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

0:00Look, as a manager of people, as an employer, an entrepreneur, and as an investor in startups, I can tell you the most important thing for your business is the quality of the quality of the quality of the quality of the quality of people. just looking at random people. You're able to see the people who your friends and trusted peers and colleagues, who they trust and who they've hired in the past and who they recommend. And hiring doesn't have to be complicated. Realistically, when you have a business to run, you don't want to spend hours on hiring. You want to hire the right person as quickly as possible.

0:52That's why LinkedIn Jobs AI Assistant suggests immediately 25 great fit candidates daily so you can invite them to apply and keep things moving. Hire right the first time. Post your job for free at linkedin.com slash altature, then promote it to use LinkedIn Jobs' new AI assistant, making it easier and faster to find the top candidates. That's linkedin.com slash altature. Post your job for free. Terms and conditions apply.

1:25Everybody needs to learn how to communicate effectively, whether you are making new friends, you're meeting significant others, you're selling, you're negotiating, you're working with clients, talking to your family, whatever. We always have to communicate. And a classic way to communicate, of course, is writing. So in this little series that we're doing, Hooked on the First Line, we look at the best first lines in all of literary history. I work with Cal Fussman, among others, and we talk about the best first lines we've ever read and why. because you have to know why a line is effective. And usually there's a combination of mystery and a little bit of excitement and drama.

2:17But you'll see. You'll see from this first example. I hope you enjoy it.

2:24This isn't your average business podcast and he's not your average host. This is the James Altucher Show.

2:40So the good thing about a great first sentence, and this maybe is the key thing about a great first sentence, is that to appreciate this sentence and the conversation we're going to have about it, you don't have to have read the rest of the book. That's the idea, is that the first sentence is so good, it kind of draws you in right away to the universe of the book. So can I give you an example, Cal? I am waiting to hear. All right, so this is a book I read like in, I don't know, 1991 and haven't looked at it since. I do not remember the book at all. But when I was looking around for good first sentences, I loved this first sentence.

3:24So the sentence is, and then you might be able to guess the book, but we'll talk about it. The sentence is, many years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendia. Buendia. was to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice. Like, this is the most beautiful first sentence ever. I'm going to read it one more time. Is that okay? That's great. Hundred years of solitude. Go ahead. Yeah. By Gabriel Garcia Marquez. So many years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendia was to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice.

4:05and I'm curious of your opinion, but here's what I love. First off, this is the first sentence. So many years later than what? Nothing's happened yet. It's the first sentence. So presumably there's some story and then many years later, something happens. And what happens? Many years later, comma, as he faced the firing squad. So clearly something bad has happened. He's facing the firing squad. Then it says Colonel Aureliano Buendia. So he's a colonel. He's a high ranking person in the military. And he's remembering that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice. So what does it mean to discover ice?

4:46There's so many like almost cliffhangers in this first sentence. And it's this mystical aspect too. Like, what does it mean to discover ice. And there's war, there's death, there's a whole lifetime because we know some intense story happened in the middle of this life. And there's also this formality. It's not just the Colonel or Aureliano, it's Colonel Aureliano Buendia. So there's like this formality almost. And what happened to get him in front of this firing squad? Well, it's remarkable in that it takes you backward and forward or forward and backward at the same time. And you have no idea like where you are, what's the time period, where you're going, why the colonel's in trouble.

5:41And also it ends with innocence, the discovery of ice. I mean, it's something that's so basic. And that innocence is juxtaposed to the fact that this man is in front of a firing squad, which you don't know is, did he do something to merit being put in front of a firing squad? Is it all unjust? it just makes you jump in for a million reasons. Yeah. There's like an element of nostalgia too, like the father. There's also something, there's like a metaphor here with the discovery of ice or something cold. So something hot blooded had to happen to get in front of the firing squad. And also we know some story occurred because many years later after the story, so there's some action or adventure or whatever, but then there's the coldness.

6:42of that ice as the last word. It's almost like there's an entire novel like squeezed into this sentence. I don't know how you could stop reading after you read that sentence. And you know, this is the key. Like Cal, you and I, right before this episode, we were talking about AI. And obviously a lot of writers wonder, what is the role of AI in writing? And again, I sort of feel like, and of course AI will get better. who knows how much better, but humans are curious and we like a good story. We like cliffhangers. And you're right. I feel this is a very human way to start a novel. Like, like Gabriel Garcia Marquez knows all of the seeds he's planting in this first sentence to keep people going.

