How we cite our quotes: (Part.Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
"Round the world, eh?" said Radclif, impressed. "Musta been a mighty rich man."
"Well, that was a long time ago." (1.1.18-19)
For Joel, as for many of the characters in the novel, the past is better than the present. Joel's grandfather had traveled all the way around the world, and all Joel has to show for it is the suitcase. He himself travels through the South, and isn't exactly visiting any exotic locales.
Quote #2
He hadn't had a proper hour's rest since leaving New Orleans, for when he closed his eyes, as now, certain sickening memories slid through his mind. (1.1.34)
Joel is haunted by the past; the memories of his mother's recent death chase him and don't leave him alone. It's as though the past were a ghost that follows him around, waiting for him to fall asleep and then waking him up in a sort of evil torture.
Quote #3
"I've always considered it the finest room in the house. Cousin Randolph was born here: in that very bed. And Angela Lee… Randolph's mother: a beautiful woman, originally from Memphis… died here, oh, not many years ago. We've never used it since." (1.2.31)
The spaces of Skully's Landing are usually infused with memory, as though time and space were collapsing into one thing. Joel's new bedroom had been shut up for years, like it could hold the memories of the Skully family in if they didn't change anything or air it out.