John Irving
Overview
John Winslow Irving is an American
novelist and Academy Award
-winning screenwriter
.
Irving achieved critical and popular acclaim after the international success of The World According to Garp
in 1978. Some of Irving's novels, such as The Cider House Rules
and A Prayer for Owen Meany
, have been bestseller
s and many have been made into movies. Several of Irving's books (Garp
, Meany
, A Widow for One Year
) and short stories have been set in and around Phillips Exeter Academy
in Exeter, New Hampshire
where Irving grew up as the son of an Exeter faculty member, Colin F.N.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
novelist and Academy Award
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
-winning screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
.
Irving achieved critical and popular acclaim after the international success of The World According to Garp
The World According to Garp
The World According to Garp is John Irving's fourth novel. Published in 1978, the book was a bestseller for several years.A movie adaptation of the novel starring Robin Williams was released in 1982, with a screenplay written by Steve Tesich....
in 1978. Some of Irving's novels, such as The Cider House Rules
The Cider House Rules
The Cider House Rules is a 1985 novel by John Irving. It is Irving's sixth published novel, and has been adapted into a film of the same name and a stage play by Peter Parnell.-Plot:...
and A Prayer for Owen Meany
A Prayer for Owen Meany
A Prayer for Owen Meany was the seventh published novel by American writer John Irving when it appeared in 1989. It tells the story of John Wheelwright and his best friend Owen Meany growing up together in a small New England town during the 1950-60s...
, have been bestseller
Bestseller
A bestseller is a book that is identified as extremely popular by its inclusion on lists of currently top selling titles that are based on publishing industry and book trade figures and published by newspapers, magazines, or bookstore chains. Some lists are broken down into classifications and...
s and many have been made into movies. Several of Irving's books (Garp
The World According to Garp
The World According to Garp is John Irving's fourth novel. Published in 1978, the book was a bestseller for several years.A movie adaptation of the novel starring Robin Williams was released in 1982, with a screenplay written by Steve Tesich....
, Meany
A Prayer for Owen Meany
A Prayer for Owen Meany was the seventh published novel by American writer John Irving when it appeared in 1989. It tells the story of John Wheelwright and his best friend Owen Meany growing up together in a small New England town during the 1950-60s...
, A Widow for One Year
A Widow for One Year
A Widow for One Year is a 1998 bestselling work of fiction by John Irving, the ninth of his novels to be published.The first section of the novel was made into the movie The Door in the Floor in 2004.-First section:...
) and short stories have been set in and around Phillips Exeter Academy
Phillips Exeter Academy
Phillips Exeter Academy is a private secondary school located in Exeter, New Hampshire, in the United States.Exeter is noted for its application of Harkness education, a system based on a conference format of teacher and student interaction, similar to the Socratic method of learning through asking...
in Exeter, New Hampshire
Exeter, New Hampshire
Exeter is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The town's population was 14,306 at the 2010 census. Exeter was the county seat until 1997, when county offices were moved to neighboring Brentwood...
where Irving grew up as the son of an Exeter faculty member, Colin F.N.
Quotations
Imagination, he realized, came harder than memory.
The World According to Garp, ch. 5
In the world according to Garp, we are all terminal cases.
The World According to Garp, ch. 19
To each other, we were as normal and nice as the smell of bread, we were just a family. In a family even exaggerations make perfect sense.
The Hotel New Hampshire|The Hotel New Hampshire (1981), ch. 6
You’ve got to get obsessed and stay obsessed.
The Hotel New Hampshire, ch. 11
You can't learn everything you need to know legally.
A Widow for One Year|A Widow for One Year (1998), part II, ch. 7
Eighth Series, ed. George Plimpton|George Plimpton, Penguin, 1988, ISBN 0-140-10761-4
Writing a novel is actually searching for victims. As I write I keep looking for casualties. The stories uncover the casualties.