How to put it? This type of sadness. Not nostalgia. Not grief.
-- Narrator (The History of Sound)

Importance: In "The History of Sound," Lionel attempts to make sense of his emotional response when he hears David's voice on the phonograph cylinders decades after his death. His use of language captures his halting, confused internal experience. He is questioning his emotions, while also trying to confront the loss, longing, and lingering love he feels for his late lover. The quotation thus captures the cylinders' power to reawaken these complex emotions in Lionel.

It felt something like remembering, the way the painting looked familiar, but new.
-- Narrator (Edwin Chase of Nantucket)

Importance: In "Edwin Chase of Nantucket," Edwin is moved when he sees Will's painting of the songbird for the first time. The painting is a symbol of expression and communication. It also narratively links Edwin's story with the subsequent story "The Silver Clip." Its seeming ability to convey the experience of remembering and...