A woman needs a new door after a break-in.
(from In the Driver’s Seat)
Organizing a new back door after the break-in was more complicated than you might imagine.
That’s a cool first line. This simple story only rarely strays into details that don’t involve the purchasing or installing the door. Everything else — our narrator’s history, the break-in story — is only hinted at. You get the feeling those things are interesting and complicated, and maybe terrible, but there’s a sort of peace to the proceedings. The simple act of having a new door installed is as soothing and reassuring for the reader as it is for the narrator.