the old

"To me, the old were a separate species, like sparrows or foxes [...] The body's largest organ bears the brunt- the old no longer fit their skin. It hangs of them, off us, like a room-for-growth school blazer. Or pyjamas"

- Ian McEwan, Sweet Tooth 

a whole paragraph in one visual gulp

"I could take in a block of text or a whole paragraph in one visual gulp. It was a matter of letting my eyes and thoughts go soft, like wax, to take the impression fresh of the page. To the irritation of those around me, I'd turn a page every few seconds with an impatient snap of the wrists [...] I wanted characters I could believe in, and I wanted to be made curious about what happened to them"

- Ian McEwan, Sweet Tooth