That I'm the one who's ended up telling it is almost beside the point.
-- Narrator (chapter 1)

Importance: Antonio's fraught relationship with Ricardo Laverde dictates his first person point of view narration of the novel. Antonio finds himself recalling what happened to him in the months leading up to meeting Ricardo, on the day of Ricardo's death, and in the years following after he hears about the escaped hippopotamus. Although he has an acute attachment to these accounts, he has since learned that his role in Ricardo's story is as tangential as Ricardo's role in his own story. This moment therefore speaks to the novel's overarching examinations of memory, the past, and interconnectedness.

Elena was there . . .
-- Ricardo (chapter 1)

Importance: Elaine's death on Flight 965 augments the narrative mystery and complicates Antonio's relationship with Ricardo. In this scene, Ricardo is revealing what he has learned about Elaine's death after listening to the cassette. This moment will come to haunt...