I belong to the middle class that grew up very influenced by the Catholic church. The people of the novel are from a more pagan and practical world in which the Christianity is just a veneer.

Quote by John McGahern

Topics: John McGahern Quotes

I used to take five or six books away and bring five or six books...

I used to take five or six books away and bring five or six books...

We absolutely believed in Heaven and Hell, Purgatory, and even Limbo. I mean, they were...

We absolutely believed in Heaven and Hell, Purgatory, and even Limbo. I mean, they were...

For example, it's only about 20 years ago the people in that community would have...

For example, it's only about 20 years ago the people in that community would have...

Amongst Women concentrated on the family, and the new book concentrates on a small community....

Amongst Women concentrated on the family, and the new book concentrates on a small community....

I think fiction is a very serious thing, that while it is fiction, it is...

I think fiction is a very serious thing, that while it is fiction, it is...

I think that each of us inhabits a private world that others cannot see. The...

I think that each of us inhabits a private world that others cannot see. The...

When you're in danger of losing a thing it becomes precious and when it's around...

When you're in danger of losing a thing it becomes precious and when it's around...

When I was in my 20s it did occur to me that there was something...

When I was in my 20s it did occur to me that there was something...

I feel I grew up in a different century than I live in. I think...

I feel I grew up in a different century than I live in. I think...

But that private world, once it's dramatised, doesn't live again until it finds a reader.

But that private world, once it's dramatised, doesn't live again until it finds a reader.

I read all the time. I was reading a book I admire very much by...

I read all the time. I was reading a book I admire very much by...

Yes, but also one of the problems for a novelist in Ireland is the fact...

Yes, but also one of the problems for a novelist in Ireland is the fact...

The rosary was said every evening. I always liked that sentence about the medieval Churches,...

The rosary was said every evening. I always liked that sentence about the medieval Churches,...

My father was very outwardly religious.

My father was very outwardly religious.

Yes, though I have nothing but gratitude for my upbringing in the church.

Yes, though I have nothing but gratitude for my upbringing in the church.

I think technique can be taught but I think the only way to learn to...

I think technique can be taught but I think the only way to learn to...

I think there's a great difference in consciousness in that same way in that when...

I think there's a great difference in consciousness in that same way in that when...

I love the description of Gothic churches before the printed word, that they were the...

I love the description of Gothic churches before the printed word, that they were the...

When I start to write, words have become physical presence. It was to see if...

When I start to write, words have become physical presence. It was to see if...

Ireland is a peculiar society in the sense that it was a nineteenth century society...

Ireland is a peculiar society in the sense that it was a nineteenth century society...