He was talking about Alison and Jamie wasn't listening but then something dislodged itself from the craw of his memory and the incident was undammed, clear and natural as breathing: Last summer--sun-white day--Jamie crabbing on the flats when word was sprinted down from town: Fight."
-- Narrator ("Halflead Bay")

Importance: Here, Le breaks grammatical rules and creates a run-on sentence to illustrate the compression and speed with which Jamie recalls watching a fight last summer. The use of two colons within a single sentence produces a startling effect and the em dash, whereby Le inserts the poetic description of the sun, creates a strong break in the sentence that also functions to deliver a rhythmic pause, mirrored in the sentence's final word: "Fight."

He had been buried alive in the warm, wet clinch of his family, crushed by their lives.
-- Nam ("Love and Honour and Pity and Pride and Compassion and Sacrifice")

Importance: As a narrator, Nam has the most in common with the author, Le. They share...