7:33Like maybe you're not going to go because you want to find out how this guy discovered ice, but you'll want to find out why he's in front of the firing squad. Or you might want to read it, continue, because many years later, after what? You want to know what that what is, and on and on. Or just simply because of the beauty of the language, and you're reading it in English, which is not in the language it was written in, Spanish, which is going to flow in a more poetic way. But, you know, that sentence was translated in a very poetic way. I'm not sure if it was Gregory Rabasa that did that, but he was a master at what he did.

8:15So there's infinite reasons to keep reading. And it's the reason it's one of the great books of all time. Yeah, I've never read anything else by him. I read that and I remember loving it, but I don't remember anything about it. And then I know I started reading, but I never finished Love in the Time of Cholera. Is that a good book worthy of reading? That's a great, great, great book. In fact, I'm looking at it on my wall right now, the title page. Yeah, I just blew it up and he actually signed it. You're kidding. Yeah, it's right in front of me. How much is that worth, a signed book by Gabriel Garcia Marquez?

8:55Well, I don't know, but I don't, maybe I shouldn't be just talking about it. It might be, I have to hide it now. Yeah, you're going to get robbed. You know, the other thing is, I don't know, like, how many people see value in that right now? Well, it's a good point because first off, in general, I feel literary novels are not as popular as they once were. Like, let's take the 1920s as an example. People like Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald were cultural heroes. They were like pop stars and they were literary writers. Now we know John Grisham. We know James Patterson, you know, the kind of thriller novelists, the ones that you buy to read on an airplane or at a beach or whatever, because they're page turners.

9:50Like, I don't really know the last literary novel that was huge in the way, you know, literary novels used to be. And the people who are writing them, you know, maybe I'm just thinking of an example of somebody who, in a large sense has been put before the public as an example of a writer who went all in on a topic and is noted for it. And that would be Salman Rushdie, who unfortunately was recently shot for writing the Satanic Verses. Did he recover? I don't even know what happened after of that? He's live. I think it's been very low keyed. Maybe I should look into that. I hope he's doing fine.

10:43I had lunch with him at one point when I think the fuck was still on him. And, you know, I remember like you're looking around, you're always wondering, like, is this the day? And it was actually a great conversation. And I remember he ordered a second glass of wine, which he said he rarely does, but he just was feeling relaxed. And I was glad that he could have that moment of relaxation. What did you talk about with him? Well, we talked about his life's experiences of like what it took to get to a place to write that book, which I don't think very many people have read. It's one of those things when you write a book called The Satanic Verses and it is tweeted out or put over the Internet as blasphemy against religion.

11:57That becomes bigger than the actual book. The fatwa became bigger than the book, I think. Oh, yeah, because by the way, I found the book personally to be unreadable. Now, he's written other books that I found to be very readable, but I couldn't get through the first chapter or two of the Satanic Verses. It's disappointing to a lot of people. I think Midnight's Children is the book that will live on. And he actually talked about it. He said he will go wherever he goes to knowing that his book will live on after him. There are already generations of people who have read it, and it is a bullseye in that culture, and it will be passed on.

12:45It's a landmark. So if you're looking for a book by Simon Rushdie, I suggest you start with that one.

13:07Look, as a manager of people, as an employer, as an entrepreneur, and as even an investor in startups, I can tell you the most important thing for your business is the quality of the people you hire. The best part is that great candidates are already on LinkedIn. Employees hired through LinkedIn are 30 % more likely to stick around for at least a year compared to those hired through the leading competitor. And I will tell you that the great thing about LinkedIn is that you're not just looking at random people. You're able to see the people who your friends and trusted peers and colleagues, who they trust and who they've hired in the past and who they recommend.

13:50And hiring doesn't have to be complicated. Realistically, when you have a business to run, you don't want to spend hours on hiring. You want to hire the right person as quickly as possible. That's why LinkedIn Jobs AI Assistant suggests immediately 25 great fit candidates daily so you can invite them to apply and keep things moving. Hire right the first time. Post your job for free at linkedin.com slash altature, then promote it to use LinkedIn Jobs' new AI assistant, making it easier and faster to find the top candidates. That's linkedin.com slash altature. Post your job for free. Terms and conditions apply.

14:28Let's see what the first line was of the satanic verses. Here we go. The chapter title is The Angel Gabriel. And the first line is, to be born again, saying Gabriel Farishta, tumbling from the heavens, first you have to die. So that's a good first line. Because also, is this an angel? But why does he have a last name? And why is he tumbling from the heavens? And is this his way of dying so he could be born again? So that actually does draw me in. I'm interested. it's it's mystical and it has that quality and it reminds one of the story of lucifer as well but that's this is not like lucifer's name so it's and again it's the last name aspect is kind of confusing to me well i i think once you write a sentence like that and you've invited the reader in you got to keep it up yeah and it inspires the writer too to keep going like that that's right.

