“I you are lucky enough to find a way of life you love, you have to find the courage to live it.” — John Irving Courage Copy Share Image
“As for my faith: I've become my father's son-that is, I've become the kind of believer that Pastor Merrill used to be.… — John Irving Faith Copy Share Image
“What the hell is the matter with Eddie? Ruth was thinking. If he doesn't stop staring at me, I'm going to drive… — John Irving Humor Copy Share Image
“You've witnessed what you c-c-c-call a miracle and now you believe-you believe everything," Pastor Merrill said. "But miracles don't c-c-c-cause belief-real miracles… — John Irving Faith Copy Share Image
“Never trust a man with a lunatic wife in an attic," Richard told me. "And anyone named Heathcliff should make you suspicious.” — John Irving Marriage Copy Share Image
“...where our desires "come from"; that is a dark, winding road.” — John Irving Desire 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
I don't want you to describe to me—not ever—what you were doing to that poor boy to make him sound like that;… — John Irving Boys Copy Share Image
A writer's job is to imagine everything so personally that the fiction is as vivid as memories. — John Irving Closeness 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 Behave Copy Share Image
If you care about something you have to protect it. If you're lucky enough to find a way of life you love,… — John Irving Caring Copy Share Image
It's a no-win argument - that business of what we're born with and what our environment does to us. And it's a… — John Irving Argument Copy Share Image
“Mr. Merrill was most appealing because he reassured us that doubt was the essence of faith, and not faith’s opposite.” — John Irving Faith Copy Share Image
“YOUR BOREDOM IS YOUR PROBLEM," said Owen Meany. "IT'S YOUR LACK OF IMAGINATION THAT BORES YOU. HARDY HAS THE WORLD FIGURED OUT.… — John Irving Boredome Copy Share Image
What a phrase that is: 'that explains everything!' I know better than to think anything 'explains everything' today. — John Irving Knows Copy Share Image
“Reagan Declares Firmness on Gulf; Plans are Unclear Isn't that classic? I don't mean the semicolon; I mean, isn't that just what… — John Irving Copy Share Image
Whereas she wished more of the population were better educated, she also believed that education was largely wasted on the majority of… — John Irving Educated Copy Share Image
He had heard her say, so many times, that a society that approved of making abortion illegal was a society that approved… — John Irving Abortion Copy Share Image
There's a lot of ignorance about how long it takes to write a novel. There's a lot of ignorance about how long… — John Irving About 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
“Someone who hasn't read a novel doesn't really know what it's about, William.” — John Irving Books Copy Share Image
I have no respect for the right-to-life position. But when you legislate personal belief, you're in violation of freedom of religion. The… — John Irving Abortion Copy Share Image
Whatever I write, no matter how gray or dark the subject matter, it's still going to be a comic novel. — John Irving Books Copy Share Image
