"I should have known earlier to always live like that."

"I knew what people thought. Clacktons, we were rubbish. Town like Monkton, one pub, roadhouse, rail silo and twelve s…"

"It only takes one thing to make you unhappy."

"You spend your whole life trying to work out where you fit."

"Over the years Ida had fattened up. She sort of spread, like a garden gone wild."

"She wished her mouth didn't run on ahead of her so much. Her mouth was never any use to her when she needed it."

"Sam followed [his father], loved him, listened to him talk. He believed deeply in luck, the old man, though he was ca…"

"She held the needle to the light. It was a wonder how something sharp came down to nothing like that. She looked thro…"

"I only believe in one thing, Les," Sam solemnly uttered. "Hairy Hand of God, otherwise known as Lady Luck. Our Lady, …"

"Can you shoot?" "I s'pose you mean can I hit anything?"