Hooked on the First Line | 'One Hundred Years of Solitude' with Cal Fussman

[00:00:07] Everybody needs to learn how to communicate effectively. Whether you are making new friends,

[00:00:14] you're meeting significant others, you're selling, you're negotiating, you're working with clients,

[00:00:20] talking to your family, whatever. We always have to communicate. And a classic way to

[00:00:26] communicate of course is writing. So in this little series that we're doing Hooked

[00:00:32] on the First Line, we look at the best first lines in all of literary history. I work with

[00:00:42] Cal Fussman among others and we talk about the best first lines we've ever read and why.

[00:00:50] Because you have to know why a line is effective. And usually there's a combination of mystery

[00:00:56] and a little bit of excitement and drama. But you'll see, you'll see from this first

[00:01:00] example. I hope you enjoy it. This isn't your average business podcast and he's not your

[00:01:09] average host. This is the James Altucher Show.

[00:01:22] So the good thing about a great first sentence, and this maybe is the key thing about a great

[00:01:28] first sentence, is that to appreciate this sentence and the conversation we're going

[00:01:33] to have about it, you don't have to have read the rest of the book. That's the

[00:01:38] idea is that the first sentence is so good, it kind of draws you in right away to the universe

[00:01:46] of the book. So can I give you an example, Cal?

[00:01:50] I am waiting to hear. All right. So this is a book I read like in, I don't know, 1991

[00:01:57] and haven't looked at it since. I do not remember the book at all. But when I was

[00:02:02] looking around for good first sentences, I loved this first sentence. So the sentence

[00:02:07] is, and then you might be able to guess the book, but we'll talk about it. The sentence

[00:02:11] is many years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendia, was to remember

[00:02:20] that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice. Like this is the most

[00:02:27] beautiful first sentence ever. I'm going to read it one more time. Is that okay?

[00:02:31] That's great. Hundred years of solitude. Go ahead.

[00:02:34] Yeah, by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. So many years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel

[00:02:40] Aureliano Buendia was to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover

[00:02:46] ice. And I'm curious of your opinion, but here's what I love. First off, this is the

[00:02:51] first sentence. So many years later than what? Nothing's happened yet. It's the

[00:02:56] first sentence. So presumably there's some story and then many years later, something

[00:03:03] happens. And what happens many years later, comma, as he faced the firing squad. So clearly

[00:03:09] something bad has happened. He's facing the firing squad. Then it says Colonel Aureliano

[00:03:15] Buendia. So he's a Colonel. He's a high ranking person in the military. And he's

[00:03:20] remembering that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice. So what

[00:03:26] does it mean to discover ice? There's so many like almost cliffhangers in this

[00:03:31] first sentence. And it's this mystical aspect too, like what does it mean to

[00:03:34] discover ice? And there's war, there's death. There's a whole lifetime because we

[00:03:41] know some some intense story happened in the middle of this life. And there's also

[00:03:46] this formality. It's not just the Colonel or Aureliano. It's Colonel Aureliano

[00:03:52] Buendia. So there's like this formality almost. And how did what happened to

[00:03:56] get him in front of this firing squad? Well, it's remarkable in that it takes you

[00:04:03] backward and forward or forward and backward at the same time. And you have

[00:04:12] no idea like where you are, what's the time period, where you're going, why

[00:04:21] the Colonel's in trouble. And also it ends with innocence, the discovery of ice.

[00:04:33] I mean, it's something that's so basic. And that innocence is juxtaposed to the

[00:04:41] fact that this man is in front of a firing squad, which you don't know is

[00:04:47] that he do something to merit being put in front of a firing squad. Is it all

[00:04:53] unjust? It just makes you jump in for a million reasons.

