How we cite our quotes: (Part.Chapter.Section.Paragraph)
Quote #4
Rubble and broken glass and the smell of burnt paint and plaster, the long street empty as far as the sight could reach, it reminded me of a London thoroughfare in the early morning after an all-clear: one expected to see a placard, 'Unexploded Bomb'. (1.4.1.3)
Not every dropped bomb explodes. If you saw the old Disney movie Bedknobs and Broomsticks, you might remember how Emelius takes advantage of an unexploded bomb: he moves into a grand fully-furnished house vacated for fear of a delayed explosion. We don't think Fowler will be quite so luck here.
Quote #5
The canal was full of bodies: I am reminded now of an Irish stew containing too much meat. The bodies overlapped: one head, seal grey, and anonymous as a convict with a shaven scalp, stuck up out of the water like a buoy. There was no blood: I suppose it had flowed away a long time ago. (1.4.1.40)
Up close, the war is not so neat and tidy, and there's no one to clean up the mess. People have become corpses, sickly reminders of some unknown battle and the nearness of death, and obstacles to the living.
Quote #6
So much of war is sitting around and doing nothing, waiting for somebody else. With no guarantee of the amount of time you have left it doesn't seem worth starting even a train of thought. (1.4.1.43)
Greene's account of war is more comprehensive than most—remarkable given his concise style.