Do Not Say We Have Nothing

“[W]ords written on paper were talismans and could somehow protect us from harm.” 

Marie makes this observation after watching her mother collect all her deceased father’s documents. This quote foreshadows the way several documents such as The Book of Records, Jiang Kai’s letters, and sheet music will be treated throughout the novel. Even when the characters lose everything else, they always try to hide and hold onto the words that have touched them the most.

“People could walk away towards illusions; they might see something so entrancing they would neglect to turn around.” 

Marie worries that her mother will become so entranced with her father’s ghost that she will start to neglect Marie. Big Mother Knife voices a similar worry about Swirl, demonstrating the importance of being able to distinguish between truth and artifice.

“Without realizing it, had he […] found a way to survive by becoming entirely unseen?” 

Sparrow is trying to decide how he and his family survived continuous violence in China. Like many of the characters, he has tried to remain unseen. The quote foreshadows Sparrow’s demise—he dies thinking he is invisible.