I think that writers are, at best, outsiders to the society they inhabit. They have a kind of detachment, or try to… — John Irving Copy Share Image
Just when you begin thinking of yourself as memorable, you run into someone who can't even remember having met you — John Irving Copy Share Image
“I think about you more and more, but I don't waste my time - or yours - thinking about who you were… — John Irving Copy Share Image
I think there is often a 'what if' proposition that gets me thinking about all my novels. — John Irving Copy Share Image
The former stewardess glared at her ex-pilot husband as if he had been speaking, and thinking, in the absence of sufficient oxygen. — John Irving Copy Share Image
But I often think that so-called glamorous people are just very busy people. — John Irving Copy Share Image
Your memory is a monster; it summons with will of its own. You think you have a memory, but it has you. — John Irving Copy Share Image
If I have any advantage, maybe, as a writer, it is that I don't think I'm very interesting. I mean, beginning a… — John Irving Copy Share Image
In this world,” Franny once observed, “just as you’re trying to think of yourself as memorable, there is always someone who forgets… — John Irving Copy Share Image
Maybe television causes cancer, Garp thinks; but his real irritation is a writer's irritation: he knows that wherever the TV glows, there… — John Irving Copy Share Image
I think now that is the nature of hymns-they make us want to repeat them...they are a part of any service, and… — John Irving Copy Share Image
I think the sport of wrestling, which I became involved with at the age of 14... I competed until I was 34,… — John Irving Copy Share Image
I have pretty thick skin, and I think if you're going to be in this business, if you're going to be an… — John Irving 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've always been interested in miracles, or the miraculous of the unexplained. I don't scoff at what makes people believe or want… — John Irving Copy Share Image
I have lots of notebooks around, because one great advantage of writing by hand-in addition to how much it slows you down-is… — John Irving Copy Share Image
It´s natural to want someone you love to do what you want, or what you think would be good for them, but… — John Irving Copy Share Image
Before I began The Cider House Rules, I thought I wanted to write about a father-son relationship that was closer, more conflicted,… — John Irving Copy Share Image
I think that was when the headmaster realized he had lost; he realized then that he was finished. Because, what could he… — 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 Copy Share Image
“Mother's intentions were always sound, never muddy; I don't imagine that she troubled herself to feel very guilty. But the Rev. Mr.… — John Irving Copy Share Image
I always begin with a character or characters, and then try to think up as much action for them as possible. — John Irving Copy Share Image
I certainly think Obama is the most hopeful president I've seen in the country since John Kennedy. — John Irving Copy Share Image
What a phrase that is: 'that explains everything!' I know better than to think anything 'explains everything' today. — John Irving Copy Share Image
Kids are beautiful, man. And they know much more than grownups think they know. Kids are just perfect people until grownups get… — John Irving Copy Share Image
Is it a democratic society that condemns people to the accident of conception? What are we-monkeys? If you expect people to be… — John Irving Copy Share Image
You know, people think you have to be dumb to skip rope for 45 minutes. No, you have to be able to… — John Irving Copy Share Image
They all settled into being the kind of friends when they heard from each other… or when they occasionally got together. And… — John Irving 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 Copy Share Image
Your memory is a monster; you forget - it doesn't. It simply files things away. It keeps things for you, or hides things from… — John Irving Copy Share Image
… and so he tried to accept the ache in his heart as what Dr. Larch would call the common symptoms of normal life. — John Irving Copy Share Image
Watch out for people who call themselves religious; make sure you know what they mean––make sure they know what they mean! — 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 the pillow… — John Irving Copy Share Image
I had been a student in Vienna, and one of the neat little things I had found out was about that zoo. It was… — John Irving Copy Share Image
“God, I think I just hit a high E-flat - and I really held it!" Esmeralda said, after one of her more prolonged orgasms,… — John Irving Copy Share Image
“Nostalgia!" Miss Frost cried. "You´re nostalgic!" She repeated. "Just how old are you, William?" She asked. "Seventeen, " I told her. "Seventeen!" Miss Frost… — John Irving Copy Share Image
“JUST BECAUSE A BUNCH OF ATHEISTS ARE BETTER WRITERS THAN THE GUYS WHO WROTE THE BIBLE DOESN'T NECESSARILY MAKE THEM RIGHT!" [Owen Meany] said… — John Irving Copy Share Image
It is much easier to be flexible about where a story begins than it ever was for me to change my mind about where… — 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 might look… — John Irving Copy Share Image
You're nice,' Cushie told him, squeezing his hand. 'And you're my oldest friend.' But they both must have known that you can know someone… — John Irving Copy Share Image
![“JUST BECAUSE A BUNCH OF ATHEISTS ARE BETTER WRITERS THAN THE GUYS WHO WROTE THE BIBLE DOESN'T NECESSARILY MAKE THEM RIGHT!" [Owen Meany] said crossly. "LOOK AT THOSE WEIRDO TV MIRACLE-WORKERS--THEY'RE TRYING TO GET PEOPLE TO BELIEVE IN MAGIC! BUT THE REAL MIRACLES AREN'T ANYTHING YOU CAN…” quote by John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/70e/john-irving-337_atheists_just-because-a-bunch-of-atheists-are-bet_31804.jpg)
