In the end the book meanders to a halt, as if overwhelmed by its own despondency.
If we walked somewhere together, she would frequently come to a halt, as if she were about to keel over.
It's as brutal as expected, with several riders, including Peter Sagan, almost grinding to a halt, as if they're pedalling through treacle.
In 1986, the authorities implied that a radioactive cloud drifting west from the stricken nuclear plant at Chernobyl had halted, as if by some miracle of geography and science, just before France's eastern border.
They take great pains to appear legitimate — wearing neon work vests, ordering cars to halt as if it were a requirement, confidently directing traffic and even issuing parking stubs to drivers.
They close with party piece "You Made Me Realise", an innocuous number that suddenly comes to a halt as if a CD has got stuck, except this moment is stretched into a disorientating, quarter-hour whirlwind that the band shape like potters at a wheel.
Her speech is halting, as if she were trying to watch her words; she wants to make sense even as she's jumping out of her skin, demanding to know how Ray chose his new name, Peter — that's the name given in the trade magazine where she saw a photograph of him — and what is this company he's working for?
There's a great moment when Juliet first takes the poison from Friar Lawrence and holds it aloft, her bourrées first a ghostly glide then coming to a loud, stuttering halt as if the reality of what she's about to do has just slammed into her.
Now it's true that the September events have brought the U.S. economy screeching to a halt as if at a red traffic light.
Her voice is croaky and halting, as if she has not spoken in years, as she resentfully tells a story about a girl who "had a shadow".
