What else to do if not eat and drink?”
-- Narrator (chapter 29)

Importance: This quote is deceptively simple for its significance to The Last Days of Cafe Leila. The cafe itself is a primary character in the story, providing a comfortable place for people to heal and survive and thrive and laugh. The cafe is where everyone returns to-- whether they are happy or struggling-- and finds solace in the food being served. Zod mentions that he uses the chores of the cafe to move on from grief, which is something Noor ends up doing after she buries her father. Naneh Goli and Soli use food and drink, and the process of procuring ingredients and making dishes, as a way to cope with terrible times. This is why Cafe Leila remained open during the revolution because, what else was there to do except eat and drink and pretend life had not changed. Food is...