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15 Stellar Opening And Closing Sentences Of Famous Books

Do you know any of these by heart?

Nov 15, 2018

15 Stellar Opening And Closing Sentences Of Famous Books

I'm always fascinated by the first and last sentences of books because, hopefully, the author meant to put them there for a specific reason. Here are some popular ones, and some personal favorites.

1. "Call me Ishmael."

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- Herman Melville, Moby Dick (1851)

2. "If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don't feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth."

- J. D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye (1951)

3. "It was a pleasure to burn."

- Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451 (1953)

4. "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, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair."

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- Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities (1859)

5. "Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much."

- J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (1997)

6. "All this happened, more or less."

- Kurt Vonnegut, Slaughterhouse-Five (1969)

7. "In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I've been turning over in my mind ever since."

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- F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby (1925)

Closing Sentences

8. "He loved Big Brother."

- George Orwell, 1984 (1949)

9. "So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past."

- F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby (1925)

10. "Are there any questions?"

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- Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid's Tale (1986)

11. "Everything we need that is not food or love is here in the tabloid racks. The tales of the supernatural and extraterrestrial. The miracle vitamins, the cures for cancer, the remedies for obesity. The cults of the famous and the dead."

- Don DeLillo, White Noise (1985)

12. "So much of life in its meshes! She called in her soul to come and see."

- Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God (1937)

13. "All was well."

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- J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (2007)

14. "A LAST NOTE FROM YOUR NARRATOR. I am haunted by humans."

- Markus Zusak, The Book Thief (2005)

15. "Reader I married him."

- Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre (1847)

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This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.

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15 Stellar Opening And Closing Sentences Of Famous Books

Do you know any of these by heart?

​1. "Call me Ishmael."

​3. "It was a pleasure to burn."

4. "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, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair."

​5. "Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much."

6. "All this happened, more or less."

​7. "In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I've been turning over in my mind ever since."

Closing Sentences

8. "He loved Big Brother."

9. "So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past."

10. "Are there any questions?"

11. "Everything we need that is not food or love is here in the tabloid racks. The tales of the supernatural and extraterrestrial. The miracle vitamins, the cures for cancer, the remedies for obesity. The cults of the famous and the dead."

​12. "So much of life in its meshes! She called in her soul to come and see."

13. "All was well."

14. "A LAST NOTE FROM YOUR NARRATOR. I am haunted by humans."

​15. "Reader I married him."

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Hopefully they will make you laugh.

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2. Who closes the bus door once the bus driver gets off?

3. Why is there a "d" in "fridge" but not in "refrigerator"?

4. If you drop soap on the floor is the floor clean or the soap dirty?

5. Is the "S" or the "C" silent in the word "scent"?

6. Does expecting the unexpected make the unexpected the expected?

7. Would Lightning McQueen buy car insurance or life insurance?

8. Who put the alphabet in alphabetical order?

9. What color are mirrors?

10. If 2 mind readers read each other's minds whose mind are they really reading?

11. Is there a synonym for "synonym"?

12. If your shirt isn't tucked into your pants, are your pants tucked into your shirt?

13. Why is it called "quick sand" if you sink slowly in it?

14. If I try to fail, but succeed, which one did I do?

15. If Cinderella's shoe fit perfectly, why did it fall off?

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1. "Call me Ishmael."

3. "It was a pleasure to burn."

5. "Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much."

7. "In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I've been turning over in my mind ever since."

12. "So much of life in its meshes! She called in her soul to come and see."

15. "Reader I married him."

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