Later he was to be famous and honoured throughout the South Caribbean; he was to be a hero of the people and, after that, a British representative…But when I first met him he was still a struggling masseur.
-- Narrator (chapter 1)

Importance: The narrator says this at the beginning of the novel, thereby preparing the reader for the overall trajectory of the narrative. As the narrative progresses, the reader has been signaled to view the story as define by the progression of Ganesh's personal status.

[Doctors] think nothing of killing two three people before breakfast.’ This wasn’t as bad as it sounds. In Trinidad the midday meal is called breakfast.
-- Narrator (chapter 1)

Importance: The first part of this quotation is said to the narrator by his mother, and the latter part is the narrator's addendum. This comical line appears on the first page of the novel and signals the reader that the novel is often...