One of the most compelling for me was a book which my cousin lent me and which I'm just point blank refusing to ever give back to her :)
I would be interested to know what other people thought of this exceptionally quiet little book called The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating. (Although I just checked it out on Goodreads and it seems I'm not alone in my love :)
The prologue sets up the beforehand. Elisabeth Tova Bailey is holidaying in the Swiss Alps when she falls ill with a mystery illness. The first chapter and we are flung into her new, quiet world just as I was flung into mine after contracting what may be the same illness (myalgic encephalomyelitis). Her friend comes to visit the now-bedridden Elizabeth and brings with her the main focus of this story - a common garden snail.
What follows is a beautifully-written, thoughtful tale about the beauties and wonders of the internal life when your external one has been severely limited ... and about the beauties and wonders of something that is considered useless and a pest in the external world.
I have SO put your book on my "to read" list! It sounds just wonderful.
RE: What's the Most Interesting Opening to a Book You've Read?