[00:04:59] Yeah, there's like an element of nostalgia too, like the father. There's

[00:05:03] also there's also something met, there's like a metaphor here with the

[00:05:09] discovery of ice or something cold. So something hot blooded had to happen

[00:05:13] to get him in front of the firing squad. And also we know some story occurred

[00:05:17] because many years later after the story, so there's some action in it or

[00:05:20] adventure or whatever. But then there's the coldness of that ice as the last

[00:05:25] word. It's almost like there's an entire novel like squeezed into this

[00:05:29] sentence. I don't know how you could stop reading after you read that

[00:05:34] sentence. And you know, this is the key like Cal, you and I right before

[00:05:39] this episode, we were talking about AI and obviously a lot of writers

[00:05:42] wonder what is the role of AI in writing? And again, I sort of feel like

[00:05:51] and of course AI will get better. Who knows how much better? But humans

[00:05:56] are curious and we like a good story. We like cliffhangers. And you're

[00:06:03] right. I feel this is a very human way to start a novel like like Gabriel

[00:06:08] Garcia Marquez knows all of the seeds he's planting in this first sentence

[00:06:13] to keep people going like maybe you're not going to go because you want to

[00:06:17] find out how this guy discovered ice, but you want to find out why he's in

[00:06:21] front of the firing squad or you might want to read it continue because

[00:06:25] many years later after what you want to know what that what is and on

[00:06:28] and on or just simply because of the beauty of the language. And when

[00:06:33] you're reading it in English, which is not in the language it was written

[00:06:37] in Spanish, which is going to flow in like a more poetic way. But you

[00:06:44] know, that sentence was translated in a very poetic way. I'm not

[00:06:50] sure if it was Gregory Robosa that did that. But he was a master at

[00:06:55] what he did. So there's infinite reasons to keep reading and it's

[00:07:01] really it's the reason it's one of the great books of all time.

[00:07:05] Yeah, I've never read anything else by him. I read that and I remember

[00:07:08] loving it. But I don't remember anything about it. And then I

[00:07:12] know I started reading but I never finished love in the time of

[00:07:15] cholera. Is that a good book worthy of reading?

[00:07:17] That's a great, great, great book. In fact, I'm looking at it on

[00:07:22] my wall right now the title page. Yeah, it's I just blew it up.

[00:07:28] And he actually signed it. So it's kidding. Yeah, it's right in

[00:07:32] front of me.

[00:07:34] How much is that worth? A signed book by Gabriel Garcia Marquez?

[00:07:37] Well, I don't know. But I don't maybe I shouldn't be just

[00:07:42] talking about it. It might be you have to hide it now.

[00:07:47] Yeah, you're gonna get robbed.

[00:07:50] You know, I the other thing is I don't know like how many

[00:07:54] people see value in that right now.

[00:07:59] Well, it's a good point because first off, in general, I feel

[00:08:03] literary novels are not as popular as they once were. Like,

[00:08:08] let's take the 1920s as an example. People like Ernest

[00:08:12] Hemingway and F Scott Fitzgerald were cultural heroes. They

[00:08:16] were like pop stars. And they were literary writers. Now we

[00:08:21] know John Grisham, we know James Patterson, you know, the kind

[00:08:24] of thriller novelists, the ones that you buy to read on an

[00:08:28] airplane or at a beach or whatever because they're page

[00:08:31] turners. Like I don't really know the last literary novel

[00:08:34] that was huge in the way, you know, literary novels used to

[00:08:38] be.

[00:08:39] And the people who are writing them, you know, maybe I'm

[00:08:47] just thinking of an example of somebody who in a large sense has

[00:08:52] been put before the public as an example of a writer who went all

[00:08:58] in on a topic and is noted for it. And that would be some in

[00:09:02] Rushdie, who unfortunately was like recently shot for writing

[00:09:10] the satanic verses.

[00:09:12] Did he recover? I don't even know what happened after that.

[00:09:16] He's live. I think it's been very low keyed. Maybe I should look

[00:09:23] into that. I hope he's doing fine. I had lunch with him at one

[00:09:28] point when I think the thought was still on him. And you know,

[00:09:34] I remember like you're looking around, you're always

[00:09:39] wondering, I could is this the day? And it was actually a great

[00:09:46] conversation. And I remember he he ordered a second glass of

[00:09:52] wine, which he said he like rarely does but he just was

[00:09:56] feeling relaxed. And I was glad that he could have that

[00:10:01] moment of relaxation.

[00:10:03] Well, what did you talk about with him?

