The first paragraph in a book doesn’t always “contractualize” you into the author’s work, but it starts as potential. I mean just step back for a moment and think about the power the first paragraph in your favorite book had. How did it deliver enough to keep you reading and re-reading the book over the years? What was it about that opening that enticed you upon your initial exposure? Did the author break you with a vivid setting? Or maybe it was a character’s voice that captivated you? Did the author deliver a joke that threw you into laughter, in a moment when you needed it? Was it a matter of tone or emotion? Or were you just excited when an author flung you right in the middle of a scene?
Whatever the case, we can’t deny the power of the opening paragraph.
So I decided to pull a few books off one of my bookshelves and share with you a couple of interesting ones I've loved. Some are from books I found myself compelled to read by the author's style alone. While some are from books I never read beyond just yet. And some are from favorite reads of mine that has kept me coming back for more.
Loved the indefinable usage of the phrase “that place.”
As the paragraph later concedes, "that place" turns out to be a black neighborhood. Yet, somewhat usual, it's a neighborhood long gone as it fell victim to capitalism (to keep it light). It fell at the hands of businessmen who uprooted the land and cut down trees to build a golf course and suburban neighborhood. Hosting and furnishing whites only? You bet. Nevertheless, the catch is “that place” may be gone, but its spirit isn't. There’s a haunting story stilled buried in the land‘s past. And, of course, Morrison invites us into that haunting history with this opener.
Dare you step back into the 1920s and find out...
