How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
When they write my obituary. Tomorrow. Or the next day. It will say, LEO GURSKY IS SURVIVED BY AN APARTMENT FULL OF S***. I'm surprised I haven't been buried alive. (1.1)
These short sentences, the very first in the novel, introduce a number of competing aspects of Leo's personality—not just his fixation with death, but also his ambivalent relationship with material possessions, viewing them both as a marker of personal worth and also an all-too-weighty burden.
Quote #2
In the years that followed, the boy became a man who became invisible. In this way, he escaped death. (1.32)
How does this relate to Leo's obsession with not dying on a day when he's not seen by another person? If he escaped death through invisibility, then why is he so interested in his continued visibility?
Quote #3
Ach, listen! It hit me how good it is to be alive. Alive! And I wanted to tell you. Do you understand what I'm saying? I'm saying life is a thing of beauty, Bruno. A thing of beauty and a joy forever. (4.13)
It's only through an experience of human companionship that Leo has this profound realization. Naturally, he can't fully experience it without sharing it with someone he loves.