The beginning of the end of our happy days goes back, I think, to that Feast of Saint-Nicholas, out on Jacques's large terrace in Bukavu, Zaire."
-- Gabriel (chapter 2)

Importance: This quote is emblematic of the way that the novel combines the older and younger perspectives of Gabriel. Here, the older Gabriel is speaking because only the older Gabriel has the hindsight to know that the "happy days" he is about to describe will "end" soon. Through the interjections of the older Gabriel, the reader knows to expect circumstances to change for the worse.

That night, Maman left our house, Papa held back his tears and, while Ana was sleeping with clenched fists, my little finger tore the netting that had always protected me from mosquitoes."
-- Gabriel (chapter 3)

Importance: Here, in this passage, the author uses a series of evocative images (Papa's "tears," Ana's "clenched fists," and the hole in the mosquito net) to paint a portrait...