“Four generations of women--"I'm a woman," Mary said to herself--heading off on a journey in a car. One of the dead, one of them dying, one of the driving, one of them just staring out.”

“One day at a time, sweet Jesus. Whoever wrote that one hadn’t a clue. A day is a fuckin’ eternity”

“-I love yeh, son, said Jimmy Sr.He could say it and no one could hear him, except young Jimmy, because of the singing and roaring and breaking glasses.-I think you’re fuckin’ great, said Jimmy Sr.-Ah fuck off, will yeh, said Jimmy Jr. -Packie saved the fuckin’ penalty, not me.But he liked what he’d heard, Jimmy Sr could tell that. He gave Jimmy Sr a dig in the stomach.-You’re not a bad oul’ cunt yourself, he said.”

“I was the ref. I was the ref they didn’t know about. Deaf and dumb. Invisible as a wall. I wanted no one to win”

“Fuck was the best word. The most dangerous word. You couldn't whisper it. Fuck was always too loud, too late to stop it, it burst in the air above you and fell slowly right over your head. There was total silence, nothing but Fuck floating down. For a few seconds you were dead, waiting for Henno to look up and see Fuck landing on top of you. They were thrilling seconds-when he didn't look up. It was a word you couldn't say anywhere. It wouldn't come out unless you pushed it. It made you feel caught and grabbed you the minute you said it. When it escaped it was like an electric laugh, a soundless gasp followed by the kind of laughing only forbidden things could make, an inside tickle that became a brilliant pain, bashing at your mouth to be let out. It was agony. We didn't waste it.”

“It’s the only thing sexier than a sexy woman. A sexy woman cooking fuckin’ sausages.”

“She's a pot-of-tea-before-I-say-boo-to-you woman. There's always a pile of warm teabags in the sink when I come down, like what a horse would leave behind.”