James Patrick Donleavy was an Irish/American novelist and playwright. His best-known work is the novel The Ginger Man, which was initially banned for obscenity. Wikipedia
“All I want
Is one break
Which is not
My neck.”
The Ginger Man (1955; New York: Delacorte Press, 1973) p. 319.
“Rid the mind of knowledge when looking for pleasure. Or start thinking and find a lot of pain.”
The Saddest Summer of Samuel S (New York: Delacorte Press, 1966) pp. 62-3.
“On Being Old. It's not nice but take comfort that you won't stay that way for ever.”
The Unexpurgated Code: A Complete Manual of Survival & Manners (New York: Delacorte Press/Seymour Lawrence, 1975) p. 278.
“I got disappointed in human nature as well and gave it up because I found it too much like my own.”
A Fairy Tale of New York (London: Eyre Methuen, 1973) p. 224.
“The inhabitants will always see both sides of an argument so long as it can result in a fight.”
"The Funeral of Denny Cordell" (1995), cited from An Author and his Image: The Collected Short Pieces (Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1997) p. 178.
The Ginger Man (1955; New York: Delacorte Press, 1973) p. 45.