[00:10:05] Well, we need to we talked about his life's experiences of like

[00:10:11] what it took to get to a place to write that book, which I don't

[00:10:18] think very many people have read. It's one of those things when

[00:10:24] you write a book called the satanic verses and it is tweeted

[00:10:32] out or put over the internet as blasphemy against religion. That

[00:10:39] becomes bigger than the actual book that like the font what became

[00:10:44] bigger than the book, I think.

[00:10:45] Oh yeah, because by the way, I found the book personally to be

[00:10:49] unreadable. Now he's written other books that I found to be

[00:10:51] very readable. But I couldn't get through the first chapter two

[00:10:55] of the satanic verses.

[00:10:56] It's disappointing to a lot of people. I think midnight

[00:11:00] children is the book that will live on and he actually talked

[00:11:06] about it. He said he will go wherever he goes to knowing that

[00:11:12] his book will live on after him there are already generations of

[00:11:17] people who have read it and it is a bullseye in that culture

[00:11:25] and it will be passed on. It's a landmark.

[00:11:28] And so if you're looking for a book by Sam and Rushdie, I suggest

[00:11:35] you start with that one.

[00:11:51] Let's see what the first line was of the satanic verses. Here we

[00:11:55] go. The chapter title is the angel Gabriel. And the first

[00:11:59] line is to be born again saying Gabriel for each tumbling

[00:12:04] from the heavens. First you have to die. So that's that's

[00:12:08] a good first line because also is this an angel? But why does he

[00:12:13] have a last name? And why is he tumbling from the heavens? And

[00:12:18] is this his way of dying so he could be born again? So that

[00:12:21] actually does draw me in. I'm interested. It's mystical. And

[00:12:27] it has that quality.

[00:12:29] And it reminds one of the story of Lucifer as well, but

[00:12:33] that's this is not like Lucifer's name. So it's and

[00:12:36] again, it's the last name aspect is kind of confusing to me.

[00:12:39] Well, I think once you write a sentence like that, and you've

[00:12:44] invited the reader in, you got to keep it up.

[00:12:48] Yeah. And it inspires the writer to to keep going like

[00:12:52] that. That's right. So the question is what happened

[00:12:55] along the way that stopped you from getting to chapter three?

[00:13:01] Yeah, I don't know actually, because I don't even remember

[00:13:04] that first line, because now I actually really do want to read

[00:13:06] like a why is this why is this guy who might be human might be

[00:13:11] angel? Why is he tumbling from the heavens? Also, what happens

[00:13:15] to him when he lands on earth? Something must interesting

[00:13:18] must happen to him. Hence, the whole novel starting with him.

[00:13:22] And third, you're right, the fact that there was this

[00:13:25] fatwa declared by the Ayatollah of Iran against him

[00:13:30] because of this book makes me want to read also. Now,

[00:13:33] do you ever see the curb your enthusiasm episode with salmon

[00:13:36] Rushdie? I did not. So so Larry David is making a play called

[00:13:43] fatwa and a fatwa is also made against Larry David in in the

[00:13:49] in the show, curb your enthusiasm of fictional fatwa. And

[00:13:53] so he meets with Salman Rushdie to get advice. And Salman Rushdie

[00:13:57] you know says wait, you know, lean in and they he says

[00:14:00] secretly, fatwa sex, like everybody is going to want you

[00:14:04] like don't be afraid of the fatwa you're going to get tons of

[00:14:06] fatwa sex. That's what that whole episode is about is is the

[00:14:10] fatwa worth all of fatwa sex that that Larry David is now

[00:14:14] getting?

[00:14:16] Well, that's the beauty of Larry David. Yeah. So that's

[00:14:21] 100 years of solitude. I think I kind of want to read it

[00:14:24] again. But I am was incredibly impressed by that first

[00:14:28] line. We could go on to the next episode and then next first

[00:14:32] line.

[00:14:32] And you know what? The last line is as good as the first.

[00:14:38] Oh, what's the last line of 100 years of solitude?

[00:14:40] Yeah, let me I don't want to

[00:14:43] I can leave it as a spoiler. Hang on.

[00:14:46] So stop here. If you don't want the spoiler just in cases

[00:14:49] of spoiler. But I don't know if it is a spoiler. I

[00:14:51] don't remember it.

