Little Red Chairs

The titular little red chairs are brought up very seldom in the novel. According to the first page of the novel, when the Siege of Sarajevo is memorialized, every red chair (there are over 11,000 of them) symbolizes an innocent person killed in the siege.

Dogs

Like in many works of literature, dogs are used as a literary device to foreshadow danger. Dogs serve this purpose in "Cloonoila," as reports state that dogs barked unusually often during the night that Vlad arrived.

Jack's Mug

Jack's mug, that appears in Fidelma's dream sequence, symbolizes a sense of ownership over Fidelma. Prior to the sequence, the mug belonged to Jack, but it is later stolen by Vlad.

Bat

When Jack kills a bat in his house, the bat is used to symbolize his lack of emotion. According to the narrator Jack seemed to feel no emotion about...