Death by routine.
-- Lowen (narration) (chapter 1)

Importance: This line of dialogue refers to the random, accidental death that Lowen witnesses in the opening scene. This description emphasizes both the horror and the mundaneness of the event. Tonally, this opening scene develops the atmosphere of the overall narrative, in which mundane scenes begin to give way to a creeping sense of horror.

Have you ever heard of people referred to as Chronics? I think Verity might have made up the term. After our daughters died, she said we were Chronics. Prone to chronic tragedy. One terrible thing after another.
-- Jeremy (chapter 2)

Importance: In this line of dialogue, Jeremy refers to the fact that he and his family have undergone multiple severe tragedies in recent years. As the novel proceeds, Lowen and the reader learn that the tragedies may or may not have been driven by intention rather than chance. Regardless, the novel compels the reader to consider the...