How do you choose a book to read? Are you a first line or paragraph reader? Do you dip in somewhere in the middle and then decide if you like the book? Do you go on recommendations, or do you pick a book by its cover?
While I am sometimes tempted to choose a novel by its cover, I am predominantly a first line reader. If the beginning of a book doesn't grab me, I may not buy it. One of my most favourite books of all time has the most beautiful beginning:
• There is a lovely road that runs from Ixopo into the hills. These hills are grass-covered and rolling, and they are lovely beyond any singing of it. The road climbs seven miles into them, to Carisbrooke; and from there, if there is no mist, you look down on one of the fairest valleys of Africa. About you there is grass and bracken and you may hear the forlorn crying of the titihoya, one of the birds of the veld. Below you is the valley of the Umzimkulu, on its journey from the Drakensberg to the sea; and beyond and behind the river, great hill after great hill; and beyond and behind them, the mountains of Ingeli and East Griqualand.
The grass is rich and matted, you cannot see the soil. It holds the rain and the mist, and they seep into the ground, feeding the streams in every kloof. It is well-tended, and not too many cattle feed upon it; not too many fires burn it, laying bare the soil. Stand unshod upon it, for the ground is holy, being even as it came from the Creator. Keep it, guard it, care for it, for it keeps men, guards men, cares for men. Destroy it and man is destroyed.
Where you stand the grass is rich and matted, you cannot see the soil. But the rich green hills break down. They fall to the valley below, and falling, change their nature. For they grow red and bare; they cannot hold the rain and mist, and the streams are dry in the kloofs. Too many cattle feed upon the grass, and too many fires have burned it. Stand shod upon it, for it is coarse and sharp, and the stones cut under the feet. It is not kept, or guarded, or cared for, it no longer keeps men, guards men, cares for men. The titihoya does not cry here any more.
The great red hills stand desolate, and the earth has torn away like flesh. The lightning flashes over them, the clouds pour down upon them, the dead streams come to life, full of the red blood of the earth. Down in the valleys women scratch the soil that is left, and the maize hardly reaches the height of a man. They are valleys of old men and old women, of mothers and children. The men are away, the young men and the girls are away. The soil cannot keep them any more.
From Cry, the Beloved Country, Alan Paton
It is a beautiful beginning to a beautiful novel! It's a beginning I will never forget.
(You may read more about the novel here and you may read more quotes - like this one: "[W]e do what is in us, and why it is in us, that is also a secret. It is Christ in us, crying that men may be succoured and forgiven, even when He Himself is forsaken."- Alan Paton, Cry, The Beloved Country, Chapter 15 from the novel - here)
While I am sometimes tempted to choose a novel by its cover, I am predominantly a first line reader. If the beginning of a book doesn't grab me, I may not buy it. One of my most favourite books of all time has the most beautiful beginning:
• There is a lovely road that runs from Ixopo into the hills. These hills are grass-covered and rolling, and they are lovely beyond any singing of it. The road climbs seven miles into them, to Carisbrooke; and from there, if there is no mist, you look down on one of the fairest valleys of Africa. About you there is grass and bracken and you may hear the forlorn crying of the titihoya, one of the birds of the veld. Below you is the valley of the Umzimkulu, on its journey from the Drakensberg to the sea; and beyond and behind the river, great hill after great hill; and beyond and behind them, the mountains of Ingeli and East Griqualand.
The grass is rich and matted, you cannot see the soil. It holds the rain and the mist, and they seep into the ground, feeding the streams in every kloof. It is well-tended, and not too many cattle feed upon it; not too many fires burn it, laying bare the soil. Stand unshod upon it, for the ground is holy, being even as it came from the Creator. Keep it, guard it, care for it, for it keeps men, guards men, cares for men. Destroy it and man is destroyed.
Where you stand the grass is rich and matted, you cannot see the soil. But the rich green hills break down. They fall to the valley below, and falling, change their nature. For they grow red and bare; they cannot hold the rain and mist, and the streams are dry in the kloofs. Too many cattle feed upon the grass, and too many fires have burned it. Stand shod upon it, for it is coarse and sharp, and the stones cut under the feet. It is not kept, or guarded, or cared for, it no longer keeps men, guards men, cares for men. The titihoya does not cry here any more.
The great red hills stand desolate, and the earth has torn away like flesh. The lightning flashes over them, the clouds pour down upon them, the dead streams come to life, full of the red blood of the earth. Down in the valleys women scratch the soil that is left, and the maize hardly reaches the height of a man. They are valleys of old men and old women, of mothers and children. The men are away, the young men and the girls are away. The soil cannot keep them any more.
From Cry, the Beloved Country, Alan Paton
It is a beautiful beginning to a beautiful novel! It's a beginning I will never forget.
(You may read more about the novel here and you may read more quotes - like this one: "[W]e do what is in us, and why it is in us, that is also a secret. It is Christ in us, crying that men may be succoured and forgiven, even when He Himself is forsaken."- Alan Paton, Cry, The Beloved Country, Chapter 15 from the novel - here)
If you haven't read Cry, the Beloved Country, you really must!
How does your favourite novel begin?
posted by missmellifluous at 5:52 pm
10 Comments:
Hmmm. I have to decide my favorite novel? That's hard.
I'll give it some thought and see if I can decide.
It doesn't have to be your favourite book, just one you like lots. I know it's hard to choose just one.
How about, "Once there were four children whose names were Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy"?
Inauspicious at best...
Yay! Great choice of favourite story, John!
In 1815, M. Charles Francois-Bienvenu Myriel was Bishop of D-----. He was a man of seventy-five, and had occupied the bishopric of D----- since 1806. Although it in no manner concerns, even in the remotest degree, what we have to relate, it may not be useless, were it only for the sake of exactness in all things, to notice here the reports and gossip which had arisen on his account from the time of his arrival in the diocese.
Be it true or false, what is said about men often has as much influence upon their lives, and especially upon their destinies, as what they do.
Which novel is that from, Kim?
I like the italicised excerpt. So true.
Les Miserables, by Victor Hugo.
I had a hard time deciding between Les Miserables and The Lord of the Rings.
Both are favorites and have impacted my life in many ways.
I chose to post the first part of Les Mis because I think it more clearly communicates the theme of the book than that of LoTR:
When Mr. Bilbo Baggins of Bag End announced that he would shortly be celebrating his eleventy-first birthday with a party of special magnificence, there was much talk and excitement in Hobbiton.
This is largely due to the fact that the first sentence makes the connection to Tolkien's earlier, related work, The Hobbit.
The new work really begins to take shape, IMO, in the second chapter.
Oh! I have never read Les Mis I have only seen it. It's long enough in performance!
Most novels do start quite plainly even though they are amazing novels. It's funny really.
If you ever decide to read Les Mis, read the unabridged. It really is worth the extra time and effort!
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