A Silly Book Game Part 42

Easy Rules:*

1. Grab the book you're currently reading.
2. Find a quote which answers the question in the post above yours.
3. Tell us what book you're quoting (include author's name).
4. Find another quote from the same book (a question this time) for the next poster to answer.

Hint: It's really great if both your answer and question are related, but that's not absolutely necessary.

*Newbies welcome!

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Continuing with my last post...
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"I done pondered over this thing many a time..."

The Heart is a Lonely Hunter - Carson McCullers

"Where do you intend to go now?"

"... a place called Agia Galini, meaning "Holy Peace."

The Nature Instinct: Relearning Our Lost Intuition for the Inner Workings of the Natural World by Tristan Gooley

"But what happens next?"

“Princess D, queen of D-Land is coming today!”

Sailor Moon, Volume 1 - Naoko Takeuchi

“What’s up with the cops today?”

"Well, I'll tell you. It’s like an ants' nest," he said. "An ants' nest that's always being rattled with a stick ... "

The Loney by Andrew Michael Hurley

"Is there much damage?"

"It contained a layer of pasty, semi-liquid black muck several centimeters thick: decaying feces reeking of ammonia and crawling with maggots."

One Wild Bird at a Time: Portraits of Individual Lives by Bernd Heinrich

"With no consistently predictable time or place to go, what then?"

We wavered around the stone point where the trail goes; then we were in the archipelago of islands, tips of sunken hills, once possibly a single ridge before the lake was flooded.

Surfacing by Margaret Atwood

"How would you like," I said, "to pick some blueberries?"

"It's very kind of you, but...no thank you."

An Elderly Lady Is Up to No Good by Helene Tursten

"The kitchen's amazing, isn't it?"

What a joy it is in life when you happen to have a clean, warm kitchen. It has never happened to me. I have never been good at keeping order around me.

Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk

"Where did they get those fancy cars and houses?"

"...our own mission here in Ihonitiria..."

The Orenda by Joseph Boyden

"How did everyone know to stop at this place?"

"NO TRESPASSERS
NO UNAUTHORIZED ENTRY BEYOND THIS POINT
BY ORDER"

Gentlemen and Players by Joanne Harris

"What did I tell you?"

"It sounded a lot worse than it was..."

The Death of Santini - Pat Conroy

"Do I have to draw you a picture?"

"A lovely and accurate picture of an inventor's life!" he laughed.

The Lark by E. Nesbit

"He's been paying you a good deal of attention, hasn't he?"

"He's doing what he always does." (67)

Motor Spirit by Jarett Kobek

"And what's Bryan concerned about?" (89)

"The boy wants to see where his mama was born..."

The Death of Santini - Pat Conroy

"Why are all these men around the house?"

" ... We meet every few years. Mostly abroad. But this time I brought them here. For what you might call a little conference."

The Magicians by J. B. Priestley

"Was it an interesting experience?"

"I only spent one coin. Didn't waste any money."

Solito - Javier Zamora

"How's Margarita?"

"After all, the scene was grotesque—the naked woman lying in the grass, the dressed man standing moodily by with his hands in his pockets."

Keep the Aspidistra Flying by George Orwell

"Did I hit the sergeant?"

"there's been a mistake. How is it even possible for someone to be guilty? We're all human beings here, one like the other."

The Trial- Franz Kafka

"Do you presume I'm guilty too?"

"Well, somebody pushed her down the stairs," Mrs. Willow said. "She never fell by herself."

The Sundial by Shirley Jackson

"Carry packages? I?"

"nothing beats on-the-job training."

Amongst Our Weapons by Ben Aaronovitch

"How did you know it was an alien?"

Its left and right limbs were jointed at three places, and its stride length was close to six feet.

Illegal Alien by Robert J. Sawyer

"How long do you need to prepare?"

"at least twenty minutes each morning in moustache prep alone."

Tales from the Gas Station: Volume One by Jack Townsend

"How did the dark god style his hair into a mohawk? Is he using hairspray? Where did that come from?”

"Yaroslav's renowned glass cabinet." (393)

A Gentleman in Moscow - Amor Towles

"What do you think, mein Herr? A dapper hat?" (103)

"It looked like a Walkman ate another Walkman, exploded, then underwent reconstructive surgery in the dark with liberal amounts of electrical tape."

