Disclosure: My father, a drummer named Jimmy Curtis, fell in love with Opal Jewel in the summer of 1970. For the duration of their affair he was married to my mother, who in 1971 got pregnant with me. before my birth…[my father] was beaten to death by a racist gang during the Rivington Showcase.
-- Sunny (Prologue)

Importance: These lines of narration are the opening lines of the novel. Although the Rivington Showcase scene does not occur until about the midpoint of the novel, Sunny gives the information of her father's death upfront, thereby making it a telegraphed, central element of the narrative. Thematically, this information establishes racism and violence as focal points of the narrative.

We were terrified to go. We’re talking about the South in 1961, baby! And not just any South. Alabama South. Bull Connor South. Mama had our plans all set, tickets bought, letters written.
-- Opal (chapter 1)

Importance: Opal makes these statements when discussing...