tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2629301231907528990.post3905628521070997856..comments2024-03-26T18:01:57.609+00:00Comments on Inky Fool: First LinesM.H. Forsythhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01464964455944509750noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2629301231907528990.post-81230145082106631812010-08-11T22:10:31.662+01:002010-08-11T22:10:31.662+01:00This comment has been removed by the author.Deborahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10892637441668897411noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2629301231907528990.post-58253919656108187242010-03-06T16:28:38.350+00:002010-03-06T16:28:38.350+00:00Your bit about the Camus character reminded me of ...Your bit about the Camus character reminded me of Hugh Rowe in Michael Frayn's first novel The Tin Men (1965). Rowe is writing a novel -in office time, of course-the desk and floor are littered with rejected drafts. He has started by writing the blurb for the cover-"Hugh Rowe is a brilliant new arrival on the literary scene..."'R'is the story of a whisky priest...'R' is the story of four men marooned...'R' is the odyssey of a disillusioned writer...God he groaned perhaps it was easier to writie the book first and the jacket afterwards...he wondered which way round other writers did it"Sprout Leafnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2629301231907528990.post-71204281220259352732010-03-04T13:39:27.140+00:002010-03-04T13:39:27.140+00:00That's rather lovely. Have you ever noticed th...That's rather lovely. Have you ever noticed that in renaissance paintings the big toe is always shorter than its neighbour?M.H. Forsythhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01464964455944509750noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2629301231907528990.post-41394008671508723322010-03-04T11:54:38.635+00:002010-03-04T11:54:38.635+00:00How about third lines?
I have often thought that...How about third lines? <br /><br />I have often thought that with any luck at all I could have been born a werewolf, because the two middle fingers on both my hands are the same length, but I have had to be content with what I had.<br /><br />We Have Always Lived in the Castle, Shirley JacksonAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2629301231907528990.post-55190981608851405012010-03-02T22:55:20.282+00:002010-03-02T22:55:20.282+00:00The first line of Leyner's "My Cousin...&...The first line of Leyner's "My Cousin..." goes like this: <br /><br />"I was driving to Las Vegas to tell my sister that I'd had Mother's respirator unplugged."<br /><br />"I was an infinitely hot and dense dot" is technically the title of the first chapter.<br /><br />I'm currently into objectively verifiable literature, like the novel "Paulina" by Pierre Jean Jouve. The first chapter, called "Blue Room", begins: <br /><br />"The blue room is seven meters long, six meters wide and close to five meters high."<br /><br />Fabricio Del DongoAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2629301231907528990.post-47286122136223207032010-03-02T17:22:08.360+00:002010-03-02T17:22:08.360+00:00"I will tell you in a few words who I am: lov..."I will tell you in a few words who I am: lover of the hummingbird that darts to the flower beyond the rotted sill where my feet are propped; lover of bright needlepoint and the bright stitching fingers of humorless old ladies bent to their sweet and infamous designs; lover of parasols made from the same puffy stuff as a young girl's underdrawers; still lover of that small naval boat which somehow survived the distressing years of my life between her decks or in her pilothouse; and also lover of poor dear black Sonny, my mess boy, fellow victim and confidant, and of my wife and child."<br /><br />Second Skin, John HawkesAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2629301231907528990.post-6781180583375189272010-03-02T16:12:57.504+00:002010-03-02T16:12:57.504+00:00"The night fled, carrying in its rich, grotes..."The night fled, carrying in its rich, grotesquely smiling bosom a confusion of black deeds, secrets and undeveloped events." <br /><br />The Book of Thorns, by the experimental school Swedish school teacher C.J.L. AlmqvistEveret Lapel (P.hD)https://www.blogger.com/profile/14191121752821385700noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2629301231907528990.post-76115958013211425072010-03-02T15:28:17.173+00:002010-03-02T15:28:17.173+00:00Oh dear reader with that positive attitude I like,...Oh dear reader with that positive attitude I like, happily I would lead you beneath the dark plane trees where I for the first time sat and read the bizarre story of Brother Medardus. <br /><br />The Devils Elixir, ETA Hoffmann<br /><br />The holy city appeared, violet, within a golden fog; it was upon an evening in a distant age; the dying of Sourya, the phoenix-like star of this ancient world, extinguished myriads of jewels on the glittering domes of Benares. <br /><br />Akedysseril, Queen of India. Villiers de l’Isle AdamEveret Lapel (P.hD)https://www.blogger.com/profile/14191121752821385700noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2629301231907528990.post-85829025968950298302010-03-02T14:06:48.510+00:002010-03-02T14:06:48.510+00:00Good choices (although Everet I think you could ha...Good choices (although Everet I think you could have gone with something slightly more obscure).Mrs. Malaprophttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11571335974754100925noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2629301231907528990.post-5738838076073735012010-03-02T14:04:45.155+00:002010-03-02T14:04:45.155+00:00What about great middle lines?
Here's a great...What about great middle lines?<br /><br />Here's a great one from Flaubert's Sentimental education, which describes what the protagonist gets up to in the middle of the narrative: <br /><br />“He experienced the melancholy of boats, the cold dawns beneath the tent, the giddiness of scenery and ruins, the bitterness of interrupted friendships.”<br /><br />If you include the lines preceding and following it, it's a mini novel right there: <br /><br />Il voyagea.<br /><br />Il connut la mélancolie des paquebots, les froids réveils sous la tente, l'étourdissement des paysages et des ruines, l'amertume des sympathies interrompues.<br /><br />Il revint.Everet Lapel (P.hD)https://www.blogger.com/profile/14191121752821385700noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2629301231907528990.post-81467443394054782152010-03-02T14:03:31.956+00:002010-03-02T14:03:31.956+00:00It was not until several weeks after he had decide...It was not until several weeks after he had decided to murder his wife that Dr. Bickleigh took any active steps in the matter. Murder is a serious business.<br />Malice Aforethought, Francis IlesAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2629301231907528990.post-46244126358350203882010-03-02T12:12:49.170+00:002010-03-02T12:12:49.170+00:00As he sat on his balcony eating the dog, Dr Robert...As he sat on his balcony eating the dog, Dr Robert Laing reflected on the unusual events that had taken place within this huge apartment building during the previous three months.Everet Lapel (P.hD)https://www.blogger.com/profile/14191121752821385700noreply@blogger.com