tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11415684.post113923879835670750..comments2024-01-10T06:40:26.416-05:00Comments on Chesterton and Friends: American Book Review: 100 Best First Lines From NovelsUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11415684.post-1139321005568902422006-02-07T09:03:00.000-05:002006-02-07T09:03:00.000-05:00Yes, the beginning of GKC's Autobiography are grea...Yes, the beginning of GKC's <I>Autobiography</I> are great lines to recite from memory (after the guests have drunk a little) at a party.<BR/><BR/>But besides really needing two lines for the full punch, <I>Autobiography</I> isn't quite a novel.Joehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02223663712859997355noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11415684.post-1139267371852347202006-02-06T18:09:00.000-05:002006-02-06T18:09:00.000-05:00I'm glad to see that the first line from Beckett's...I'm glad to see that the first line from Beckett's <I>Murphy</I> made the list; it's a great book, and an excellent line. Actually, they've really done a good job on this. <I>The Good Soldier</I> is a solid choice, as is <I>Tristram Shandy</I> (the line sets the tone for the whole of the piece).<BR/><BR/>Too bad they didn't include the opening of Chesterton's <I>Autobiography</I>:<BR/><BR/>"Bowing down in blind credulity, as is my custom, before mere authority<BR/>and the tradition of the elders, superstitiously swallowing a story<BR/>I could not test at the time by experiment or private judgment,<BR/>I am firmly of opinion that I was born on the 29th of May, 1874,<BR/>on Campden Hill, Kensington; and baptised according to the formularies<BR/>of the Church of England in the little church of St. George<BR/>opposite the large Waterworks Tower that dominated that ridge."<BR/><BR/>The line that comes after is even funnier, but can not be included. That would be cheating :0Nick Milnehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15677481833245634421noreply@blogger.com