Example 1
Jane Campion & Kate Pullinger, The Piano, 1994
Beyond a desolate shore, on the edge of a far off-country, in the land of massy fern and flightless birds, a small surf-boat appeared, cutting through the swell and spray. Amidst the riotous sea, Ada McGrath and her daughter Flora were manhandled out of the boat and carried like human sacrifices on the shoulders of the seamen. Ada’s voluminous black skirt spread across the men’s arms and backs; she struggled to maintain some semblance of dignity, determined not to cry out.
Example 2
Tracy Chevalier, The Girl With a Pearl Earring, 1999
1646
My mother did not tell me they were coming. Afterwards she said she did not want me to appear nervous. I was surprised, for I thought she knew me well. Strangers would think I was calm. I did not cry as a baby. Only my mother would note the tightness along my jaw, the widening of my already wide eyes. I was chopping vegetables in the kitchen when I heard voices outside our front door – a woman’s, bright as polished brass, and a man’s, low and dark like the wood of the table I was working on. They were the kind of voices we heard rarely in our house. I could hear rich carpets in their voices, books and pearls and fur.
Example 3
Ian McEwan, Sweet Tooth, 2012
My name is Serena Frome (rhymes with plume) and almost 40 years ago I was sent on a secret mission for the British security service. I didn’t return safely. Within 18 months of joining I was sacked, having disgraced myself and ruined my lover, though he certainly had a hand in his own and undoing.
Example 4
Lionel Shriver, Shall We Stay or Should We Go, 2021
“Was I supposed to cry?” Kay cast off her heavy, serviceable dark wool coat, for this was one of those interminable Aprils that perpetuated the dull chill of January. The only change that spring has sprung was to have stirred her complacent acceptance of wintertime’s bite to active umbrage.
“There aren’t any rules.” Cyril filled the kettle.
“In respect to certain gritty rites of passage, I rather think there are. And please, I know it’s a bit early, but I don’t want tea.”
Example 5
Reinhard Tenberg, Blind Woman’s Buff, 2022
‘Roll! Come on, Paul, roll!’ she shouts to her camera man.
I watch the video clip for the first time. The top right-hand corner displays the date and time stamp of the recording: 12 September 2012, 11.20 a.m. There she stands, my sister Hannah, tall and slim, tatty black jacket, skinny jeans and hiking boots. Clutching her notebook and pen with one hand, the other shielding her face with a scarf from the whirled-up sand. A helicopter has just taken off, throwing up the dust and obscuring the view like a desert sandstorm. Paul keeps on rolling, not sure which direction to point his camera. The sandy haze clears slowly, revealing the Syrian ghost town of Haswiyeh.
All seems calm. Not a sound.
Hooking The Reader
As we can see from the extracts, there is no one way of hooking a reader: different readers respond differently. However, there are certain things that a beginning should do. These include:
- introduce main character
- set the scene
- establish mood/tone
- establish narrative voice
- hint at a conflict/change/quest faced by main character
For example, in Tracy Chevalier’s Girl With a Pearl Earring, the main character is immediately introduced and we already know a lot about her and her relationship with her mother. The conflict is clear in the first sentence as is the fact that the narrator is narrating from a later point in her life. The scene is established, again through the senses, the sounds of the voices and we are told of the year. This is enforced by the similes, ‘bright as polished brass’ and ‘low and dark like the table’. The narrative hook is cast: what happened to this young girl?
In the novel, Sweet Tooth Ian MacEwan almost outlines the whole story in the first paragraph. It introduces the storyteller and protagonist, a first person narrator and the second most important character (her lover). We know the main character’s name and we know that she was unsuccessful on her mission. She has also introduced to the main theme or genre of the novel: the powerful spy story.
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In all the above openings, the main character, the setting, the narrative voice, tone and conflict are either introduced or hinted at. Likewise, you may want to introduce your main character immediately, avoiding long descriptions and explanations.
Task 1
Find two opening passages (not more than 50 words) of novels on your bookshelves, one you like and one you don’t. Read them to us and explain why.