How we cite our quotes: (Page.Paragraph)
Quote #1
Does Yudel Krinsky remember Siberia every time he sees snow? I stared out the window and felt vaguely entombed. (61.5)
Here Asher imagines Yudel Krinsky's difficult and fraught past in Siberia. Because of the tightly-woven community of which Asher and Yudel are both parts, and because Yudel was essentially rescued by Asher's dad, Asher begins to take on Yudel's past as his own. Sounds like quite the bear to burden. Wait—burden to bear, we mean.
Quote #2
He came to me that night out of the woods, my mythic ancestor, huge, mountainous, dressed in his dark caftan and fur-trimmed cap, pounding his way through the trees on his Russian master's estate, the earth shaking, the mountains quivering, thunder in his voice. (98.4)
For Asher, the mythic ancestor is a constant reminder of the past. He tends to show up when Asher is at a major crossroads in his own life—typically when he feels he isn't honoring the family tradition of scholarly study. The appearance of the mythic ancestor is usually accompanied by feelings of guilt, terror, and self-doubt.
Quote #3
'It's colder inside than outside,' I thought I heard him say. 'And what are you doing with your time, my Asher Lev?' I thought I heard him say. (119.1)
Here the mythic ancestor grills Asher on what he's up to. Once again, the mythic ancestor's presence is designed to remind us of the Lev family's storied past and Asher's present guilt.