Ten of the best Aprils in literature

At the Guardian, John Mullan named ten of the best Aprils in literature.

One entry on the list:

Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell

The month is important to one of fiction's most resonant opening sentences. "It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen." This spring brings no returning warmth or new life, just a "vile wind". Big Brother has even done for the seasons.

Read about the other entries on the list.

Nineteen Eighty-four is #7 on a list of the 100 best last lines from novels. The book made Juan E. Méndez's list of five books on torture, P. J. O’Rourke's list of the five best political satires, Daniel Johnson's five best list of books about Cold War culture, Robert Collins' top ten list of dystopian novels, Gemma Malley's top 10 list of dystopian novels for teenagers, is one of Norman Tebbit's six best books and one of the top ten works of literature according to Stephen King. It made a difference to Isla Fisher, and appears on John Mullan's lists of ten of the best rats in literature and ten of the best horrid children in fiction.

--Marshal Zeringue