““Do you remember me now?” he asked, trembling. She looked at him again, as if giving weight and bone to a ghost. “Lenka, it’s me,” he said. “Josef. Your husband.”
-- Josef (chapter 1 paragraph 19)

Importance: This chapter ends on a cliffhanger and helps to set up what the book will be about.

First love: there is nothing like it. All these years later, I can remember the first time I looked up and saw Josef’s face, the flash of recognition that defied words.”
-- Lenka (chapter 5 paragraph 12)

Importance: This passage highlights the strong feelings that Lenka has for Josef, something that the readers soon learn is returned by Josef.

I had delivered 2,838 children by the time I retired. Every name I recorded was as meaningful to me as the first. Every time I placed the tip of my pen on the space in the lined paper, I paused to think of the million and a half children who...
-- Josef (chapter 6 paragraph 5)