ey say you only get one chance to make a first impression—and nowhere is that truer than on page one. These opening lines didn’t just set the tone; they demanded we keep reading. Here are 10 that grabbed us from the get-go:

10. “All this happened, more or less.”

— Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
A shrug of a beginning that hints at unreliable narration and philosophical chaos.

9. “There was a boy called Eustace Clarence Scrubb, and he almost deserved it.”

— The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis
A masterclass in tone and character judgment, in just one sentence.

8. “It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.”

— 1984 by George Orwell
Familiar… and then not. A subtle chill crawls in immediately.

7. “The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed.”

— The Gunslinger by Stephen King
Action, mystery, worldbuilding—all in one line.

6. “Call me Ishmael.”

— Moby-Dick by Herman Melville
Short, strange, and oddly intimate. A line that echoes through literary history.

5. “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.”

— Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Satirical, iconic, and still clever two centuries later.

4. “I write this sitting in the kitchen sink.”

— I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
Quirky, personal, and instantly visual. You need to know more.

3. “Once upon a time, there was a woman who discovered she had turned into the wrong person.”

— Back When We Were Grownups by Anne Tyler
Haunting and heartbreaking. A life summed up in one sentence.

2. “We were somewhere around Barstow on the edge of the desert when the drugs began to take hold.”

— Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson
Wild, disorienting, and a perfect pitch for what’s to come.

🥇 1. “The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel.”

— Neuromancer by William Gibson
A gritty poetic sci-fi image that changed cyberpunk forever.

Which opening line hooked you instantly? Drop your favourites in the comments 👇

And remember: your first line might just be your most important one.