[00:14:52] Well, let's see. Oh, man. It's a long last sentence.

[00:14:59] You know what? I'm not going to read it because it should be

[00:15:05] read as the last line in the book.

[00:15:09] All right. Yeah, by the way, I will tell you that if a writer

[00:15:14] writes a great last line, first off, if it's a good novel,

[00:15:18] great novel. And then if they wrap it up with an amazing

[00:15:22] last line for me as a reader, that's the most pleasurable

[00:15:26] experience you could have as a reader. I remember one time I read

[00:15:29] this novel and the last line was so good. I had to explain to

[00:15:34] my girlfriend at the time the entire novel so I could just

[00:15:39] read to her the last line because I thought the last line

[00:15:41] was so beautiful. Like that's how important the last line is.

[00:15:44] Well, it's sort of like finishing a great meal with

[00:15:50] a great dessert or just the right after dessert wine and

[00:15:55] you walk out with that taste in your mouth.

[00:15:59] And because if you have a great meal, but the dessert isn't

[00:16:05] so good or doesn't live up to everything that preceded it,

[00:16:10] it kind of reduces the experience. But if you can get

[00:16:15] not only nail the whole meal, but then nail the last line,

[00:16:20] you're leaving with that last taste in your mouth and that

[00:16:25] sort of encompasses everything. And that's what happens here.

[00:16:30] I don't want to ruin it. You really should read a book in

[00:16:36] order to get to that place and go, Oh man,

[00:16:41] you know, people will read a book for the first line, but

[00:16:45] they'll remember a book because of the last line. And

[00:16:48] think about it. It's not so different from TV series like

[00:16:51] take the Sopranos, for instance, there's a lot of both

[00:16:54] positive and negative feedback on the last scene of the

[00:16:57] Sopranos, but I would say most people did not like the last

[00:17:00] scene and that tinge the entire series for many people.

[00:17:05] You know, why did they have such a tremendous reaction

[00:17:10] against that last episode?

[00:17:14] I don't know because I actually liked the last

[00:17:16] scene in that. But you know, I think it like fades to white,

[00:17:20] right? Yeah. And it's sort of like, in a very odd way, like

[00:17:24] you don't know there is just a family dinner in this diner.

[00:17:28] But you don't know if people are about to kill him. Like

[00:17:30] there's weird people walking around and they're kind of

[00:17:33] doing it in slow motion. And then boom, it just like fades

[00:17:37] to black or fades to white or whatever. Well, and I

[00:17:40] think the important thing is is faded to white, not to

[00:17:43] black, because if it faded to black, people would have made

[00:17:47] the connection that I got knocked off.

[00:17:51] Yeah, I think the assumption was is that someone in the

[00:17:54] diner was going to is going to kill him or did kill him. And

[00:17:58] we just don't know. We just don't know the answer. And I

[00:18:01] think, you know, it's very hard to conclude a series

[00:18:05] that has such a powerful arc like the Sopranos. You

[00:18:08] know, I feel Mad Men did a good job kind of closing it

[00:18:11] off. For me, I liked the final scenes of Lost, but a lot of

[00:18:16] people did not like it. You know, it's very hard to do it

[00:18:19] though, when you have such a strong arc to close it off in

[00:18:23] a way that's going to satisfy everyone or satisfy anyone

[00:18:25] really. Look, this is why for anybody who wants to be a

[00:18:30] great creator, these are the sort of details like find

[00:18:33] something you love and break it down and analyze it. And

[00:18:37] there's always going to be interesting things you uncover

[00:18:39] because great artists, everything is done with a reason. And

[00:18:44] analyzing that reason and understanding it helps us to

[00:18:47] become great creators, whether that means business creators or

[00:18:50] novelists or painters or actors or whatever. So in any case,

[00:18:56] Cal, this was the first episode was the line from 100 years of

[00:19:01] solitude. And I've got a great one, one of the most famous

[00:19:05] books ever for the second episode.

[00:19:08] All right. Well, I'm I am going to be a devoted listener. And if

[00:19:13] you want, you can have me back and

[00:19:16] are you gonna be back for the first 10 at least because we're

[00:19:18] doing them all right now.

[00:19:24] Man.