Paris is an insomniac’s heaven. There is always something to photograph, something hidden in the shadows. One can see so much more in the darkness than in the light of day.
-- Gabor (Paris May 14, 1924 paragraph 46)

Importance: Gabor writes this to his parents in the opening chapter of the novel. On the surface, he is telling his parents that his insomnia is a blessing in disguise because it helps his art, but his words also carry the theme novel’s theme of perception and reality. Although some accounts may seem clearer (like a photograph taken in the light of day) other less clear accounts may offer a deeper kind of truth (like a photograph taken in the darkness).

Lou Villars did evil, unforgiveable things. So what does it say about the biographer, me, that researching and writing her life has given new meaning and purpose to my own less dramatic, less reprehensible existence?”
-- Nathalie (Author’s Preface: The Mystery of Evil paragraph Final)

Importance: The concluding...