I can give anything up, because nothing is essential when you refuse to imprison life in a narrative.
-- Narrator (chapter 1)

Importance: After getting fired from her restaurant job in the city, Boulder decides to leave her conventional life behind. Working on a boat as a cook affords her the sense of freedom for which she has longed for many years. Boulder not only feels that life at sea has liberated her from societal expectations and trappings, but has freed her life from the conventions of a narrative structure. This moment not only underscores Boulder's desire for freedom and independence throughout the novel, but clarifies the author's overarching approach to structure and form.

I don't fuck her, I whet myself on her.
-- Narrator (chapter 1)

Importance: For as long as as she has been at sea, Boulder has not had a romantic or sexual partner. Although often overcome by desire, she seeks to tamp down these cravings by...