In increments both measurable and not, our childhood is stolen from us -- not always in one momentous event but often in… — John Irving Copy Share Image
If you're still wondering about details - how am I going to get these two to meet, or whatever - when you're… — John Irving Copy Share Image
You know, everybody dies. My parents died. Your father died. Everybody dies. I'm going to die too. So will you. The thing… — John Irving Adventure Copy Share Image
In the world according to her father, Jenny Garp knew, we must have energy. Her famous grandmother, Jenny Fields, once thought of… — John Irving Copy Share Image
More than a half, maybe as much as two-thirds of my life as a writer is rewriting. I wouldn't say I have… — John Irving Copy Share Image
You don't want to dwell on your enemies, you know. I basically feel so superior to my critics for the simple reason… — John Irving Book Copy Share Image
I'm not a twentieth-century novelist, I'm not modern, and certainly not postmodern. I follow the form of the nineteenth-century novel; that was… — John Irving Copy Share Image
The characters in my novels, from the very first one, are always on some quixotic effort of attempting to control something that… — John Irving Copy Share Image
“It was Nurse Caroline who introduced Homer to young Dr. Harlow, who was in the throes of growing out his bangs; a… — John Irving Copy Share Image
“In Wally’s bedroom Homer marveled at how the world was simultaneously being invented and destroyed. Nothing marvelous about that, Dr. Larch would… — John Irving Copy Share Image
“So we dream on. Thus we invent our lives. We give ourselves a sainted mother, we make our father a hero; and… — John Irving Dream Copy Share Image
“When we held Owen Meany above our heads, when we passed him back and forth - so effortlessly - we believed that… — John Irving Owen Meany Copy Share Image
“But first, he knew he had to apologize for hurting Dr. Larch’s feelings – it had all just slipped out of him,… — John Irving Copy Share Image
“And in our Scripture class, Owen said, "IT'S TRUE THAT THE DISCIPLES ARE STUPID - THEY NEVER UNDERSTAND WHAT JESUS MEANS, THEY'RE… — John Irving Believe in god Copy Share Image
“That was when Angel Wells became a fiction writer, whether he knew it or not. That's when he learned how to make… — John Irving Fiction writer Copy Share Image
“Wilbur Larch knew that freedom was an orphan’s most dangerous illusion, and when he finally heard from Homer, he scanned the oddly… — John Irving Freedom Copy Share Image
You cannot drive with your eyes in the rear-view mirror… But dignity is difficult to maintain. Stamina requires constant upkeep. Repetition is… — John Irving Copy Share Image
“You don't sound very well Owen." I pointed out to him. "IF JESUS HAD TO BE BORN ON A DAY LIKE THIS.… — John Irving Christianity Copy Share Image
I thought some of the stories were neat; I liked some of the liturgy and some of the songs. If you're a… — John Irving Attention Copy Share Image
“You should wait, William," Miss Frost said. "The time to read Madame Bovary is when your romantic hopes and desires have crashed,… — John Irving Future relationship Copy Share Image
Crazy people made him crazy. It was as if he personally resented them giving into madness - in part, because he so… — John Irving Copy Share Image
“The point was - he wasn't acting . It was as if he'd forgotten how! Jack still knew his lines, but he… — John Irving Actor Copy Share Image
“Any contractor who would construct a flat-roofed, two-storey building in Northern New Hampshire was enough of a moron to not know how… — John Irving Copy Share Image
“And when Dr. Daruwalla breathed in her dangerous aroma, he thought he'd at last identified the smell of sex, which struck him… — John Irving Death Copy Share Image
It seems to me that a great deal of this type of censorship has to do with absolving parents of responsibility -… — John Irving Censorship Copy Share Image
The arrangements that couples make in order to maintain civility in the midst of their journey to divorce are often most elaborate… — John Irving Children Copy Share Image
“It's long been a point of mine that the freedom of religion, which this country alleges to support, works two ways. We're… — John Irving Freedom Copy Share Image
It is amazing to me, now, how such wild imaginings and philosophies - inspired by a night charged with frights and calamities… — John Irving Best friend Copy Share Image
When I finally write the first sentence, I want to know everything that happens, so that I am not inventing the story… — John Irving Copy Share Image
I don't read anything electronically. I don't write electronically, either - except e-mails to my family and friends. I write in longhand.… — John Irving Copy Share Image
“Wherever Melony went, she would not be without guidance, she would not be without love, without faith; she had a good book… — John Irving Books Copy Share Image
“Dr. Gingrich, who was increasingly fascinated with the leaps of Mrs. Goodhall’s mind, was still marveling over the confusing image of a… — John Irving Copy Share Image
I have no respect for the right-to-life position, though I have every respect for an individual who says, "I could never have… — John Irving Book Copy Share Image
In an episodic treatment, such as a teleplay is, you have the ability to do what you can do in a novel,… — John Irving Ability Copy Share Image
Sometimes that's a year, sometimes it's 18 months, where all I'm doing is taking notes. I'm reconstructing the story from the back… — John Irving Copy Share Image
The desire to never leave your side, the desire to never see you again. The desire to see your face asleep on… — John Irving Desire Copy Share Image
It's my experience that very few writers, young or old, are really seeking advice when they give out their work to be… — John Irving Advice Copy Share Image
And I find - I'm 63, and my capacity to be by myself and just spend time by myself hasn't diminished any.… — John Irving Copy Share Image
So, you see, it's a real chore for me to write a book review because it's like a contest. It's like I'm… — John Irving Copy Share Image
I don't begin a novel or a screenplay until I know the ending. And I don't mean only that I have to… — John Irving Copy Share Image
![“So, you see, it's a real chore for me to write a book review because it's like a contest. It's like I'm writing that book review for every bad book reviewer I've ever known and it's a way of saying [thrusts a middle finger into the air] this is how you ought to do it. I like to rub their noses in…” quote by John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/q/img-quotes/b5d/john-irving-337_air_so-you-see-it-s-a-real-chore-for-me-to-w_1152495.jpg)
