Oil on Water

“‘Forget the woman and her kidnappers for a moment. What we really seek is not them but a greater meaning. Remember that the story is not the final goal.’

‘Then what is?’

‘The meaning of the story, and only a lucky few ever discover that.’” 

This is Zaq’s way of telling Rufus that the facts, though important, are not ultimately what they are trying to discover as journalists. Rather, it is why facts unfold in the manner they do—the machinations that oftentimes are underreported, if reported at all. This eye for meaning-making is what makes Zaq unique and is likely aided by his penchant for risk-taking. 

“Ultimately, things didn’t turn out fine, as I hoped and as he promised, especially for him, but then maybe he was talking not about himself but about me. He might have felt that he had drifted past a point in his river that was beyond return.” 

Here, Rufus foreshadows that things will not end well for Zaq. Zaq has been able to muck up his life in a few different ways, including a cocaine possession charge and being unable to get help for his drinking problem. These problems have cost him his reputation, and while Rufus still looks up to Zaq, Zaq himself seems to understand that there’s no way he can fully come back from his mistakes.

“You lucky, lucky boy. Always lucky from the day you were born. Nothing will ever harm you.”

Boma says this about Rufus in a dream that Rufus has. Throughout the book, we see examples of this being true. Rufus is put in danger over and over again, and he always comes out okay. In this way, we have a protagonist-as-witness: while Rufus escapes with his life, his reward for doing so is having to live with the violence and corruption he’s seen.