Tales from the Gas Station: Volume Two by Jack Townsend

“You know you’ve got a giant bug crawling out of your eye-hole, right?”

A fly -- a fat blue gem, covered in fine, downy hair -- wanders across Felicita's face.

Murder Most Serene by Gabrielle Wittkop

"Who's there?"

"It’s me. I got another one for your collection, but I’m gonna need some help hauling her out of a ditch."

Tales from the Gas Station: Volume Three by Jack Townsend

"What is our purpose on this planet?"

"...to study matural sciences, higher mathematics, history, and music..."

Benjamin Banneker and Us - Rachel Jamison Webster

"Am I remembering that right?"

I hesitated before answering, but then I remembered exactly how it felt being trapped with nothing but my vivid hallucinations and overactive imagination to keep me company.

Tales from the Gas Station: Volume Three by Jack Townsend

I must have been crazy. Why else would I have left the safety of the tent to venture out into the crowd?

"Only for money..."

Benjamin Banneker and Us - Rachel Jamison Webster

"What did my brother say?"

"He said he’d give me half an hour in return for free sodas for life."

Tales from the Gas Station: Volume Three by Jack Townsend

“Dude, what the hell happened to you?”

Rex got away. I had to hunt for him.

Arthur: The Beginning by Walter Stoffel

"Can you get up by yourself? You want some help?"

"That is generous of you."

Benjamin Banneker and Us - Rachel Jamison Webster

"What now? Is some alien going to jump out at me?"

"Yes, indeed. What a turn the times have taken!"

The Hand of Ethelberta by Thomas Hardy

"In what way is he wicked?"

"He wore silk shirts."

The Misses Mallett by E. H. Young

"Now what are your instructions?"

“Concentrate on what you have to do. Fix your eyes on it. Remind yourself that your task is to be a good human being…”

Meditations - Marcus Aurelius

“What is it in ourselves that we should prize?”

"My foot's a long way from my brain."

The War that Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

"Will we have cake for tea on my birthday?"

"I have it in my bag right here."

Brown Boy - Omer Aziz

"What's so funny?"

"I sent one boy to the gaschambers at Huntsville."

No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy

"What's the problem, officer?"

“Federal police in Mississaugua have arrested eighteen men on charges of terrorism.”

Brown Boy - Omer Aziz

“So, what do you want to do with your life?”

"What does it matter? We have enough money."

Slow River by Nicola Griffith

"Do you really need this equipment?"

"She pressed a 3.25 disk into his hands."

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow - Gabrielle Zevin

"How do I get in touch with you?"

"If you can't see it, there's no use going into it."

Tender Is the Night - F. Scott Fitzgerald

"You like to help everybody, don't you?"

But she shook her head. "I'm afraid that's not what I'm saying at all...."

Babel-17 by Samuel R. Delany

"What's that low humming?"

"...the wind whistling through ill-fitted window frames"

Carrion Comfort - Dan Simmons

"Where is your VCR?"

"By the river, on the way to the store."

The Hole by Hiroko Oyamada

"What about you? Do you have a device like that?"

"It remains the only one we have."

Carrion Comfort

"Are you sure you can get the equipment started without keys?"

“Oh, yes,” I say neutrally.

“…how come I never know when you’re having a nightmare?” I say.

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

>48 SweetCaroline765: "...it isn't for sweet, delicate young ladies, like you.."

Uncle Tom's Cabin - Harriet Beecher Stowe

"How can you shut your eyes and ears?"

Georg Vittorin sat there with half-closed eyes. Herr Ebenseder's droning voice sounded very remote.

Little Apple by Leo Perutz

"What happened then?"

"I don't know. Something about a killin'."

The Trees - Percival Everett

"Just what is going on, Special Agent Hind?"

He urinated outside the shack...

The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway

"Did they search for me?"

He wafted his hand, no need.

The Western Wind by Samantha Harvey

"I always think that a village that can still find the spirit for pranks is in good health, don't you?"

"It's risky."

Yesteryear - Stephen G. Eoannou

"Who is this man with a small chin?"

"That's not enough. I must find you some more."

The Corner That Held Them by Sylvia Townsend Warner

"How much for a vicar?" she enquired.

