The ferals – the whites of their eyes wide with fear and accentuated by dirty faces – followed their leader through the shattered scree.
-- Narrator (chapter 1)

Importance: The feral children under the leadership of Ozi are the first characters that the author introduces in the novel. They are also the last characters to close the story. This is a deliberate choice because are not the novel's main characters (the Morgan family and the Lubert family take center stage) but they are important nonetheless. This quotation describes the situation that they are in: orphaned, homeless, and terrified.

A phantom city comprised only of ash and rubble.
-- Narrator (chapter 1)

Importance: This passage is a vivid description of postwar Hamburg. This setting it key to the store, since it is about reconstruction and rehabilitation.

The facade of a church stood on one side of the road, with only sky for stained glass and the wind for a congregation.
-- Narrator (chapter 1)

Importance: This quotation is...