"dewy and fresh” appearance"

"There were difficulties in her life that he wanted to know more about, parts of her thick, shapely body that he longe…"

"Removed. The word made Obinze feel inanimate. A thing to be removed. A thing without breath and mind. A thing."

"Sometimes he would stop outside a tube station, often by a flower or a newspaper vender, and watch the people brushin…"

"wistfully, like an admiring foreigner”"

"averse to foreign young men”"

"a real gent”"

"weightless menace,” while the buildings “all [wear] a mournful face”"

"asylum seekers draining the National Health Service” and feels scrutinized and judged"

"I’ve never been to Africa. I’d love to go.’ She said ‘Africa’ wistfully, like an admiring foreigner, loading the word…"