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Rock Springs
Richard Ford
‘But as I read on a napkin once, between the idea and the act a whole kingdom lies. And I had a hard time with my acts, which were oftentimes offender's acts.’
Why I Love Country Music
Elizabeth Tallent
‘The harmonica player is left standing alone in the light, talking to himself. He cleans the spit from his instrument with a white handkerchief so old it is nearly transparent.’
Monster Deal
Frederick Barthelme
‘I'm about ready to go see what’s happening when they come in, each of them carrying a flamingo from the front yard.’
Still Life With Watermelon
Bobbie Ann Mason
‘When she saw a photograph of a cornucopia in a magazine, she imagined a huge watermelon stuck in its mouth.’
Money
Martin Amis
‘How did I get like this? It can’t just be the booze and all the junk food I put away. I must have been booked in for this a long time ago.’
Blow Your House Down
Pat Barker
‘There was a moment of complete silence, one of those inexplicable, simultaneous pauses in conversation that come over groups of people in a crowded room.’
Emma Bovary’s Eyes
Julian Barnes
‘Her eyes are black: passion and depth. Her eyes are green: wildness and jealousy. Her eyes are brown: reliability and ordinariness. Her eyes are violet: the novel is by Raymond Chandler.‘
Foreign Buddies
Ursula Bentley
‘She had to explain this, and the thought crossed her mind to dwell on this personal note, to put out a feeler to test Christina's reaction to the idea of sexual experiment.’
Extracts From The Journal Of Flying Officer J
William Boyd
‘The squadron left today for the city. The mess cold and sad, Verschoyle, with uncharacteristic generosity, said I could keep the monoplane.’
Rose on the broken
Maggie Gee
‘They're only wild flowers. I wish I could buy you real roses. But to her they became the real roses, frail petals, each centre a sun. And they smelled of sun and beginnings, as clear and thin as the water.’
