I'm not at all contemporary, not even modern, and the fact that I would be so quaintly attracted to that wrestling rule makes me, I suppose, seem all the more old-fashioned. I believe in rules of behavior, and I'm quite interested in stories about the consequences of breaking those rules.

It's not right to hurt or deceive someone who's already been hurt and deceived.

Don’t you understand?” he would say, “You imagine the story better than I remember it.

Our memory is a monster; you forget it - it does not.

Before I began The Cider House Rules, I thought I wanted to write about a father-son relationship that was closer, more conflicted, and ultimately more loving, than most. Then I began to think of a relationship between an old orphanage director and an unadoptable orphan - a kid who goes out into the world and fails and keeps coming back, so that the old guy ends up with someone he's got to keep.

when however small a measure of jealousy is mixed with misunderstanding, there is always going to be trouble.

I have a very poor record at multiple choice questions.