"More than you think."

Ordinary Gods and Monsters by Chris Womersley

"There was a familiar smell, something sharp - what was that?"

I knew that smell. It was the unmistakable stench of bat droppings.

The Mummy Case: An Amelia Peabody Novel of Suspense by Elizabeth Peters

"Whom are you expecting?"

“Unwary hippos, careless tourists.”

Cat Brushing by Jane Campbell

“Was she ashamed?”

"Those things happen."

The Other Americans - Laila Lalami

"How are you holding up?"

"Come back tomorrow. Bring me something I can sell or eat."

Plum Rains by Andromeda Romano-Lax

"Shouldn't you be with your wife?"

“She has long accepted that I will not return to Saint Rémy during her lifetime.”

The Book of Goose by Yiyun Li

“What’s the secret you can’t let others hear?”

"I've also killed a man, you know."

Jasmine by Bharati Mukherjee

"You got American dollars?"

Death reached into the depths of his robe and brought out a large leather bag full of assorted copper coinage, most of it blue and green with age.

Mort by Terry Pratchett

"What are we going to do now?"

"Let's get married."

My Seven Black Fathers - Will Jawando

"How exactly would that work?"

"... every married woman is an angel chained to a satyr."

The Road to Wigan Pier by George Orwell

"Why?"

"We are taught, as women, that whether or not we have value as human beings depends on what men think of us."

Why I Am Not a Feminist by Jessica Crispin

"How can anyone ever deal with the overwhelming despair of the world without being subsumed by it?"

"New Orleans...Naked women. Strip shows. Liquor flowing in the street."

My Losing Season - Pat Conroy

"What do you think about that?"

"My lord, all this occurred in your youth."

Reynard the Fox by James Simpson

"Do you think you've fooled me?"

“No…promising I’m not.”

My Losing Season - Pat Conroy

“How do I explain to Mel why I was laughing my ass off last night?”

"I offered to call him."

Reviving Ophelia (25th anniversary edition) by Mary Pipher and Sara Gilliam

"How can I be responsive but not responsible for everyone?"

"I thought you were going to be obedient, Nanda," said Mother Radcliffe, with her old firmness.

Frost in May by Antonia White

"And did you dance with the King?"

"Your sister asked the exact same thing,"

One of Us Is Next by Karen M. McManus

"Don't look so serious. The past is past, right?"

He remembered much of his stay in the womb.

Adulthood Rites by Octavia E. Butler

"Why should you have a Nigerian name? Is one of your parent's Nigerian?"

"Yeah, sort of, I guess."

Tales from the Cafe - Toshikazu Kawaguchi

"Why is it such a surprise?"

Maybe it was the post-war euphoria of victory.

Happiness by Aminatta Forna

"Can you hear me now?"

"Sometimes it is no more than a physical senation. I trust it."

The Thinking Heart - David Grossman

"But wait, haven't we forgotten something?"

“Oh dear, I meant to get some more toilet rolls yesterday”

Some Tame Gazelle by Barbara Pym

“Don’t you think you would be more comfortable in low heeled shoes, dear?”

"Well, you know," he said, "for the past ten years, I've made it my practice not to do that."

The Secret History by Donna Tart

"What do you suppose he wanted? Money?"

"He wanted the Trojans to be victorious."

The Iliad translated by Samuel Butler

“How, then, shall I mourn you, if it be your lot now to die?”

"You will see where metaphors go wrong, that the door is most tight-shut when it seems most open, that we are condemned to dying more than to death."

Nothing Like the Sun by Burgess, Anthony

"Why are you crying?"

'This snake, with its 1-inch fangs, kills more people in Asia than any other snake and is responsible for about one-quarter of venomous bites in India.'

Snakes in Myth, Magic, and History by Diane Morgan

'You're not going to eat that man, are you?'

"I've suffered more at the hands of those who claim to be good than those who are deemed to be evil."

Apprentice to the villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer

"Where in the deadlands would you get such a dangerous idea?"

“She was brought here three nights ago, thrashing and screaming. It took four nuns to restrain her.”

Grave Mercy by Robin Lafevers

“Is she mad?”

"I did all for love, and in defence of love, and am beaten black and blue for it, and would do it again if I saw a hair of your head threatened."

