The Vessel Quotes

“In what ambient light seeps here, from the night-lights of the two bedrooms, the murk of the lower floor transforms Flo’s detritus into ominously indistinct humps and heads and silhouettes. Everything appears marginally animated. The dark energy of night suggests myriad presences. Flo’s enigmatic past crowds her, watching her every footfall through the vicarage.”
― Adam Nevill, The Vessel

“Behind her, like an excitable dog scampering after its mistress, an old figure dressed in a pale nightgown capers swiftly on all fours.”
― Adam Nevill, The Vessel

“Nor does she pay heed to the gentle bumps of someone who is on all fours outside the room and crawling through the dark.”
― Adam Nevill, The Vessel

“One of his hands is missing from the wrist, the stump blackened with blood. Eyeless sockets within his handsome, even face hopelessly direct their missing gaze at the water. Tears of blood encrust his cheeks. Between his legs, a loin-cloth of dark gore hangs from where his genitals have been crudely removed. He points his stump at the pond.”
― Adam Nevill, The Vessel

“She sinks away instead into much needed rest, her face blank, near lifeless. Bound by fatigue, she is not alert to the rustle in the room. That passes onto the landing. Nor does she pay heed to the gentle bumps of someone who is on all fours outside the room and crawling through the dark.”
― Adam Nevill, The Vessel

“A distant siren suggests that someone else’s day has endured a start far worse than her own. Small comfort.”
― Adam Nevill, The Vessel

“A mark from Flo’s blow fades upon one cheek. Exhausted enough to cry, she grinds her teeth and slides a sleeping mask over her eyes.”
― Adam Nevill, The Vessel

“Outside, the sky bruises at the concussion of night.”
― Adam Nevill, The Vessel