…the fire licks the cotton and the cotton becomes part of the fire, it’s how things are.
-- Dunia (chapter 1)

Importance: This quote exemplifies Dunia and Ibn Rushd’s deep philosophizing, their inquiry into how the world works lying in bed. Such details develop the characters’ relationship, indicating its intensity, and the characters too, illustrating their curiosity. It also introduces the philosophical topics, often existential, explored throughout the novel.

Piers built of memories on which they once ate sweets and pizza…the roofs of houses flew through the night sky like dis oriented bats.
-- Narrator (chapter 2)

Importance: This quote is an example of Rushdie’s use of symbolic imagery. He describes the piers built in an impossible way and the roofs transforming magically, and simultaneously he conveys meaning directly through that fantasy. The objects are or become the thing they represent, beyond resembling them figuratively.

Mr Geronimo was a down-to-earth man, and so it did not...
-- Narrator (chapter 2)