There's no reason you should write any novel quickly.

He was too young to know that, in any novel with a reasonable amount of forethought, there were no coincidences.

Watch out for people who call themselves religious; make sure you know what they mean - make sure they know what they mean!

Death, it seems," Garp wrote, "does not like to wait until we are prepared for it. Death is indulgent and enjoys, when it can, a flair for the dramatic.

Children are most impressed with the importance of a moment when they witness a parent breaking the parents' own rule.

The first of my father's illusions was that bears could survive the life led by human beings; the second was that human beings could survive a life in hotels.

You can learn a lot from your lovers, but-for the most part-you get to keep your friends longer, and you learn more from them.