“It is 'where we are' that should make all the difference, whether we believe we belong there or not.” 

This quote is what much of the journey narrative of the book centers around. What matters is being in the moment and acting with presence. React to where you are, not where you want to be. Taking the quote as a metaphor, some believe they are entitled to be further along a path than they are, but must simply move forward. Others, who are self-deprecating, might not see that they are further along than they believe themselves to be. In a more concrete sense, the quote is exemplified by Fan, who always continues moving onward, present in whatever circumstance she finds herself in. She has no plan or clear path, but remains unconcerned, concentrating on the reality of her situation, not her emotional response to it.

“For sometimes you can't help but crave some ruin in what you love.” 

The people of B-Mor view their society as one that is nearly perfect, holding many of their complaints inside, until after Fan leaves. They begin to wonder why she would leave, and what her dissatisfaction means for their society. This quote is an attempt to justify the idea that her leaving was an act of vandalism against their culture, instead of the decision of an individual who yearns for something better.

“Don’t become sausage!” 

Although used with humor, this is something B-Mors tell their children on those rare occasions they go outside the gates. The horror movie cited in the book from which this quote is derived involves some young Charters venturing out into the counties to camp, and they are indeed murdered and ground into sausage. This exemplifies how citizens feel about the open counties: they are places of danger to be avoided.

“Save some noodles for tomorrow’s lunch.” 

This quote reveals the underlying anxiety of most B-Mors. They are hard-working and self-reliant, but they don’t share the love of excess found in the Charters. They plan for the future, never using up all their resources, be they financial, physical, or emotional.

“A tale, like the universe, they tell us, expands ceaselessly each time you examine it, until there’s finally no telling exactly where it begins, or ends, or where it places you now.” 

The narrator in this book is a collective, told through a perspective made up of multiple people detached from a specific time and space. This quote is about the very nature of storytelling, and gives the reader a clue that the story could be somewhat exaggerated or mutated in relation to what really happened.

“But, at least those writers had time, the change happening over many decades, until readers became rare enough that they were believed to be nearly extinct, like some twitchy, sensitive creatures who lingered in the twilight brush.”

Here, we get a meta-commentary directed toward the reader, commenting on the fact that this is a book and the reader is engaged with it. It also serves to encapsulate the supply-and-demand concept as explored in the book. Veterinary medicine disappeared as a profession suddenly due to disease in the Charters, and took many jobs with it. The same might be happening to the fish and vegetable markets in the story, which is a panic situation for B-Mor. The quote is saying that at least writers had time to adapt, whereas in the world of the book, workers in many professions often did not.

“For you have done your job, you have labored and nurtured, you have helped secure the foundations of B-Mor in this fraught civilization without heed to your own dreams, ever modest, unfinished.” 

Community is very important to B-Mor, and people are expected to contribute to and care about the collective good over their individual goals and needs. The quote also foreshadows the ambiguity of Fan’s ending, where her path remains unfinished.

“Moment to moment we act freely, we make decisions and form opinions and there is very little to throttle us.”

This quote represents the perceived idea of control over our destiny. We have free will, and can exercise it. This is personified in Fan, who leaves B-Mor for reasons assumed but never truly known.

“It’s too easy to say it was some temporary insanity, or some raging, dark grief over Reg, especially when she never once exhibited such capacities.” 

B-Mor residents cannot make sense of Fan’s leaving. In order to cope with the imperfections that such a departure would indicate in their society, one strategy is to minimize her choice as madness.

“Charters are equally sheltered, but whether they wish to recognize it or not, the native fuel of their society is risk, and when they fall, they fall from heights very few can survive.”

Charters, in particular, are subject to negative impact from losing their status. They have much more to lose than a B-Mor, and are less capable of dealing with any loss of money or status. They are also less skilled in the ways of survival, so if they become counties, they generally cannot survive well.

“If she possessed a genius—and a growing number of us think she did—it was a capacity for understanding and trusting the improvisational nature of her will.” 

Fan is able to react to any current situation with immediate action, unconcerned as most B-Mors and Charters would be of finding themselves out of their element.

“She was someone who pursued her project as a genuine artist might, following with focus and intensity as well as an enduring innocence a goal she could not quite yet understand or see but wholly believed.” 

