The characters in my novels, from the very first one, are always on some quixotic effort of attempting to control something that is uncontrollable - some element of the world that is essentially random and out of control.
John IrvingAnd I find - I'm 63, and my capacity to be by myself and just spend time by myself hasn't diminished any. That's the necessary part of being a writer, you better like being alone.
John IrvingIn increments both measurable and not, our childhood is stolen from us -- not always in one momentous event but often in a series of small robberies, which add up to the same loss.
John IrvingTo each other, we were as normal and nice as the smell of bread. We were just a family. In a family even exaggerations make perfect sense.
John IrvingHere is the trap you are in.... And it's not my trapโI haven't trapped you. Because abortions are illegal, women who need and want them have no choice in the matter, and youโbecause you know how to perform themโhave no choice, either. What has been violated here is your freedom of choice, and every woman's freedom of choice, too. If abortion was legal, a woman would have a choiceโand so would you. You could feel free not to do it because someone else would. But the way it is, you're trapped. Women are trapped. Women are victims, and so are you.
John Irving