How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
He was alone then with the fog of his breath in the lantern light and the crates of maritime records. The room smelled of salt water and snow and of the past—it was full of the scent of lost days. Ishmael tried to concentrate on his work, but the image of Hatsue in the backseat of his car—her eyes meeting his in the rearview mirror—carried him away into his memories. (23.22)
Does the combo of Ishmael's propensity for daydreaming + Hatsue in a rearview mirror + Ishmael behind the wheel make anyone else nervous? It seems like Hatsue, her father, and Ishmael made it to their destination without incident, but afterwards Ishmael remains his same-old paralyzed self in the face of his memories.
Quote #8
"I'm putting an article together on this storm. I'm wondering if you have archives of some kind, weather records from way back, maybe, something I could take a look at. Go through old logs, something like that, try to make some comparisons. I can't remember a storm like this one, but that doesn't mean it never happened." (23.4)
Here, Ishmael is talking to an official at the local coast guard office, trying to get information to use in a story about the current snowstorm. His suggestion that the past continues to have ramifications for the present—and, in fact, might teach us something about the present—seems important given the novel's larger thematic concerns, no?
Quote #9
"Look," she said. "You know I can't. I can never touch you, Ishmael. Everything has to be over between us. We both have to put it all behind us and go on, live our lives. There's no halfway, from my point of view. I'm married, I have a baby, and I can't let you hold me. So what I want you to do right now is get up and walk away from here and forget about me forever. You have to let go of me, Ishmael." (23.34)
Of course, while the past can be instructive, it can also just be a means of regressing or stalling yourself. That's the kind of nonsense Ishmael can't seem to avoid (despite Hatsue's pleas). This moment comes from a flashback to one of Hatsue and Ishmael's first conversations after the war, in which he suggests that if she just allows him to hold her, he'll (probably) be able to develop into a functional human being. Three cheers for Hatsue for calling shenanigans on that one, we say.