I wanted to make the point that, while he has always been suspicious of the man-made institution of the Catholic church, he is always seeking to believe.” “Juan Diego is a man who has been touched by many miracles – among them religious miracles, which this novel is built around. There are elements of magical realism in the story, as well as the lurid iconography of Latin American Catholicism. But in his dreams and memories, he is more alive in the past, specifically at the age of 14.” He takes a trip to the Philippines and everything he sees there reminds him of his childhood in Mexico, which he left as a teenager and has never gone back to. “Avenue of Mysteries,” says Irving, “is about a Mexican-American. He has sold in excess of 12m books in 35 languages, and bagged an Oscar of his own in 2000 after adapting his bestseller The Cider House Rules into a film starring Michael Caine and Charlize Theron. But his loyal readers love his unvarnished, warm-hearted storytelling. In Irving’s case, his tale of a Mexican slumdog called Juan Diego, who becomes a successful author in the US, hasn’t met with unqualified acclaim (“One holy mess,” said the Spectator). There’s a touch of sentimentality about the reception given to both of these ageing warriors. In 2016, Stallone could win an Oscar for Creed, a return to form for his long-running prizefight franchise, while Irving is still very much in the game with his 14th work of fiction, Avenue of Mysteries. ‘Your stance is too low’ … Stephen Smith gets a wrestling lesson from John Irving.įorty years ago, Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky Balboa was a raw contender on the streets of Philly and Irving was making a name for himself with his fourth novel, The World According to Garp.

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