Though the city seemed in many ways diminished from the capital of his youth, Russell Calloway had never quite fallen out of love with it, nor with his sense of his own place here. The backdrop of Manhattan, it seemed to him, gave every gesture an added grandeur, a metropolitan gravitas.
-- Narrator (chapter 1)

Importance: This quote reveals the importance of Manhattan for Russell Calloway and gives the setting of the novel the sense of being more important than just the place in which the action of the novel occurs.

Russell liked, especially after a few drinks, to dive humanity into two opposing teams: Art and Love versus Power and Money. It was kind of corny, but she was proud he believed it, and of his loyalty to his team. For better and for worse, it was her team, too.
-- Narrator (chapter 2)

Importance: By stating the defining feature of Russell's worldview, this quote introduces both Russell and...