I don't want you to describe to meโnot everโwhat you were doing to that poor boy to make him sound like that; but if you ever do it again, please cover his mouth with your hand.
John IrvingAnd when you love a book, commit one glorious sentence of it-perhaps your favorite sentence-to memory. That way you won't forget the language of the story that moved you to tears.
John IrvingThe unspoken factor is love. The reason I can work so hard at my writing is that it's not work for me.
John IrvingI have always believed that, in a story, if something traumatic or calamitous enough happens to a kid at a formative age, that will make him or her the adult they become.
John IrvingHere in St. Cloudโs,โ Dr. Larch wrote, โ I have been given the choice of playing God or leaving practically everything up to chance. It is my experience that practically everything is left up to chance much of the time; men who believe in good and evil, and who believe that good should win, should watch for those moments when it is possible to play God โ we should seize those moments. There wonโt be may
John Irving