Except for the slideshow loop, with its hammering reminder of lost beauty, lost youth, it was not very different from other literary gatherings. People mingling at the reception were heard talking about money, literary prizes as reparations, and the latest die, author, die review.”
-- The narrator (chapter 1 paragraph 5)

Importance: Here, the narrator describes the memorial service held for “you” after his suicide. By comparing the memorial service to a “literary gathering,” the narrator implies that the world of literature and art is slowly dying. Indeed, the narrator explicitly makes the connection between writing and death by referring to the “die, author, die review.” In effect, early in the novel the narrator alerts her reader that art is disintegrating to its own death.

If I bring him home, though, I swear he’ll spend the rest of his life waiting by the door [for ‘you’]. And he deserves better than that, don’t you think?’ Yes...
-- Wife Three, the narrator (chapter 1 paragraph 7-10)