The Endless Sky
Chapter 4 is written from the perspective of a woman (who readers assume is Roya, but in fact is Leila) who boards Iran Air Flight 655. In this passage, an ethereal landscape viewed from the plane captures a moment of stillness in contrast to the chaos beneath. The quote reads, "The sun, blistering pink around its edges. Clouds beneath her like a thin cloth drawn over cooling milk. Beneath that, ocean. Blues and blues and blues." The imagery transforms natural elements—the sun, clouds, and ocean—into delicate and painterly strokes. The clouds are compared to “cooling milk” which emphasizes their softness, while the “blues and blues and blues” of the ocean suggest an overwhelming vastness. The use of color and texture helps readers feel the protagonist’s momentary escape from the turmoil of her life.
The Faces of Martyrs
Zee discusses with Sad James the way “Cyrus has been plastering [their] apartment with these big black-and-white printouts of all [the martyrs'] terrifying faces. Bobby Sands in our kitchen, Joan of Arc in our hallway” (Chapter 7). This makes Cyrus's obsession with martyrdom more real, present, and immediate. He also includes a picture of his parents on their wedding day, revealing the personal relevance of the project.
Death-Speak
The artist Orkideh transforms her terminal cancer diagnosis into an art installation called Death-Speak. Cyrus describes entering the museum and seeing her in the following quote: “Sitting on a simple black metal folding chair, just a thin black pillow between her and the seat, Orkideh looked a little like a sculpture she herself might have made earlier in her career" (Chapter 9). Cyrus goes on to describe how the lamp light "cast a hard shadow against the wall behind her, where the soft round shape of her hairless skull arced over the narrowing angles of her jaw and neck like a divining crystal dangling from an invisible string." This passage encapsulates Orkideh’s fragile existence as an artist in her final moments. Its vividness comes through the lighting, which transforms her body into something otherworldly. The contrast between light and shadow speaks of her impending death, lending the scene a surreal and contemplative quality. Her skull is likened to a "divining crystal," emphasizing the emotional weight of the scene as she waits for death.
Garnet and Emerald Stars
In one of Cyrus's dream sequences, the night sky is painted with luxurious and vibrant colors, transforming the stars into precious gemstones. The passage reads, "The stars above them were glistening Technicolor: garnets and emeralds and sapphires, fat jewels set in the night’s crown" (Chapter 25). This extravagant vision of the heavens heightens the scene’s emotional resonance, suggesting that the universe itself bears witness to Ali Shams and Rumi's conversation. The metaphor comparing the stars to a “crown” gives the impression that they adorn the night with a regal and divine presence. The use of “fat jewels” conveys richness and a sense of abundance.
The Healing Femur
Cyrus is struck by the following image of a healed femur as a symbol of human compassion and the origin of civilization: "a human femur—discovered in Madagascar—that showed signs of having healed from a bad fracture. In the animal world, a broken leg meant you starved, so a healed femur meant that some human had supported another’s long recovery, fed them, cleaned the wound. And thus, the author argued, began civilization" (Chapter 30). The healed bone evokes thoughts of vulnerability, recovery, and the communal bond necessary for survival. This image contrasts brutality with care, which serves as a meditation on what it means to be human.
