John Irving

“The building of the architecture of a novel - the craft of it - is something I never tire of.”

“If you are lucky enough to find a way of life you love, you have to find the courage to live it.”

“I suppose I'm proudest of my novels for what's imagined in them. I think the world of my imagination is a richer and more interesting place than my personal biography.”

“With every book, you go back to school. You become a student. You become an investigative reporter. You spend a little time learning what it's like to live in someone else's shoes.”

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

“I think the sport of wrestling, which I became involved with at the age of 14... I competed until I was 34, kind of old for a contact sport. I coached the sport until I was 47. I think the discipline of wrestling has given me the discipline I have to write.”