“The boy with the fair hair lowered himself down the last few feet of rock and began to pick his way towards the lagoon. Though he had taken off his school sweater and trailed it now from one hand, his grey shirt stuck to him and his hair was plastered to his forehead. All round him the long scar smashed into the jungle was a bath of heat. He was clambering heavily among the creepers and the broken trunks when a bird, a vision of red and yellow, flashed upwards with a witch-like cry; and this cry was echoed by another.”
‘Lord of the Flies’ by William Golding
Amazon
Try one of these 1st paras & discover a new author:-
‘Death in Summer’ by William Trevor
‘Fair Exchange’ by Michele Forbes
‘Herzog’ by Saul Bellow
And if you’d like to tweet a link to THIS post, here’s my suggested tweet:
A great 1st para: LORD OF THE FLIES by William Golding #books http://wp.me/p5gEM4-7Z via @SandraDanby
sandra danby 
Lord of the Flies was shocking when I read it at a tender age. Great opening but can’t equal the opening of PD James’ Unnatural Causes: “The corpse without hands lay in the bottom of a small sailing dinghy…… ” but then I’m a mystery person! Good post – shows the important of the first line of a book.
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Thx Noelle. I find as a writer that when I read a book with a great opening paragraph, I jump on it. I don’t write mysteries, but I do like reading them. SD
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I remember first reading this book for my tenth grade English class. I think everyone should read it once. As for me, it was such a gut-wrenching read, I can’t bring myself to revisit the novel now.
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Yes, it is a rite of passage for youth I think. SD
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The Lord of the Flies and Catcher in the Rye made me rethink childhood and humanity.
Yes, an excellent beginning in Flies. Rye is not as visually descriptive but of Holden Caulfield’s internal dialogue, still a beginning to grab you. I always think of these two books together.
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Interesting connection Shari, I hadn’t put the two together like that. Thx! SD
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I’m ashamed to say I’ve never read this although having read the opening here I think I should!
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There’s a fantastic back story to the book. Golding was a schoolteacher and read out passages of his drafts to his pupils to get their feedback! SD
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Clever man… I like someone who shows initiative, I’m even more sure I should read it now!
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Good! 🙂 SD
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A haunting book whose premise stays with you.
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Yes. Definitely a classic, for me. SD
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This book scared the ‘tuna salad’ out of me back in the day!
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Me too, I re-read it recently and it is still scary! SD
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I remember studying this at school and also being taken to see a play based on it (I think! Or did I dream it?) 🙂
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I think there was a play, I didn’t see it though. SD
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