In his ostentatiously modest way, he thought, Chamberlain was as egocentric as Hitler: he always conflated the national interest with himself.
-- Legat (Day One, Chapter 3)

Importance: In this passage, the author sets up both Legat’s skepticism and the novel’s complex character portrait of Chamberlain. Legat’s incisive analysis of Chamberlain’s character perfectly captures the blend of heartfelt belief and self-aggrandizement that marks Chamberlain’s every public action. Legat, meanwhile, thinks almost exclusively in terms of logic and Realpolitik, so although he is well-placed to analyze Chamberlain, who thinks similarly, he does not yet understand the hypocrisy and illogic of the Nazi regime.

According to the Cabinet minutes, telegram 545 from Berlin (Letter from the Reichschancellor to the Prime Minister) was handed to Chamberlain a little after 10 p.m.
-- Narrator (Day One, Chapter 5)

Importance: This sentence demonstrates Harris’s use of a history-textbook-like narration style that emphasizes the solemn historical significance of the novel’s events. It also reveals...