More of my favourite metaphors and phrases

by Jennifer Bryce

 

 

Menacing architecture Sulari Gentill, Gentlemen Formerly Dressed
Yawning fireplace Sulari Gentill, Gentlemen Formerly Dressed
the train began to heave itself slowly out of the station Kate Atkinson: Life After Life p. 6
twitching in and out of sleep Emily Bitto: The Strays p.113
the pristine intimacy of our childhood Emily Bitto: The Strays p.180
orbited by grandchildren like bright moons Emily Bitto: The Strays p.256
the air is gaspingly cold Helen Garner: Regions of thick-ribbed ice,p.8
a sudden wind springs up . .   making the water bristle Helen Garner: Regions of thick-ribbed ice, p.25
stranded somewhere in her forties Kate Atkinson: Case Histories, p. 88
she controlled him with one eyebrow Kate Atkinson: Case Histories, p. 400
a starched silence Kate Atkinson: Behind the Scenes at the Museum, p. 325
She put that thought away, like linen in a drawer Heather Rose: The Museum of Modern Love p.27
As fragile as mist Heather Rose: The Museum of Modern Love p.198
The city grayed into winter Margaret Ann Spence: Lipstick on the Strawberry
A muttering sort of man Brian Aldiss: When the Feast is Finished, p. 32
Broth of grief Brian Aldiss: When the Feast is Finished, p.88
A hollow panic in his voice Sulari Gentill: A Dangerous Language, p.24
Gurgling birdsong Sulari Gentill: A Dangerous Language, p. 54
Drifts of science fiction magazines John Baxter: A Pound of Paper, p.63
An antique Rolls-Royce sagged elegantly at the kerb John Baxter: A Pound of Paper, p. 175
[describing the people of Afghanistan]: the antiquity of their expression Eddie Ayres: Danger Music, p. 1
Thumping dockland… the river is thickly commercial Julian Barnes: Flaubert’s Parrot, p.20
Calamitously inadequate Julian Barnes: Flaubert’s Parrot, p. 75
Lorries bullied past on the road Julian Barnes: Flaubert’s Parrot, p. 114
Talking of bereavement: ‘You don’t come out of it like a train coming out of a tunnel, bursting through the Downs into sunshine and that swift, rattling descent to the Channel; you come out of it as a gull comes out of an oil-slick. You are tarred and feathered for life.’ Julian Barnes: Flaubert’s Parrot, p. 161