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Jack Swanzy asked this question about A Swim in a Pond in the Rain: In Which Four Russians Give a Master Class on Writing, Reading, and Life:
on p.16 of the hard back, Saunders writes "The story has said of her, 'She is unhappy and can't imagine any other life for herself.'" Why put this statement in quotes? It isn't found in the text.
Richard Pearce-moses Of course, only Saunders can answer your question. But I'll offer and observation and a guess:

In the paragraph above that begins, "If a story begins, …mǰOf course, only Saunders can answer your question. But I'll offer and observation and a guess:

In the paragraph above that begins, "If a story begins, 'Once there was a boy ...'", Saunders uses quotes to distinguish the text of this hypothetical story from his own words. I think he may be doing the same thing in the sentence you quoted.

Omitting the quotation marks would (IMHO) be a reasonable option, especially if the author were very much a minimalist when it came to punctuation. But, I think using them makes text a bit more readable. And, he seems to use this convention to highlight words and short passages through the book.(less)
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A Swim in a Pond in the Rain
by George Saunders
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