The 10 best first lines in fiction. The 10 best first lines in fiction. Ulysses (1922)âStately, plump Buck Mulligan came from the stairhead, bearing a bowl of lather on which a mirror and a razor lay crossed.â This is the classic third-person opening to the 20th-century novel that has shaped modern fiction, pro and anti, for almost a hundred years.
On the sign-in desk, however, was another announcement. This one detailed the funeral arrangements of the assistant supervisor of this shelter. His name was Ray Felix, and he died of a heart attack at age 60 on Sunday. It is curious that his life and death, and the life of Patrick Ewing should be juxtaposed here.
1 In the series, Isobel Flemming is the first vampire seen to actually die from sun exposure. 2  In the novels, Katherine von Swartzschild and Elena Gilbert are the first vampires to die of sun exposure.