Unheard of for anything to harm Zachary. He was a rock, he was never ill. No, nothing so numb as a rock: a striding cheerful giant with torrents of energy.
-- Christine (chapter 1)

Importance: Christine is shocked to hear of Zachary's death, in part because it was so sudden and in part because Zachary seemed like a larger than life force that could not be laid low by something as quotidian as a heart attack. This quote captures Christine's numb disbelief in the face of this tragedy, as well as Zachary's spirit, offering early characterization of this man that appears in the novel only in flashbacks and the memories of his friends.

Her strongest desire these days was to be at work in there...But now the idea of this work - the fixed point by which she steered - was sickening. It seemed fraudulent, the sticky project of her own vanity: she closed...
-- Christine (chapter 1)