“Life was good. Everything was going right. It was almost scaring him because usually when things were going this well it was the calm before the storm hit.”

“When you're young, and you head out to wonderful, everything is fresh and bright as a brand new penny, but before you get to wonderful you're going to have to pass through all right. And when you get to all right, stop and take a good long look, because that may be as far as you're ever going to go.”

“When things go wrong, you'll find they usually go on getting worse for some time; but when things once start going right they often go on getting better and better.”

“The best thing—in Shadow's opinion, perhaps the only good thing—about being in prison was a feeling of relief. The feeling that he'd plunged as low as he could plunge and he'd hit bottom. He didn't worry that the man was going to get him, because the man had got him. He was no longer scared of what tomorrow might bring, because yesterday had brought it.”

“The night didn't go so well because I broke his nose, which was an accident that happened when I hit him in the face because he touched my arse.”

“Anyway. The night didn't go so well because I broke his nose, which was an accident that happened when I hit him in the face because he touched my arse.”