Ambition robs you of your childhood. The moment you want to become an adultโin any wayโsomething in your childhood dies.
John IrvingDonโt you understand?โ he would say, โYou imagine the story better than I remember it.
John IrvingWhatever I write, no matter how gray or dark the subject matter, it's still going to be a comic novel.
John IrvingI am compulsive about writing, I need to do it the way I need sleep and exercise and food and sex; I can go without it for a while, but then I need it.
John Irving