As Meat Loves Salt by Maria McCann

"Did I not beg you to stop?"

“If I hadn’t hit him, and hit him hard, and hit him repeatedly, then I would have become the victim.”

Observatory Mansions by Edward Carey

“What’s down there?”

... that was where the kneecap had been shot away and the ragged skin cobbled over.

The Charioteer by Mary Renault

"At a party?"

"Not mine..."

A Departure From the Script by Rochelle Hollander Schwab

"What was Jenny whispering in your ear last night?"

"Did you try to ring me up, about half-past six?"

The Charioteer by Mary Renault

"I suppose you wouldn’t kiss me, just quickly?"

"It's awfully late. I must go soon."

The Sugar House by Antonia White

"What were we talking about?"

'About vaporized churches and precognitive poets.'

The Song of the Orphans by Daniel Price

'Why does he make that sound when he eats?'

...he senses an extraterrestrial consciousness...

Goblin Mode - Caroline Hagood

What if we could board up a mythical bird and see the trajectory of our lives from above, understand our existence in this new, layered way?

There is no reliable evidence for it, and it flies in the face of everything we know in science.

Brief Answers to the Big Questions

How many times have you wished you had a double who could share your workload?

"I wish some maniac would murder me," my grandmother said.

A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving

"Who are you anyway?"

...I'm...one foot in the old world and one foot in the new.

Goblin Mode - Caroline Hagood

How can I be a person in this world right now?

I was my own role model. I had no need of worldly or heavenly guidance.

The Proof of the Honey by Salwa Al Neimi

What would the people sitting around me think if they read what I'm writing?

'Did Crow Face tell you to do this?'

Never Let me Go by Kazio Ishiguro

'Why were you doing something like that?'

"Some busybody," said Edward in wrath,"some infernal busybody gossipmonger has written Louise a cock-and-bull story about Hal leading a rackety life here in Delhi, going to dances, going to clubs and races and having an infatuation with a young rajah."

The Peacock Spring by Rumer Godden

"And you didn't try to prevent it?"

He killed the suitors, but then what was left? Fish and goats. A greying wife who was no goddess and a son he could not understand.'

Circe by Madeline Miller

When was the last time that I had seen true emotion on her face?

“She was a vacant shell, her eyes empty, and her movements were trancelike “

FEVER BURN by L. T. Ryan

“Who is she?”

The memory of the little white girl must have been there, lying there, the body, across the bed.

The Lover by Marguerite Duras

"Is it only for the money you see him?"

“No. No, no, no.” Cassie fell to her knees, unable to hold in her sobs.

THE BIBLIOMANCER’S DAUGHTER
by Melissa Bourbon.

She’d survived childbirth, but would she be able to tempt fate twice ?

'Yes,' came her response, as fragile as the first tinkling notes of a hummingbird hatching.

Hollow Kingdom by Kira Jane Buxton

Besides Cheetos®, what do you think are the best inventions and characteristics of humanity?

"The vulgarity.... That's the worst invention of man...."

To Forget Palermo by Edmonde Charles-Roux

"Do you often come to these parties?"

“To tell the truth, my love,” confessed Miss Betty, “I shall not be sorry for an excuse to stay away “

THE BLACK MOTH by Georgette Heyer

“You think me very vain, Miles?”

"What you are is mentally ill."

The Girl Who Couldn't Read by John Harding

"After all, why would Morgan want to lock his office?"

He had firecrackers he had laid up in 1920. One of the mysteries was where he kept his stock since his was not a very large store.

Cannery Row by John Steinbeck

Where are we going to get a big cake?

PJ walked into the lobby of the Golden Cherry Inn & Suites, where he was met with a mustard-yellow carpet, cherry wallpaper all over the walls, an old couch, a coffee table with a chess game set up on it, and a big fish tank with tropical fish inside.

THE ROAD TO TENDER HEARTS
by Annie Hartnett.

“Are you okay in there? she asked.

"I am in an abyss"

Things in Nature Merely Grow - Yiyun Li

"What's the point of going to school in a dress if not a pink one?"

Diana swirled around, her own peach-coloured silk rustling fashionably.

THE BLACK MOTH by Georgette Heyer

“Will you just take a look at my petticoat, though?”

