10 Beautiful Lines From Harper Lee’s Go Set a Watchman

Go Set A Watchman finally hits shelves on Tuesday, and after months of anticipation, To Kill A Mockingbird devotees are ready to get their hands on Harper Lee’s second book. Early reviews may have already swayed readers to deem the novel good or bad, but whichever way you lean, there’s no doubt Lee has written lovely prose. Ahead of its release, EW has plucked the most beautiful lines from Watchman.

1. “When she was staring at her fourth cup of coffee the Crescent Limited honked like a giant goose at its northbound mate and rumbled across the Chattahoochee into Alabama.”

2. “A black hound loped down the streets in the distance, the monkey puzzles bristled silently on there corners of the square.”

3. “Dill’s efforts to disentangle himself with dignity were only moderately successful; he rose from the pool like a small fantastical water monster, covered with green slime and dripping sheet.”

4. “When you live in New York, you often have the feeling that that New York’s not the world. I mean this: every time I come home, I feel like I’m coming back to the world …”

5. “They eyed one another like game roosters.”

6. “She could feel his crew cut under her chin; it was like black velvet.”

7. “I guess it’s like an airplane: they’re the drag and we’re the thrust, together we make the thing fly. Too much of us and we’re nose-heavy, too much of them and we’re tail-heavy — it’s a matter of balance.”

8. “The hollering and high-mindedness over, all that would be left would be another shabby little affair a la the Birmingham country club set, and a self-constructed private Gehenna with the latest Westinghouse appliances. Hank didn’t deserve that.”

9. “The last time she skirmished with Alexandra was when her brother died. After Jem’s funeral, they were in the kitchen cleaning up the remains of the tribal banquets that are a part of dying in Maycomb.”

10. “His wit was hatpin sharp …”

This article originally appeared on EW.com