How we cite our quotes: (Book.Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
"Don't try to make life a mathematics problem with yourself in the center and everything coming out equal. When you are good, bad things can still happen. And if you are bad, you can still be lucky." (3.21.35)
Anatole tries to get Leah to understand that things just aren't fair. Give it a few decades: she's going to realize the truth of this firsthand.
Quote #8
I live among men and women who've simply always understood their whole existence is worth less than a banana to white people. I see it in their eyes when they glance up at me. (5.6.34)
Okay, seriously. This is too sad for words. These people believe their lives are worthless because they've been treated that way by the whites that run the mines. (Plus, they probably don't even get paid enough to afford a banana.)
Quote #9
How can this be, a castle with spires and a moat? Why doesn't the world just open its jaws like a whale and swallow this brazenness in one gulp? (5.8.8)
Er … has it ever? Mobutu's crimes against the people of Congo are reprehensible. He's the 1% with 99% of the people's money—but the people are so oppressed that they can't even imagine revolting.