"It was a forbidding sight and I could not help thinking how daunting the first approach to it must be."

The Girl Who Couldn't Read by John Harding

"Am I to gather from the amusement it affords you that you do not approve of beards, even though so many men choose to wear them?"

“To tell you the truth, Miles, l’ve not yet settled that point.”

THE BLACK MOTH by Georgette Heyer.

“Jack, ye rascal, what do ye mean by hugging and kissing me wife under me very eyes?”

"Wait" she exclaimed, jerking herself erect and throwing back her head, "Rather than you regret what you do, I will unmask."

The Second Seal By Dennis Wheatley

She smiled at him Archly. "I believe you're trying to lead me astray"

"No, no, I promise you, you can't get a baby from kissing."

To Forget Palermo by Edmonde Charles-Roux

"And how old was he when this happened?"

“He’s a year ahead in school - about nineteen, l think - and that’s all we know about him.”

A COUNTRY CHRISTMAS
by Elizabeth Doyle

What would a sister of Peter’s be like?

"She was old, perhaps sixty or so, with a bent back and a brown wizened walnut of a face."

The Girl Who Couldn't Read by John Harding

"What would I do when I reached the third floor?"

“I confess, l sneaked in there to poke around when l was a teenager.”

THE BIBLIOMANCER’S DAUGHTER
by Melissa Bourbon.

“Haunted?”

"I felt as if I had seen a ghost, and indeed it was not too fanciful to believe that I had."

The Girl Who Couldn't Read by John Harding

"What had led to her leaving that earlier, seemingly idyllic life and going mad?"

She seemed to want something intangible from life, something so translucent that even she didn’t seem to know what it was.

A COUNTRY CHRISTMAS
by Elizabeth Doyle.

“Why don’t you let me speak for myself henceforth, eh?”

"Now, Wynnie," I say in as placating a tone as possible.

Small Town, Big Magic by Hazel Beck

"And if everyone has roles... What am I?"

“A rum smuggler?”

THE BIBLIOMANCER’S DAUGHTER

“Now, what about this rum runner?”

"No one knows. They just know that he is and there are all kinds of conspiracy theories about it."

Small Town, Big Magic by Hazel Beck

"Have you given any more thought to goat yoga this summer?"

“Yes, Peter,” she said irritably, “anything you want.”

A COUNTRY CHRISTMAS
by Elizabeth Doyle.

“Well, just . . . just how would l know . . or would anyone know. . . that someone really liked her . . . as more than just a friend?”

"Things like fortune telling, palm reading, or tarot cards."

Small Town, Big Magic by Hazel Beck

"What brings you to my lair this early in the morning?"

“I guess l’d just like to know what you remember.”

THE BIBLIOMANCER’S DAUGHTER
by Melissa Bourbon

“Why am l the talk of the town?”

"No mother, no address," he said through clenched teeth.

To Forget Palermo by Edmonde Charles-Roux

"What about those flowers?"

"Eat some..."

Coming Up Short - Robert B. Reich

"What do you think?"

"I'm so relieved it almost feels like I might cry, except I never cry, because a woman's tears are too often weaponized against her."

Small Town, Big Magic by Hazel Beck

"Why shouldn't I rely on you?"

He touched the flesh of her lips and said, “You’re much too trusting.”

A COUNTRY CHRISTMAS
by Elizabeth Doyle.

“What do you mean, never?”

"I can't. I'm not sure I'm physically capable."

Small Town, Big Magic by Hazel Beck

"Worlds come and go, Emerson Wilde. With tedious frequency. Why fight for this one?"

“From the moment she saw it, she knew there was no place else she could live.”

THE BIBLIOMANCER’S DAUGHTER
by Melissa Bourbon

“Why’d your dad leave Dolphin Landing?”

His sister didn't attive home until much later.
The siege of Leningrad by Mikhail Steblin-Kamensky

"did you bury her?"

... In the same cemetery where I almost died this morning.

Small Town, Big Magic by Hazel Beck

"What's the answer that would horrify me?"

"You have killed my brother, but I am hardly blameless in this deed."

The Saga of the Volsungs

"What is the proof of that?"

Duff just glared at him.

A MACCALLISTER CHRISTMAS
by William Johnstone.

