First Paragraphs: Inspired Openings for Writers and Readers

by Donald Newlove

Book Overview

Newlove combines human insight, personal taste, and his own crackling talent as a writer to show writers how, with an inspired beginning, a work of genius can be created. The 75 selections here range from works as diverse as Dickens' Bleak House to more contemporary openings from Updike, Joyce, Welty, and Dinesen.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312069006
• ISBN13: 9780312069001
• Release Date: January 1992
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press
• Length: 171 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.4" x 7.3"

Customer Reviews

A Wonderful Appreciation

I stumbled onto this small volume several years ago quite by accident, never having heard of Donald Newlove. Happily, I found that Mr. Newlove is widely read and has a gift for articulating his thoughtful appreciation of the literature (first paragraphs) that he carefully selects and reviews. He is among the increasingly rare critics who inspire a closer reading of the works reviewed. I would also recommend his later work "Those Drinking Days: Myself and Other Writers" for its insight and poignancy.

Energetic and Inspiring!

This is a fine read -- for every great reader or writer. Donald Newlove has gathered from literature some of the finest first paragraphs ever written! The works of authors such as Isak Dinesen, Melville, and Hemingway are looked at in a wonderful way. This book is as energizing and inspiring as a savouring cup of coffee!