Owen Meany believed that โcoincidenceโ was a stupid, shallow refuge sought by stupid, shallow people who were unable to accept the fact that their lives were shaped by a terrifying and awesome design โ more powerful and unstoppable than the Yankee Flyer. (a train)
John IrvingThere was no manifestation of contemporary culture that did not indicate to my grandmother how steadfast was the nation's decline, how merciless our mental and moral deterioration, how swiftly all-embracing our final decadence. I never saw her read a book again; but she referred to books often - as if they were shrines and cathedrals of learning that television had plundered and then abandoned.
John IrvingKnow the story before you fall in love with your first sentence. If you donโt know the story before you begin the story, what kind of a storyteller are you? Just an ordinary kind, just a mediocre kind โ making it up as you go along, like a common liar.
John Irving