Anyone can be sentimental about the nativity; any fool can feel like a Christian at Christmas. But Easter is the main event; if you donโt believe in the resurrection, youโre not a believer." โIf you donโt believe in Easter,โ Owen Meany said. โDonโt kid yourselfโDonโt call yourself a Christian.
John IrvingIt is much easier to be flexible about where a story begins than it ever was for me to change my mind about where and how a story ended.
John IrvingI'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.
John IrvingYou 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.
John IrvingI think that was when the headmaster realized he had lost; he realized then that he was finished. Because, what could he do? Was he going to tell us to stop praying? We kept our heads bowed; and we kept praying. Even as awkward as he was, the Rev. Mr. Merrill had made it clear to us that there was no end to praying for Owen Meany.
John Irving