How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
I remember my first sight of him—the sound and scavenger look of him—surrounded by summer; I remember the stillness of the day and the density of the air. Neither of us was older than nine or ten. I was skimming a car along the garden fence when Finnigan crossed the brink of my vision. (3.4)
The sights and smells come rushing back to Gabriel as he thinks of the day he met Finnigan. This is a crucial moment for our main man, because this is when he claims to meet his friend. If you think about what's really happening here, though, this is when Gabriel surrenders to having an alter ego who does his dirty work for him.
Quote #2
There was nothing for it but to answer. "Sometimes he's in my dreams. That's all."
"And you remember what you did." (5.24)
Talking about Vernon, Gabriel chokes up. His guilt over his brother's death surfaces often for him, and Gabriel is tormented by memories of his brother even years later.
Quote #3
I remember that the sound of the fire was a continual roar—I remember blocking my ears to the boom of eucalypts exploding. For seven days and seven nights, scorched leaves fell as hellish rain. I remember the air smelt of everything that had died, that birds dropped like pebbles from the smoke-raddled sky. I remember a truck with the pace of a hearse and on its tray a horror of bloated remains. I remember the farmers watching it pass and how one of them sagged in the gutter, and rested his head on his knees. (7.3)
For how much Gabriel promises to stay away from any bad stuff and stick to the good, he sure does remember a lot about the specifics of the fire. If we dissect what he's saying here, we'll find that it's not just about the effect the fire had on the town, but his memory of what it was like to be in the midst of it.