I wonder how many people in long marriages live with ghosts beside them.
-- Lucy (Book 1, Chapter 1)

Importance: The first story that Olive tells Lucy inspires the women's reflections on love and intimacy. Lucy's thoughts about Olive's mother's unrequited love in turn foreshadow the complexities in her relationships with Bob and William. All of the characters' stories therefore share parallels and intersections which enact the novel's central themes.

It was not their fault, most just could not really care past their own experiences.
-- Narrator (Book 1, Chapter 5)

Importance: In this passage, the narrator inhabits Bob's consciousness as the Christmas season approaches. He is reflecting on the ways his first and second wives responded to his childhood Christmas story and realizing how difficult it is to find people who care. The moment speaks to the complexity of human experience and also captures Bob's loneliness and his longing for pure connection.

It's just what you do, Bob. Everyone's sins you take on...
-- Lucy (Book 1, Chapter 8)