Stories were meant to be forgotten, since after all, they always come back again, even the strangest stories of art and artists.
-- Narrator (I (Pages 1-43))

Importance: The ideas of stories traversing time is presented here, as events of Urbain's life are forgotten until they come to the forefront again when the narrator reads his memoirs.

The world he grew up in before 1900 was full of smells that now have largely disappeared."
-- Narrator (I (Pages 1-43))

Importance: The world Urbain grew up in no longer exists, as buildings and the environment have changes drastically. This makes it difficult for the narrator to glean some sense of Urbain from those places.

Younger generations do not even feel the loss; normality is a by-product of forgetting."
-- Narrator (I (Pages 44-91))

Importance: The narrator highlights how the passage of time can erode memory, creating a sense of tranquility regardless of harrowing the past was.

Their chronology was as simple as it was efficient, with just one point of...
-- Narrator (I (Pages 92-132))