You can give yourself a headache trying to decipher the tattoos on a naked man who’s leaping up and down on a bed.

Kids are perfect people till grownups get their hands on them.

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.

My old coach used to say that if you were in it for the match, if you were in it for the trophies, you were in it for the wrong reasons.

I believe in plot, in development of character, in the effect of the passage of time, in a good story - better than something you might find in the newspaper. And I believe a novel should be as complicated and involved as you're capable of making it.

The ability to see the future can be a burden, and the younger you are and the more isolated you feel, maybe the more of a burden it is.

My dear boy, please don’t put a label on me—don’t make me a category before you get to know me!