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8c1721c
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You just go up the Hudson," I told him. "Sure, man," he said. "Up the what?"
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John Irving |
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941219d
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I should know better than to read even as much as a headline in The New York Times; although, as I've often pointed out to my students at Bishop Strachan this newspaper's use of the semicolon is exemplary. Reagan Declares Firmness on Gulf; Plans are Unclear Isn't that classic? I don't mean the semicolon; I mean, isn't that just what the world needs? Unclear firmness! That is typical American policy: don't be clear, but be firm!
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John Irving |
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What do Americans know about morality? They don't want their presidents to have penises but they don't mind if their presidents covertly arrange to support the Nicaraguan rebel forces after Congress has restricted such aid; they don't want their presidents to deceive their wives but they don't mind if their presidents deceive Congress - lie to the people and violate the people's constitution! What Mr. Hart should have said was that nothing ..
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John Irving |
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c1c3021
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These same people who tell us we must defend the lives of the unborn--they are the same people who seem not so interested in defending anyone but themselves after the accident of birth is complete! These same people who profess their love of the unborn's soul--they don't care to make much of a contribution to the poor, they don't care to offer much assistance to the unwanted or the oppressed! How do they justify such a concern for the fetus..
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John Irving |
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1d033a5
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And Clark clearly knew and disapproved of El Nido. (A nido could be a nest, a den, a hole, a haunt.)
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John Irving |
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a5d41f8
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That poor girl wasn't a girl," Senor Eduardo said; he'd glanced once at Lupe, asleep in his lap, just to be sure she was still sleeping. "That poor girl was Flor,"
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John Irving |
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26df0f0
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But Brother Pepe put reading on a pedestal; he was a Jesuit because the Jesuits had made him a reader and introduced him to Jesus, not necessarily in that order. It was best not to ask Pepe if reading or Jesus had saved him, or which one had saved him more.
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John Irving |
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bbdd2b8
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I'm not a fortune-teller!" Lupe said, but Juan Diego didn't translate this. "The woman you want is Soledad," Vargas said to Edward Bonshaw. "What woman? I don't want a woman!" the new missionary cried; he'd imagined that Dr. Vargas had misunderstood what a vow of celibacy entailed. "Not a woman for you, Mr. Celibacy," Vargas said. "I mean the woman you need to talk to, on behalf of the kids. Soledad is the woman who looks after the kids at ..
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John Irving |
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396ceff
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Wasn't this the point Juan Diego had made repeatedly? Women readers kept fiction alive--here was another one. When Juan Diego had used Spanish in crying out the scholastic's name, the Chinese girl knew she'd been right about who he was.
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John Irving |
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dd173cc
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But Vienna was in its death phase; it lay still and let me look at it, and think about it, and look again. In a living city, I could never have noticed so much. Living cities don't hold still.
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John Irving |
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a78f278
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Writers who have any audience have more readers than they know. Juan Diego was more famous than he thought.
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John Irving |
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f835758
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When the deranged rooster crowed a third time, his crowing was cut off mid-squawk. "There, that does it," Miriam said. "No more heralding of a false dawn, no more untruthful messengers."
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John Irving |
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0a3654e
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I really like the sex in your novels," Dorothy told him. "I like how you do it." "I like it better," Miriam said to him, giving her daughter an all-knowing look. "I have the perspective to know what really bad sex is," Dorothy's mom told her. "Please, Mother--don't paint us a picture," Dorothy said."
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John Irving |
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936f089
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Kad vam umre osoba koju volite, a vi to ne ocekujete, ne gubite je odjednom. Gubite je dugo, u komadicima - bas kao sto prestaje dolaziti posta s njezinim imenom i njen miris lagano blijedi s jastuka, pa cak i s odjece u njenom ormaru i ladicama. I bas kada dode dan u kojem vas neki poseban komadic koji nedostaje preplavi osjecajem da je nestala zauvijek, dode drugi dan i neki drugi poseban komadic.
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John Irving |
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2b6c740
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Watch out for people who call themselves religious; make sure you know what they mean-- make sure they know what they mean!
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John Irving |
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b0284e5
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Whoa!" cried the Crucified Christ--he looked more like the Drowned Christ at the moment, and the whoa word was a foreign-sounding one to the Spanish-speaking kindergartners. Four or five of the terrified children instantly wet their pants; one little girl shrieked so loudly that several girls and boys bit their tongues. Those kindergartners nearest the door to the bedroom bolted through the bedroom, screaming, and raced into the hall. Those..
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John Irving |
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78e7ffe
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I didn't "teach" Ron Hansen or Stephen Wright or T. Coraghessan Boyle or Susan Taylor Chehak or Allan Gurganus or Gail Harper or Kent Haruf or Robert Chibka or Douglas Unger how to write, but I hope I may have encouraged them and saved them a little time. I did nothing more for them than Kurt Vonnegut did for me, but in my case Mr. Vonnegut--and Mr. Yount and Mr. Williams--did quite a lot. I'm talking about technical blunders, the perpetrat..
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John Irving |
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934baf8
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Owen speaks in all caps throughout the story) "SHE WAS JUST LIKE OUR WHOLE COUNTRY - NOT QUITE YOUNG ANYMORE, BUT NOT OLD EITHER; A LITTLE BREATHLESS, VERY BEAUTIFUL, MAYBE A LITTLE STUPID, MAYBE A LOT SMARTER THAN SHE SEEMED. AND SHE WAS LOOKING FOR SOMETHING - I THINK SHE WANTED TO BE GOOD. LOOK AT THE MEN IN HER LIFE - JOE DIMAGGIO, ARTHUR MILLER, MAYBE THE KENNEDYS. LOOK AT HOW GOOD THEY SEEM. LOOK AT HOW DESIREABLE SHE WAS! THAT'S WHAT..
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John Irving |
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dddd465
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had no idea that Mr. Meany was capable of such precise craftsmanship. I'd also had no idea that Mr. Meany was familiar with Latin--Owen, naturally, had been quite a good Latin student. There was a tingle in the stump of my right index finger when I said to Mr. Meany: "You've done some very fine work with the diamond wheel." He said: "That ain't my work--that's his work! He done it when he was home on leave. He covered it up--and told me not..
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John Irving |
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d54b7a7
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Imagination, he realized, came harder than memory.
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John Irving |
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c6eee9f
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In the world according to Garp, we are all terminal cases.
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John Irving |
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91bbc7b
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Never confuse faith, or belief -- of any kind -- with something even remotely intellectual.
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John Irving |