15:30So the question is, what happened along the way that stopped you from getting to chapter three? Yeah, I don't know, actually, because I don't even remember that first line, because now I actually really do want to read like, A, why is this guy who might be, human might be angel, why is he tumbling from the heavens? Also, what happens to him when he lands on earth? Something interesting must happen to him, hence the whole novel starting with him. And third, you're right. The fact that there was this fatwa declared by the Ayatollah of Iran against him because of this book makes me want to read also.

16:09Now, do you ever see the Curb Your Enthusiasm episode with Salman Rushdie? I did not. So Larry David is making a play called Fatwa. And a fatwa is also made against Larry David in the show, Curb Your Enthusiasm, a fictional fatwa. And so he meets with Salman Rushdie to get advice. And Salman Rushdie says, wait, lean in. And he says secretly, fatwa sex. Everybody is going to want you. Don't be afraid of the fatwa. You're going to get tons of fatwa sex. That's what that whole episode is about is, is the fatwa worth all the fatwa sex that Larry David is now getting? Well, that's the beauty of Larry David.

16:56Yeah. So that's 100 Years of Solitude. I think I kind of want to read it again, but I was incredibly impressed by that first line. We could go on to the next episode and the next first line. And you know what? The last line is as good as the first. Oh, what's the last line of 100 Years of Solitude? Yeah, let me, I don't want to. Is it a spoiler? I can leave it as a spoiler. Hang on. So stop here if you don't want the spoiler, just in case it's a spoiler. But I don't know if it is a spoiler. I don't remember it. Well, let's see. Oh, man. It's a long last sentence. You know what? I'm not going to read it because it should be read as the last line in the book.

17:46All right. Yeah. By the way, I will tell you that if a writer writes a great last line, first off, if it's a good novel, great novel, and then if they wrap it up with an amazing last line, for me as a reader, that's the most pleasurable experience you could have as a reader. I remember one time I read this novel and the last line was so good. I had to explain to my girlfriend at the time the entire novel so I could just read to her the last line because I thought the last line was so beautiful. That's how important a last line is. Well, it's sort of like finishing a great meal with a great dessert or just the right after dessert wine and you walk out with that taste in your mouth.

18:36Because if you have a great meal, but the dessert isn't so good or doesn't live up to everything that preceded it, it kind of reduces the experience. But if you can get, not only nail the whole meal, but then nail the last line. You're leaving with that last taste in your mouth and that sort of encompasses everything. And that's what happens here. I don't want to ruin it. You really should read a book in order to get to that place and go, oh man. You know, people will read a book for the first line, but they'll remember a book because of the last line. And think about it. It's not so different from TV series.

19:27Like take The Sopranos, for instance. There's a lot of both positive and negative feedback on the last scene of The Sopranos, but I would say most people did not like The Last Scene and that tinged the entire series for many people. You know, why did they have such a tremendous reaction against that last episode? I don't know because I actually liked the last scene in that, but you know, I think. It like fades to white, right? Yeah. And, and it's sort of like in a very odd way, like you don't know there is just a family dinner in this diner, but you don't know if people are about to kill him. Like there's weird people walking around and they're kind of doing it in slow motion and then boom, it just like fades to black or fades to white or whatever.

20:15Well, and I think the important thing is it's faded to white, not to black, because if it faded to black, people would have made the connection that I got knocked off. Yeah, I think the assumption was, is that someone in the diner was going to is going to kill him or did kill him. And we just don't know. We just don't know the answer. And I and I think, you know, it's very hard to conclude a series that has such a powerful arc like The Sopranos. uh you know i i feel madman did a good job kind of closing it off for me um i liked the final scenes of lost but a lot of people did not like it uh you know it's it's very hard to do it though when you have such a strong arc to close it off in a way that's going to satisfy everyone or satisfy anyone really look this is why for anybody who's wants to be a great creator these are the sort of details, like find something you love and break it down and analyze it.

21:13And there's always going to be interesting things you uncover because great artists, everything is done with a reason and analyzing that reason and understanding it helps us to become great creators, whether that means business creators or novelists or painters or actors or whatever. So in any case, Cal, this was the first episode. It was the line from 100 Years of Solitude. And I've got a great one, one of the most famous books ever for the second episode. All right. Well, I am going to be a devoted listener. And if you want, you can have me back. Oh, you're going to be back for the first 10 at least because we're doing them all right now.

22:00Oh, man.

22:32We'll be right back. There isn't one. We just respect you and your time. Oh, you're still here? Move along now. Enjoy your day. Sell your car today. Carvana. Pick up these may apply.