“The world should take note: not everything is getting worse.”
After watching the early morning news, which is mostly preoccupied with conflict and disaster, Perowne muses upon the kettle he's using to brew coffee: although simple, it's a marvel of engineering, one more example of improvements people take for granted while harshly condemning everything about the modern world. Instead of focusing on the negative aspects of the world, people should realize the wonderful advances provided by the modern era, abstaining from wholeheartedly criticizing it.
“As the shelves and drawers emptied, and the boxes and bags filled, he saw that no one owned anything really. It’s all rented, or borrowed. Our possessions will outlast us, we’ll desert them in the end.”
In this scene, Henry is reminiscing about the death of Lily, Rosalind's mother. He thinks, “It took a day to dismantle Lily’s existence.” The experience afforded by his family's actions in emptying Lily's house of her possessions allows Perowne to realize something profound about human life: possessions are merely temporary. It's impossible for someone to truly own something - we won't be able to hold on to physical things once we die, and then they're not ours anymore.
“There are these rare moments when musicians together touch something sweeter than they've ever found before in rehearsals or performance, beyond the merely collaborative or technically proficient, when their expression becomes as easy and graceful as friendship or love. This is when they give us a glimpse of what we might be, of our best selves, and of an impossible world in which you give everything to others, but lose nothing of yourself.”
At this point in the novel, Henry is watching the dress rehearsal for Theo's band's performance. They are extraordinarily talented, and Henry spends a little while reflecting on the power of music. This particular quote is a profound statement about music in general and humanity's draw to it: when it is done perfectly and effortlessly, with an infusion of meaning and emotion, it's like opening a gate to a perfect, heavenly world that can be seen only in passing.
