How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
It was a revelation. Never before had I seen a chef take such meticulous artistic care, particularly not with something as ugly as this vegetable. (6.17)
Hassan becomes enamored with the French ways of cooking as he watches Mallory prepare an artichoke. He watches with total excitement and it inspires him to want to learn how to do it himself.
Quote #8
And I, at the age of eighteen, finally took up my calling. It was Papa's idea, ordering me into the kitchen. […] But I choked, suddenly afraid of my destiny. "I am a boy," I yelled. "Make Mehtab do it." (6.136)
Even in the moment, Hassan realizes that what's about to happen will change the course of his future. As a kid, the reality of how serious this is scares him a little.
Quote #9
It was such a small journey, in feet, but it felt as if I were striding from one end of the universe to the other, the light of the Alps illuminating my way. (11.155)
This sentence gives the book its name. Hassan says that this little journey across the street marks his big move from being a kid to everything that lies beyond, so it tells us that the whole book's a kind of coming of age story.