From Hester’s bedroom — even though the door was closed — we could hear her breathing; Hester’s breathing, when she’d been drinking, was something be… - John Irving

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Engraved portrait of John Irving, facing left

From Hester’s bedroom — even though the door was closed — we could hear her breathing; Hester’s breathing, when she’d been drinking, was something between a snore and a moan. “Why does she drink so much?” I asked Owen. “HESTER’S AHEAD OF HER TIME,” he said. “What’s that mean?” I asked him. “Do we have a generation of drunks to look forward to?” “WE HAVE A GENERATION OF PEOPLE WHO ARE ANGRY TO LOOK FORWARD TO,” Owen said. “AND MAYBE TWO GENERATIONS OF PEOPLE WHO DON’T GIVE A SHIT,” he added. “How do you know?” I asked him. “I DON’T KNOW HOW I KNOW,” said Owen Meany. “I JUST KNOW THAT I KNOW,” he said.

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About John Irving

John Winslow Irving (born 2 March 1942) is an American novelist and Academy Award-winning screenwriter (for The Cider House Rules, based on his novel of the same name).

Biography information from Wikiquote · Portrait adapted from Wikimedia Commons, Dr. Jost Hindersmann Krimidoedel (CC BY)

Also Known As

Birth Name: John Wallace Blunt
Alternative Names: John Winslow Irving John Wallace Blunt, Jr.

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And when you love a book, commit one glorious sentence of it-perhaps your favorite sentence-to memory. That way you won't forget the language of the story that moved you to tears.

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Every American should be forced to live outside the United States for a year or two. Americans should be forced to see how ridiculous they appear to the rest of the world! They should listen to someone else’s version of themselves — to anyone else’s version! Every country knows more about America than Americans know about themselves! And Americans know absolutely nothing about any other country!

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