Saliva ran from his mouth and he was holding his throat muttering…
-- The Narrator (Prologue)

Importance: This quote describes Nima’s appearance prior to his death. It provides a clue that the substance he drank killed him and foreshadows that he was murdered.

No one cared or knew that his strange man had lived a life of unimaginable hardship and heroism, still less that he had only ever loved one woman, and that she too, in another time, had died in devastating solitude"
-- The Narrator (Prologue)

Importance: This quote references the beggar after he dies. It highlights how Sweden has changes as it has transformed from a country that cared about people to one that does not. It also emphasizes that no one listened to his story even though he had a real story to tell. The fact that he dies in solitude, as his wife had, shows that people can be amongst others, but still alone and...