John Irving
John Irving
John Winslow Irving is an American novelist and Academy Award-winning screenwriter...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionNovelist
Date of Birth2 March 1942
CountryUnited States of America
stories remember imagine
Don’t you understand?” he would say, “You imagine the story better than I remember it.
opportunity one-day world
You take every opportunity given you in this world, even if you have too many opportunities. One day, the opportunities stop, you know.
father iowa voice
And Father said, “There are no happy endings.” “Right!” cried Iowa Bob – an odd mixture of exuberance and stoicism in his cracked voice. “Death is horrible, final, and frequently premature,” Coach Bob declared. “So what?” my father said. “Right!” cried Iowa Bob. “That’s the point: So what?” Thus the family maxim was that an unhappy ending did not undermine a rich and energetic life. This was based on the belief that there were no happy endings.
war believe self
But I felt certain that if the world would stop indulging wars and famines and other perils, it would be possible for human beings to embarrass each other to death. Our self-destruction might take a little longer that way, but I believe it would be no less complete.
kids hands said
Safer than we are.” I told Franny. “Safer than love.” “let me tell ya kid,” Franny said to me, squeezing my hand. “Everything’s safer than love.
multiple-choice choices records
I have a very poor record at multiple choice questions.
loneliness self hatred
Self-hatred is worse than loneliness.
character differences important
The main character and the most important character are not always the same person - you have to know the difference.
book simple house
You don't want to dwell on your enemies, you know. I basically feel so superior to my critics for the simple reason that they haven't done what I do. Most book reviewers haven't written 11 novels. Many of them haven't written one.
years stories months
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 to the front so that I know where the front is.
love writing reason
The unspoken factor is love. The reason I can work so hard at my writing is that it's not work for me.
memories thinking owen-meany
You think you have a memory; but it has you!
writing directors novel
When I feel like being a director, I write a novel.
mean thinking interesting
If I have any advantage, maybe, as a writer, it is that I don't think I'm very interesting. I mean, beginning a novel with the last sentence is a pretty plodding way to spend your life.