How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #10
[Mickey] told me that Reno was dead, that I was no longer officially a criminal, that most of the First National Bank stick-up loot had been recovered, that MacSwain had confessed killing Tim Noonan, and that Personville, under martial law, was developing into a sweet-smelling and thornless bed of roses. (27.96)
Dare we say that we detect a note of irony in the closing words of this sentence? It seems likely that the Op is being sarcastic when he says that Personville is becoming a "sweet-smelling, thornless bed of roses." On the one hand, the gangsters are all dead so in theory Personville should be spick and span now. But on the other hand, the cynicism that pervades the novel makes it difficult to believe that the Op really means what he's saying.