How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
That was over fifty years ago, and still his most vivid dreams were the red rusty Baltimore of 1921. (2.29)
It's been over fifty years since he lived in Baltimore, but Sydney dreams of this city way more than he dreams about any other place. It just goes to show how particular the mind can be in what it chooses to remember.
Quote #8
[Valerian] had married a high school beauty queen he was determined to love in order to prove she was unlovable to this very day. (5.62)
Looking back on his life, Valerian sees that he married Margaret in order to prove how unlovable his ex wife truly was. By showing that he was capable of loving a seventeen-year-old, Valerian essentially tried to spite his ex wife and prove to her that the problem in their marriage was definitely with her, not him.
Quote #9
Drunkenness he could take, had taken, in fact, since he'd always believed it. Anything was better than knowing that a pretty (and pretty nice) sober young woman had loved the bloodying of her own baby. (8.2)
When he looks back on his life, Valerian realizes how much he now wishes that his wife had been an alcoholic. That would have been way more acceptable than the fact that she spent her spare time sticking pins into their baby son Michael.