...of midday heat

Although it is unlikely that the guest should come now, perhaps A... is still expecting to hear the sound of a car coming down the slope from the highway. But through the dining-room windows, of which at least one is half open, no motor hum or any other noise can be heard at this hour of the day, when all work is interrupted and even the animals fall silent in the heat.

[Jealousy, Robbe-Grillet, A.]