"Whenever we went up to put flowers on Father’s grave, Big Joe would go off on his own, hunting for more creatures to add to his collection; that’s when he wasn’t just standing there gazing up at the tower and singing Oranges and Lemons at the top of his voice and watching the swifts screaming around"
"“I like Big Joe. He’s kind. I like people who are kind.” “There's a mouse in here with me. He's sitting there in the light of the lamp, looking up at me. He seems as surprised to see me as I am to see him. There he goes. I can hear him still, scurrying about somewhere under the hayrick. I think he's"
"But the sound I heat and fear most is not the sound of the explosion-by then it's done and over with ,and you're either dead or not.No,it's the whistle and whine and shriek of the shells as they come over.It's the not knowing where they will land,whether this one is for you."