He’s just on the cusp of concentration, of the state he’s going to be in all afternoon long, where the minutes are crammed and stretched but the hours slip by.
-- Alec (Alec (1964))

Importance: This is how the narrator describes Alec when he is working at the Linotype. The distortion of time this quote depicts is a distortion present through the novel. This quote is prescient because this distortion of time corresponds to Alec performing a routine task. The novel depicts the characters in the midst of their routine. This quote, which is early in the novel, should alert the reader to themes explored through the novel. These themes explore the relation between time and the routine events of the characters' lives.

This is all carefully costed, carefully budgeted and scraped together: his one shot at creating the impression of careless, glad-handing wealth.
-- Vern (Vern (1964))

Importance: This quote anticipates Vern's lunch with Joe McLeish in...