Humor is most effective when it’s mutual.
-- Michael (The Irish for No)

Importance: This quote—which Michael gives as a warning and admonishment to the soldier who gropes Cushla in the bar—functions as a foreshadowing of the difficulties he faces in his relationship with Cushla. Though the pair attempt to relate to one another, they are often stymied by their lack of cultural understanding, and wind up offending or inconveniencing one another in spite of their best efforts. In this sense, Michael's effort at nobility in the early going of the novel becomes an augury of his relationship's failure.

Gina grew up hungry, so it makes her feel good to be picky.
-- Cushla's father (The Irish for No)

Importance: This quote from Cushla's father—which was apparently oft-repeated throughout Cushla's childhood—speaks to the novel's themes about inherited suffering. Because Gina did not have much as a child, she leverages as much authority as she can as an adult as a...