“You should wait, William," Miss Frost said. "The time to read Madame Bovary is when your romantic hopes and desires have crashed,… — John Irving Copy Share Image
With every book, you go back to school. You become a student. You become an investigative reporter. You spend a little time… — John Irving Copy Share Image
I've always been a fan of the 19th century novel, of the novel that is plotted, character-driven, and where the passage of… — John Irving Copy Share Image
Adolescence-is it the first time in life we discover that we have something terrible to hide from those who love us? — John Irving Copy Share Image
“The time to read Madame Bovary is when your romantic hopes and desires have crashed, and you will believe that your future… — John Irving Copy Share Image
“Men who believe in good and evil, and who believe that good should win, should watch for those moments when it is… — John Irving Copy Share Image
. . .There are moments when time does stop. We must be alert enough to notice such moments . . . — John Irving Copy Share Image
“When someone you love dies, and you're not expecting it, you don''t lose her all at once; you lose her in pieces… — John Irving Copy Share Image
All his life he would hold this moment as exemplary of what love was. It was not wanting anything more, nor was… — John Irving Copy Share Image
One of the humbling things about having written more than one novel is the sense that every time you begin, that new… — John Irving Copy Share Image
Ambition robs you of your childhood. The moment you want to become an adult—in any way—something in your childhood dies. — John Irving 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
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
