I’d spent eight years officially disappeared from Argentina. At least as far as I knew; I hadn’t been back to Argentina since ’76, and even after the ostensible resumption of democracy in ‘83, no one from the government ever managed to confirm my existence.
-- Tomás (narration) (chapter 1)

Importance: This line of narration is the opening line of the novel. This line helps to establish not only the fact of Tomás' departure from Argentina, but also the fact of his apparent political ostracism. The causes for these facts become apparent over the course of the novel itself, thereby sustaining the dramatic questions established by this opening.

It was the most obvious thing in the world that I’d follow [Isabel] wherever she went. I always had.
-- Tomás (narration) (chapter 2)

Importance: These lines of narration serve to establish a central tenet of Tomás' relationship to Isabel, specifically that he has been consistently devoted to her and infatuated with...