"Did you have any luck?""Not a bit"

"Did you have any luck?""Not a bit" - Ever Since by Donald Antrim

"You can't just drop a bunch of rocks in a pile to make a stone wall"

"You can't just drop a bunch of rocks in a pile to make a stone wall" - Ever Since by Donald Antrim

"Let me catch my breath"

"Let me catch my breath" - Los Gigantes by T. C. Boyle

"I could think of nothing major I'd done to deserve the current cold freeze"

"I could think of nothing major I'd done to deserve the current cold freeze" - 206 Bones by Kathy Reichs

"If he doesn't leave right away he will be late for work"

"If he doesn't leave right away he will be late for work" - Rollingwood by Ben Marcus

"He stops walking and listens"

"He stops walking and listens" - Rollingwood by Ben Marcus

"Something about the absence of trees makes the light seem perfect"

"Something about the absence of trees makes the light seem perfect" - Rollingwood by Ben Marcus

"When he hasn't slept well, he wants only a sugared muffin"

"When he hasn't slept well, he wants only a sugared muffin" - Rollingwood by Ben Marcus

"It's still dark when the weeping erupts"

"It's still dark when the weeping erupts" - Rollingwood by Ben Marcus

"I can remember being flooded with happiness once"

"I can remember being flooded with happiness once" - Honor by Tessa Hadley

"The merry-go-round was slowing down"

"The merry-go-round was slowing down" - Just Kids by Patti Smith

"It seemed as if the whole of the world was slowly being stripped of innocence"

"It seemed as if the whole of the world was slowly being stripped of innocence" - Just Kids by Patti Smith

"The whole place had the fragrance of oolong"

"The whole place had the fragrance of oolong" - Just Kids by Patti Smith

"All week long he's looked forward to this day"

"All week long he's looked forward to this day" - Getting Closer by Steven Millhauser

"You try not to remind anybody you're there"

"You try not to remind anybody you're there" - Getting Closer by Steven Millhauser

"Would you like to go back? It's completely up to you"

"Would you like to go back? It's completely up to you" - Escape from Spiderhead by George Saunders

"I could not help but wonder what tomorrow would bring"

"I could not help but wonder what tomorrow would bring" - Escape from Spiderhead by George Saunders

"He knows, too, that he is only postponing his own death"

"He knows, too, that he is only postponing his own death" - Youngthing by Nuruddin Farah

"Everything is still for a while"

"Everything is still for a while" - Youngthing by Nuruddin Farah

"There is no innocence in this city"

"There is no innocence in this city" - Youngthing by Nuruddin Farah