The Narrator (omniscient)

"Boundaries between right and wrong dissolve in moments of passion."

"The river flows with the weight of all our sorrows."

"Power derives from control, and those without control are destroyed."

"Happiness is a luxury that cannot be afforded by those in the margins."

"The monster is not always the one accused, but sometimes the accuser."

"Children perceive truths that adults have learned to ignore."

"Exile can be imposed by geography or by the bonds of family."

"The law protects those with power and punishes those without."

"Language itself becomes a prison for thoughts too dangerous to express."

"We are all trapped in the small things that define our existence."

"The past corrodes the present like rust corrupts metal."

"The world is indifferent to our suffering and our joy."

"Touch is the most dangerous and necessary of all human connections."

"We inherit the sins of our ancestors and cannot escape them."

"The small god of small things watches over all that is forgotten."

"History is important. But it's the small things that matter in life."

"The way to love anything is to realize it might be lost."

"Desire is a malevolent thing. It makes diamonds into frogs and Cupidstones into fish."

"Walls. Brick ones, Cement ones. Tin ones."

"The earth trembled under their feet."

"Sad things happened all the time."

"Anything can happen to anyone. And it often does."

"The river smelled of shit and pesticides bought with World Bank loans."

"They all broke the law. The law that needed to be broken."

"She had a quality that the world couldn't touch."

"Love is a thing that happens irrespective of one's intentions."

"The past is a monster. Or a flower. Depending on the light."

"Small gods that can be summoned up on a wayside and told to do things."

"Mothers could hurt their children. Genially. Without meaning to."

"Everyone needs a little innocence."