
'Sing, Goddess, sing of the rage of Achilles, Son of Peleus...'
9th
Coming in at a tie for 9th place too. We got [The song of the sword] and [No Longer Human]
For your reference almost all of Koreans would love [The song of the sword] because it`s a story that general Yi Sun-shin defeated the Japanese navy and save Joseon, the dynasty that preceded modern Korea.
[The song of the Sword] _Kim Hoon
'Flowers blossomed on each deserted island. The island billowed like clouds as the evening sun lit the flowering trees.'
[No Longer Human] _Osamu Dazai
'Mine has been a life of much shame.'
8th
[Anna Karenina] _Umberto Eco
'Happy families are all alike ; every unhappy family is unhappy in it`s own way.'
7th
[The name of the rose] _Umberto Eco
'It was a beautiful morning at the end of November.' 'During the night it had snowed, but only a little, and the earth was covered with a cool blanket no more than three fingers high.'
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6th
[Lolita] _Vladimir
'Lolita, light of my life, Fire of my loins.' 'My sin, my soul.'
5th
[The wings] _Yi Sang
'Do you know of a genius that has been stuffed?'
4th
[Pride and Prejudice] _Jane Austen
'It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.'
3th
[The stranger] _Albert Camus
'Mother died today.' Or maybe, yesterday; I can't be sure.'
2th
[Moby-Dick] _Herman Melville
'Call me Ishmael.'
'Some years ago- never mind how long precisely- having little or no money in my purse, and nothing particular to interest me on shore, i thought would sail about a little and see the water part of the world.'
1th
[Snow Country] _Yasunari Kawabata
'The train came out of the long tunnel into the snow country.'
'The earth lay white under the night sky.'
'The train pulled up at a signal stop.'
