“It screamed downward, splitting the air and sky without effort . . . . There was a moment before impact that was the last instant of things as they were. Then the visible world exploded” 

This is the first sentence of the novel, and becomes a refrain in the prologue, illustrating its importance. This is the moment that is the impetus for all the events in the novel, the bombing of the bread line that kills twenty-two people—this is what inspires the cellist to play. 

“That something could be almost erased from existence in the landscape of a ruined city, and then rebuilt until it is new and worthwhile” 

This sentence reinforces the importance of rebuilding the past and the present into something beautiful. 

“Not long ago, the promise of a happy life seemed almost inviolable” 

The cellist compares the beauty and potential of the past to the violence of the present.