In the next town over, a man had killed his family.
-- Narrator (Sylvias: Chapter 1)

Importance: In the opening line of the novel, the author grabs the reader's attention with the mention of this violent incident. Although everyone in the Barnes's hometown has heard about the homicide, the event does not act as a central conflict in the chapters that come. Rather, it retreats to the margins of the narrative. In this way, the author introduces an ominous narrative atmosphere. The narrative is tinged with the mention of the homicide. It acts as a form of foreshadowing, and portends the Barnes family's tragic fate in the closing scene of "Age of Loneliness." The author uses the line to introduce his subtextual explorations regarding generational trauma and the entrapment of the past.

They knew how bad things were; the whole town knew.
-- Narrator (Sylvias: Chapter 2)

Importance: When Dickie's business begins to fail, the Barnes family's life starts to change. For...