Consensus was the world was ending, or would begin to end soon, if not by exponential environmental catastrophe then by some combination of nuclear war, the American two-party system, patriarchy, white supremacy, gentrification, globalization, data breaches, and social media… we were, it could no longer be denied, unstoppably bad.
-- Narrator (narration) (chapter 1)

Importance: This quotation is from the very beginning of the book. These lines help to establish the novel's manner of engagement with the present cultural and societal moment. The novel as a whole partially functions to address the pessimism and alienation that has come to define much of the modern mood in general culture and society.

We had once been in on it together, or at least I'd thought we had.
-- Narrator (narration) (chapter 1)

Importance: This line of narration refers to Felix's habit of casually lying to strangers. Apparently to entertain himself, Felix likes to lie to people and manipulate them, without any apparent goal beyond...