I had been a student in Vienna, and one of the neat little things I had found out was about that zoo. It was a good debut novel for me to have published. I was 26 or 27 when it…

Quote by John Irving

Topics: John Irving Quotes

The building of the architecture of a novel - the craft of it - is...

The building of the architecture of a novel - the craft of it - is...

You can't learn everything you need to know legally.

You can't learn everything you need to know legally.

To each other, we were as normal and nice as the smell of bread. We...

To each other, we were as normal and nice as the smell of bread. We...

When I was still in prep school - 14, 15 - I started keeping notebooks,...

When I was still in prep school - 14, 15 - I started keeping notebooks,...

Your memory is a monster; you forget - it doesn't. It simply files things away....

Your memory is a monster; you forget - it doesn't. It simply files things away....

I suppose I'm proudest of my novels for what's imagined in them. I think the...

I suppose I'm proudest of my novels for what's imagined in them. I think the...

Your memory is a monster; you forget - it doesn't. It simply files things away....

Your memory is a monster; you forget - it doesn't. It simply files things away....

Half my life is an act of revision.

Half my life is an act of revision.

Oh FUCK the longings and agonies of youth.

Oh FUCK the longings and agonies of youth.

And I don't want to begin something, I don't want to write that first sentence...

And I don't want to begin something, I don't want to write that first sentence...

You know, people think you have to be dumb to skip rope for 45 minutes....

You know, people think you have to be dumb to skip rope for 45 minutes....

Writing a novel is actually searching for victims. As I write I keep looking for...

Writing a novel is actually searching for victims. As I write I keep looking for...

You've got to get obsessed and stay obsessed.

You've got to get obsessed and stay obsessed.

There's no reason you should write any novel quickly.

There's no reason you should write any novel quickly.

And I find - I'm 63, and my capacity to be by myself and just...

And I find - I'm 63, and my capacity to be by myself and just...

I don't begin a novel or a screenplay until I know the ending. And I...

I don't begin a novel or a screenplay until I know the ending. And I...

More than a half, maybe as much as two-thirds of my life as a writer...

More than a half, maybe as much as two-thirds of my life as a writer...

There are few things as seemingly untouched by the real world as a child asleep.

There are few things as seemingly untouched by the real world as a child asleep.

I've always been a fan of the 19th century novel, of the novel that is...

I've always been a fan of the 19th century novel, of the novel that is...

You don't want to dwell on your enemies, you know. I basically feel so superior...

You don't want to dwell on your enemies, you know. I basically feel so superior...