Fan is an adventurer, but to the citizens of B-Mor, she is more than that, actually becoming an inspiration. By simply not being present, she motivates the citizens to think about their situation and see the imperfections in their way of life, inspiring them by the nature of her free will and intense drive.

“She simply had a faith—an amazing, profound faith—that like some great waterfall would not stint or diminish. Where it came from or how she nurtured it is a mystery, and what we can see is that she drew upon it in every episode of her quest, for fortitude and strength.” 

Fan has an energy that keeps her moving forward, despite any obstacles or setbacks. This is something most B-Mors cannot relate to, and seems almost magical to them.

“Behold a fire from the opposite shore.” 

B-Mors use this adage to justify staying out of one another’s business. It is better to take care of one’s own; no one is obligated to address the plight of another.

“Charters, on the contrary, are always striving to be exquisite microcosms, testing and honing and curating every texture and thread of their lives, from what they eat and watch and wear to whom they befriend and make love to, being lifelong and thus expert Connoisseurs of Me.” 

This quote illustrates the primary difference between Fan, the B-Mors, and the Charters. Both B-Mors and Charters try to engineer success through meticulous planning and analysis, although B-Mors do so for collective gain and Charters for the individual. Fan does not need to test the waters or be given inflexible direction, for she can improvise and react exceptionally well.

“Suddenly all the sturdy engineering and constructing, from the originals to now, feels as though it’s been resting upon an insufficient base, the same way a thoroughly elaborate and convincing dream can hinge upon an entirely impossible premise, which, once examined, exposes the rest as a mirage.” 

During Fan’s journey, we keep seeing how B-Mor has changed, and this inconsistency weighs heavily on the B-Mors. They are used to things being constant, unchanging, and rigidly structured. When things are uncertain, they feel detached and anxious as a whole.

“[…] what if loving something means you should mostly feel frustrated and thwarted, and then a little ruined, too, by the pursuit. But that you still come back for more.” 

Persistence is key. When you love something, go after it with unblinking resolve; even if it hurts or annoys, it is a worthwhile pursuit.

“Look at the fish.” 

This is the best indication that a new normal has been reached in the world of the book. The fish, which are so symbolically and economically important to B-Mor, are fine; therefore, B-Mor is okay, too. The demand for fish has returned, and thus stability has, too. Their quality is high, and prices are going up alongside desirability. 

“It is only natural for you to believe that we have achieved mastery.” 

Uncle Kellen tells a story in the book about the “Parkies,” which is a derogatory term used for the original people that had lived in the area before the original settlers came to take over B-Mor. He points out that even though students are taught that those park-dwelling folks who refused to leave were inept, unable to grow food or take care of themselves, the odds were stacked against them. They were cut off from services, jobs, and land. Kellen is saying that it’s easy to judge those in the past who didn’t have the resources that we do now, and that our ways are familiar but that does not make us objectively right about the way we live.

"Isn’t it better that we send them off once and for all beneath the glow of carnival lights, with the taste of treats on our tongues, rather than invite the acrid tang of doubt, and undue longing, and the heart-stab of a freshly sundered bond?” 

When a B-Mor is accepted to a Charter village, it is easier to let them go and assume they will never return, even for a visit, for the idealized thought of what good things will happen to them are better than seeing the reality or facing the loss.

“I just woke up, she replied. But you’re right, Leo, I am tired.”

Miss Cathy says this when her odd behavior at dinner is commented upon by her husband. It foreshadows that she is finally going to act and stop Leo from having his way with Fan.

“And though we betray nothing, we’re suddenly enraged, our fury hurtling and bounding but no longer for the person or persons responsible, or even for ourselves, but finally, at the pitiable fellow himself.” 

This quote shows just how negatively the attitude of B-Mor has been impacted. Violence has been on the rise and it is not rational, with people not even understanding why they are so angry.

“We make our special place. Our very own little spot. Our little world. Where we’ll live with one mind and one heart.” 

Miss Cathy reveals how damaged she is, and how little of her life she has control over to this point. By keeping the girls, she is exhibiting some small measure of control over something.

“A legend can be made, it turns out, one crude stroke at a time.” 

This refers to the graffiti that has begun appearing in B-Mor, and underlines how the story of Fan is growing bigger with every re-telling of what happened to her after she left B-Mor.