“The NRA was laying down its weapons. Yankee fans were rooting for the Boston Red Sox. The French were eating English food and loving it. Matthew was sure all those things were happening.... This was the proverbial cold day in hell, and Matthew was living it.”

“All literary men are Red Sox fans - to be a Yankee fan in a literate society is to endanger your life.”

“I am a die-hard Red Sox fan, and yes, I dated a Yankee fan. I know I should be kicked out of The Nation for that, but I couldn’t help it. He was way too charming back then.”

“Characteristic of the overall difference between Boston and New York, the population at the Acropolis was far less forlorn. Its customers were just those who, for whatever reason, wanted to eat coffee-shop food at very strange hours.”

“Matthew: Shall I remind you of some of the choicest remarks you made about me when I arrived here? Because they live in my memory as fresh as the day they were spoken.Mary: Oh, Matthew. What am I always telling you? You must pay no attention to the things I say.When they kiss, it is a long kiss, all the more passionate for being delayed far longer than it should have been.”

“From The Red Sox Reader:"The Yankees may have always had the better players, but the Red Sox always had the better writers.”