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John Irving Quotes about Memories

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Your memory is a monster; you forget - it doesn't. It simply files things away. It keeps things for you, or hides things from you - and summons them to your recall with a will of its own. You think you have a memory;

Your memory is a monster; you forget - it doesn't. It simply files things away. It keeps things for you, or hides things from you - and summons them to your recall with a will of its own. You think you have a memory; but it has you!

John Irving
Memories, Thinking, Monsters
John Irving (2012). “A Prayer For Owen Meany”, p.46, Random House

And never forget, there is memory.

John Irving
Memories, Never Forget, Forget
John Irving (1978). “The world according to Garp”, Pocket

A writer's job is to imagine everything so personally that the fiction is as vivid as memories.

John Irving
Jobs, Memories, Writing
John Irving (1978). “The world according to Garp”, Pocket

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.

John Irving
Memories, Book, Tears
John Irving (2012). “In One Person: A Novel”, p.41, Simon and Schuster

You think you have a memory; but it has you!

John Irving
Memories, Thinking, Owen Meany
John Irving (2012). “A Prayer for Owen Meany: A Novel”, p.28, Harper Collins

The history of a city was like the history of a family—there is closeness and even affection, but death eventually separates everyone from each other. It is only the vividness of memory that keeps the dead alive forever; a writer’s job is to imagine everything so personally that the fiction is as vivid as our personal memories.

John Irving
Jobs, Memories, Cities
John Irving (1978). “The world according to Garp”, Pocket

Our memory is a monster; you forget it - it does not.

John Irving
Memories, Monsters, Doe
John Irving (2012). “In One Person: A Novel”, p.260, Simon and Schuster

Life," Garp wrote, "is sadly not structured like a good old-fashioned novel. Instead an end occurs when those who are meant to peter out have petered out. All that is left is memory. But even a nihilist has memory.

John Irving
Memories, Nihilist, Ends

Because who can describe that look that triggers the memory of loved ones? Who can anticipate the frown, the smile, or the misplaced lock of hair that sends a swift, undeniable signal from the past? Who can ever estimate the power of association, which is always strongest in moments of love and in memories of death?

John Irving
Memories, Past, Hair
John Irving (2012). “A Widow For One Year”, p.100, Random House

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