They had paddled many rivers together in the two years they’d known each other, and climbed a lot of peaks. Sometimes one had more appetite for danger, sometimes the other. There was a delicate but strong balance of risk versus caution in their team thinking, with the roles often fluid, and it’s what made them such good partners.”
-- Narration   (Chapter One)

Importance: This quote is taken from a section of the book in which the narrative offers a thematically significant consideration of the friendship between Jack and Wynn. The quote sums up both some of the things that have drawn them together, and some of their differences in character. In both cases, the points made reflect the development and shape of the relationship over the course of the narrative as a whole.

For Jack, stuff like cold and hunger didn’t have a value, good or bad, they just were, and it...
-- Narration   (Chapter One)