Friendship is work. Friendship is work, and a commitment, and a practice.
-- Tig (I (A1-M1))

Importance: This quote from Tig speaks to one of the novel's foundational themes: the importance of community and solidarity, particularly among marginalized communities. As Tig rather gruffly puts it to Sneha, friendship is not something that comes easy, but rather something that needs to be built and tended to. This lesson is one that Sneha learns gradually over the course of the novel.

Property managers are cops. The police of the ruling class. Landlords are part of the ruling class.
-- Thom (I (A1-M1))

Importance: This quote from Thom contains one of the points of tension in his relationship with Sneha: the question of whether landlords can be ethical. Thom's more radical politics on the matter come into conflict with Sneha's own, in part because her parents are landlords in India and she is reluctant to lump them in with the wealthy classes. This...