I've known Death a long time, but now Death knows me.
-- Jules (Part One, Currents (1980))

Importance: The opening line of the novel, this helps introduce the reader to not only Jules' character and his narrative voice, but also to one of the main thematic aspects to be covered over the course of the novel. The lyricism of the quote shows that Jules is someone who has a certain flair with language, while also serving as foreshadowing for some of the plot elements to come.

Up until then my life had been a sheltered one, but clearly there were invisible forces and currents that could change everything at a stroke.
-- Jules (Part One, Currents (1980))

Importance: As a young child living a stable, happy family, Jules is suddenly exposed to the volatility of life when he witnesses a family's dog drown. For the first time in his young life, Jules begins to understand the vastness of the world and all the dangers...