“It was quality that killed Lilly; it was the end of The Great Gatsby, which was not her ending, which was not… — John Irving Copy Share Image
“It doesn't really matter who said it - it's so obviously true. Bevore you can write anything, you have to notice something.” — John Irving Copy Share Image
“Ruth knew very well what the killer thought he had heard: he'd heard the sound of someone trying not to make a… — John Irving Suspense Copy Share Image
when however small a measure of jealousy is mixed with misunderstanding, there is always going to be trouble. — John Irving Jealousy Copy Share Image
I never know when I finish the novel I am writing which will be the next novel out of the station. — John Irving Books Copy Share Image
“In the sixties, dear Bill, we did not say 'top' and 'bottom' - we said 'pitcher' and 'catcher'...” — John Irving Baseball Copy Share Image
When Jack Burns needed to hold his mother's hand, his fingers could see in the dark. — John Irving Dark Copy Share Image
If you presume to love something, you must love the process of it much more than you love the finished product. — John Irving Copy Share Image
Religious freedom should work two ways: we should be free to practice the religion of our choice, but we must also be… — John Irving Choices Copy Share Image
But I felt certain that if the world would stop indulging wars and famines and other perils, it would be possible for… — John Irving Copy Share Image
“Only the chicken-lover will understand me. He will give me a kindly look, maybe mildly desirous. His eyes will tell me: You… — John Irving Copy Share Image
Owen meany who rarely wasted words and who had the conversation-stopping habit of dropping remarks like coins into a deep pool of… — John Irving Copy Share Image
Know the story before you fall in love with your first sentence. If you don’t know the story before you begin the… — John Irving Copy Share Image
“Anne-Elisabeth had taken the music from Dr. Horvath and was looking through it. 'I see finger-cramping possibilities, William - lots of them,'… — John Irving Music Copy Share Image
“At Owen Meany’s burial, one of Owen’s Sunday school classmates remembers how easy he was to lift up. “He was so light—he… — John Irving Owen Meany Copy Share Image
“Because who can describe the look that triggers the memory of loved ones? Who can anticipate the frown, the smile, or the… — John Irving Copy Share Image
“As often as I feel certain that God exists, I feel as often at a loss to say what difference it makes—that… — John Irving Believe in god Copy Share Image
“Among these contemptuous women, poor Germaine had the disadvantage of being young--and almost pretty, in a shy, mousy way. She possessed the… — John Irving Copy Share Image
“AND LOOK AT WHAT WE CALL ‘RELIGION’: TURN ON ANY TELEVISION ON ANY SUNDAY MORNING! SEE THE CHOIRS OF THE POOR AND… — John Irving Church and state Copy Share Image
Here in St. Cloud’s,” Dr. Larch wrote, “ I have been given the choice of playing God or leaving practically everything up… — John Irving Copy Share Image
It's magical thinking to imagine that the reason unspeakable things are being perpetrated by younger and younger people is that they've fallen… — John Irving Book Copy Share Image
“Oh, what a nation of moralists the Americans are! With what fervor do they relish bringing their sexual misconduct to light! A… — John Irving Moral outrage Copy Share Image
“Ah, well..." I started to say, and then stopped. So that was where he was going; I'd heard it before. Richard had… — John Irving Intolerance Copy Share Image
“Did Owen say your grandmother was a banshee?" "He said she was 'wailing like a banshee,'" I explained. Dan got out the… — John Irving Copy Share Image
“We don't enjoy giving directions in New Hampshire-we tend to think if you don't know where you're going, you don't belong where… — John Irving Giving directions Copy Share Image
I still believe in getting married in churches and baptizing children. I go through those motions. — John Irving Copy Share Image
“... the surprised bookseller, whose name (inexplicably) was Mendelssohn. He was no relation to the German composer, and this Mendelssohn either overliked… — John Irving Copy Share Image
“And so this added consideration - that she never get pregnant - contributed to the moderation of their coupling, which was almost… — John Irving Consideration Copy Share Image
I believe in plot, in development of character, in the effect of the passage of time, in a good story - better… — John Irving Copy Share Image
I'm not at all contemporary, not even modern, and the fact that I would be so quaintly attracted to that wrestling rule… — John Irving Behavior Copy Share Image
“But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead …’” Pastor Merrill assured us. “‘For as by a man came death,… — John Irving Resurrection Copy Share Image
“Ruth Cole was a novelist; novelists are not at their best when they go off half-cocked. She believed that she would prepare… — John Irving Humor Copy Share Image
“I must part with you for my whole life," she read, with horror. "I must begin a new existence amongst strange faces… — John Irving Books Copy Share Image
“What would Miss Frost have thought of me? I wondered; I didn't mean my writing . What would she have thought of… — John Irving Men and women Copy Share Image
Human beings are remarkable - at what we can learn to live with. If we couldn't get strong from what we lose,… — John Irving Copy Share Image
“to burn itself on a funeral pyre and then rise up from its own ashes. Under the drawing, Owen had written: “OFTEN… — John Irving Death Copy Share Image
“If you're a writer, the problem is that, when you try to call a halt to thinking about your novel-in-progress, your imagination… — John Irving Books Copy Share Image
“It was Owen Meany who taught me that any good book is always in motion—from the general to the specific, from the… — John Irving Books Copy Share Image
I suppose I'm proudest of my novels for what's imagined in them. I think the world of my imagination is a richer… — John Irving Copy Share Image
I suppose I try to look for those things where the world turns on you. It's every automobile accident, every accident at… — John Irving Accident Copy Share Image