“So you wanted to come to America and find him to . . . what?”

I want to tell him how his face brings the taste of heather, the sound of swallows in the eaves, the clear brown river.

The Girl from Rawblood by Catriona Ward

“How can you smile? How?”

“Ah, Nick, me lad,” she whispered as she broke the kiss, “I was for startin’ to think tha’ ye’d never get here!”

A MACCALLISTER CHRISTMAS
by William Johnstone.

“Wh . . . what are ye goin’ t’do to me?”

The king was quite drunk, and therefore he talked in this way.

The Saga of the Volsungs

He asked who they were -- "and why are you so angry?"

Kent Spaulding had spoken those words in his gravelly voice as he stood next to a roaring fire at the outlaw encampment in Badwater Canyon.

A MACCALLISTER CHRISTMAS
by William Johnstone.

“I was thinking that maybe we’d throw in with you and your bunch . . . ?”

"Come on" Mac said, moving towards the escape hatch.

Behind the Scenes at the Museum by Kate Atkinson

- You would never have noticed, would you? The way she's standing behind that couch hides it.
- What? Noticed what? Hides what?

"One of the Kings great difficulties"

When London burned by G.A Henty

"Truly it is a difficult position?, and one that will have to be approched with great judgement".

George is not shy of pronouncing judgement, "Bloody stupid little bastard."

Behind the Scenes at the Museum by Kate Atkinson

"Hel-lo, what have we here?"

It was a baby bird.

A REDBIRD CHRISTMAS
by Fannie Flagg

“What kind of bird?”

"Bloody parrot!" George holds his bitten finger up for inspection.

Behind the Scenes at the Museum by Kate Atkinson

"Something wrong with that cabbage, Bunty?"

“Maybe so, but you have to admit nobody can beat Frances’s macaroni and cheese; we always have that, not to mention our floating island.”

A REDBIRD CHRISTMAS
by Fannie Flagg

“What’s so funny, young lady?”

Their Sandra's hair is appalling, a great towering bouffant confection that wouldn't look out of place at the court of the Sun King. There are probably birds nesting in it.

Behind the Scenes at the Museum by Kate Atkinson

"Read it out, Patricia!" Gillian pleads desperately because Patricia's reading the note to herself, very stony faced. "What does it say?"

“She’s okay, if a little—make that a lot—disgruntled.”

HOLIDAY IN STONE CREEK
by Linda Miller

“Is there a sick cow somewhere?” Tanner asked, indulging in a slight grin.

"Aye, you can wipe that smile off your face" Rachel said.

Behind the Scenes at the Museum by Kate Atkinson

"They'd done a funny routine where they kept passing a top hat from one head to another and the audience had loved them. What was the song?"

“Silent night, holy night…”

A STONE CREEK CHRISTMAS
by Linda Miller

“Who needs mistletoe?”

Franz Kafka, a man who is terrified when women take off their clothes...

1913: The Year Before the Storm by Florian Illies

"How much money are you squandering?"

Gone was her elegant hijab, her olive scarf, the long dirac, replaced with clothes she’d hoped would let her fit in.

NORTH: A NOVEL by Brad Kessler

So why did she feel so anxious, so full of nameless dread?

'A broken heart, a lost child, death, abandonment, loneliness, fear. This was the condensed version of her life story, naturally, otherwise we would have been there for seventy-odd years'

Emotionally Weird by Kate Atkinson

'And what happens when we reach the end of infinity? And what colour is it?'

They passed low bushes and thorn, a landscape of sand the shade of cinnamon, lizards skittering between rocks.

NORTH: A NOVEL by Brad Kessler

Was the memory real, or one made up later on?

'For all I know I have imagined this aquatic memory, as insubstantial as water itself - or remembered a nightmare and thought it real. But then, what is a nightmare if it isn't real?'

Emotionally Weird by Kate Atkinson

'Why was Ferdinand in prison if he was such a good boy?'

The decision to pack the MRAP with explosives.

NORTH: A NOVEL by Brad Kessler

When the upturned truck exploded, the Americans whooped and hollered; what else were they to do?

'Did they lose their identity? Did they forget who they were?'

Emotionally Weird by Kate Atkinson

- We have to go where desperadoes go.
- Where's that?