[the_af]

Interesting.

Some novels have powerful first pages and even opening paragraphs. However, one distinction (of many) between the novel and the short story is that the short story must hook your attention from the first paragraph, whereas a novel has the time and space to grow on you.

I'm not sure this will work for novels. As an example, I got the first page of a book which talked about a middle-aged man and his relationship with a prostitute. I was surprised to find out the book was Coetzee's "Disgrace" -- a book I've read and which I do not associate at all with a middle-aged man and his affection for a prostitute. I really don't think you can decide whether you'll like a novel -- or even find out its main themes -- in the first few pages.

I think this approach can successfully work for short stories, though. Short stories have no time to waste; they must both engage the reader and their themes in the first few paragraphs.

...but then again, do you really need a recommendation to read a short story? You might just as well read it and get it over with :)