How we cite our quotes: (Abbreviated Title.Paragraph)
Quote #7
"That word. 'Sexy.' What does it mean?"
He looked down, suddenly shy. "I can't tell you."
"Why not?"
"It's a secret."
…
He cupped his hands around his mouth, and then he whispered, "It means loving someone you don't know." (S 160-167)
You know what they say, "Out of the mouths of babes…" Rohin brings up a really good point (whether he knows it or not): does being foreign and different make a person more potentially sexy? That, at least, seems to be the case for both Miranda and Dev.
Quote #8
She had a small gap between her teeth and faded pockmarks on her chin, yet her eyes were beautiful, with thick, flaring brows and liquid flourishes that extended beyond the natural width of the lids. She wore a shimmering white sari patterned with orange paisleys, more suitable for an evening affair than for that quiet, faintly drizzling August afternoon. Her lips were coated in a complementary coral gloss, and a bit of the color had strayed beyond the borders.
Yet it was his mother, Eliot had thought, in her cuffed, beige shorts and her rope-soled shoes, who looked odd. (MS 3-4)
Reason #1201 for why Lahiri is awesome: she can totally subvert your expectations. Here, she leads you to think that Eliot views Mrs. Sen as this exotic creature, when in fact, Eliot sees Mrs. Sen as totally appropriate in her own setting. It's his mother that seems out of place. In contrast to Miranda, he's not afraid of someone different.
Quote #9
Nearly a week had passed before they discovered, one Saturday afternoon, a larger-than-life-sized watercolor poster of Christ, weeping translucent tears the size of peanut shells and sporting a crown of thorns, rolled up behind a radiator in the guest bedroom. Sanjeev had mistaken it for a window shade.
"Oh, we must, we simply must put it up. It's too spectacular." (TBH 22-23)
Here's an example of someone being open to enjoying something from another culture, even if she thinks it's tacky. Sanjeev, as we learned before, can't deal with it. He doesn't want it casting doubt on his Indian and Hindu identity.