Rating: 
Summary: Read it!
Review: Not so fabulous Irving is till terribly good compared to most other writer's best efforts. I've been a huge Irving fan since about the 5th grade, so I'm a bit hypersensitive about rating his work - I always expect it to be fabulous, so if it's not, I'm let down. Having said that, though it's not as good as Garp or Cider House Rules, it's still wonderful. I found myself wanting to leave work early so that I could read it. Unlike other readers, I have been terribly disappointed by the last few books he's written, and I feel like he's moving back up the curve with this novel, rather than on down. Read it!
Rating: 
Summary: Get over it!
Review: I'm stunned and surprised by the amount of negative feedback people have left for this book. John Irving's latest is very funny and touching; comparing it to everything he's ever written, or to your own personal favorite is shallow and irrelevent.
The Fourth Hand is a wonderfully entertaining book. Those awaiting the reincarnation of Garp should put aside their selfish expectations and enjoy this book on its own merits.
Rating:
Summary: Something & Nothing
Review: John Irving can always be relied upon to deliver the goods. You can guarantee that he won't deliver the goods in quite the way you would expect (where, after all, would be the fun in that?), but you can - relatively early on - rest easy in the knowledge that, whatever happens, you will not be disappointed. All of which means that you can start and read John Irving novels without the slight worry that greets the beginning of any new novel (will I like it? will I hate it? will it thrill? will it stink?). You can relax into a John Irving book, the way you relax into a warm bath. "The Fourth Hand" is both unlike and similar to every John Irving novel. You notice the width, first. This is not quite as large as typical John Irving fare. Secondly, the information you get on the inside cover is - well, a little oblique. There are no names for one thing. Imagine Charles Dickens hiding his characters' names away. This continues - for a while - inside, when you start. You know this is a story about a man - a reporter - who has his hand bitten off, but who is the man? What is his name? This may seem like a terrifically slight thing (you learn, quickly enough, that the reporter's name is Patrick Wallingford), but it isn't: it is like the piano key that sounds on the soundtrack to the best haunted house movie you've ever seen. It is meant to inform you of - something. Just, unlike the piano key, it is not immediately clear what that something is. The inside cover copy informs you that Patrick Wallingford loses his hand while on assignment in India. You also learn, briefly, about a hand surgeon who is seduced by his house-keeper and a married woman in Wisconsin who wants to donate her husband's hand to Patrick Wallingford - even though her husband is still alive. Curiouser and curiouser, as Alice might say. What you find, as you read about Patrick and Dr Zajac (the hand surgeon) and Mrs Claus (the married woman), is more curious still: none of these people are particularly likeable. Patrick is a shallow, incompetant womaniser. The office he works out of is populated by gossiping furies, one of whom - Mary Shanahan - attaches herself to Patrick, initially out of fondness and then - curiouser etc etc - out of something closely resembling hatred. Mrs Claus convinces her husband to sign away his hand (and what would Dr Freud make of that?), and spends the better part of this novel struggling against the way Patrick wants to identify with her (I am not this person, I am not that person, I am not the other person). Dr Zajac struggles to win his son's love following a messy divorce. His ex-wife poisons the child's mind against his father. And yet, you can't help but feel some sympathy for the ex-wife (as you can't help but feel some sympathy for Patrick Wallingford's wife) - even though nobody truly warrants sympathy. And that, curiousest of all, is the surprise of this particular Irving novel. There is nobody to like here. There is no bruised flawed everyperson. There are only bruises and flaws. And yet, where with other books that would stop me reading (would make me think: why do I want to know any more about this clutch of unpleasant people?), here I carried on. In my head, I'm thinking: okay, fair enough, a bunch of unpleasant people, okay . . . Not so much wanting redemption (thinking redemption would more than likely disappoint), as a reason for having read about unpleasant people. And there are reasons (there is great beauty to be had in midnight swims, for example, towards the end of the novel) to read. Afterwards, there are still lingering doubts (I never felt any closer to Mrs Claus, never felt I understood why she was so quick to offer her husband's hand), and - it strikes me now, thinking about it - "The Fourth Hand" reads like something of an exercise (albeit a hugely entertaining exercise). Seems like John Irving has taken a look at what he does (bruised, flawed central character to identify with - check - overpacked holiday suitcase packed full of gossipy digressions - check - loveable oddball eccentrics, there to provide Shakespearean surcease at moments of crisis - check), and - for want of a better word - tinkered with that. Which tinkers somewhat with expectation (and not wholly in a good way either). It is like you have taken your car into a mechanic who fixed everything that needed fixing, but - as you drive away - you can't help but think you hear a noise (you're not sure you hear a noise, but you THINK you did). Could be nothing. Could be something. As such, it is a case of wait and see. Same with this book (and the NEXT book). Could be something. Could be nothing.
Rating:
Summary: Hey...I liked it!
Review: Ok, I'm not a die-hard Irving fan. I read Owen Meany and really liked. I LIKED THIS BOOK , TOO. I didn't find the sex scenes to be gratutious...they completely fit with who this character is. Yes, the story was totally far-fetched, but Hello...it's fiction. It was a fun, fast read. Great literature? No, definitely not. Enjoyable? Without a doubt.
Rating:
Summary: Pleasantly surprised; what an imagination
Review: Everytime, John Irving writes a novel, I start to read and it takes me a long time to get into the book. This novel was different; I got into the story of Patrick Wallingford losing his hand to a lion right away and really liked it. I am amazed at the imagination of John Irving. I really found myself laughing at the oddities of these characters. It was a quick read. As long as you don't take it too seriously, you'll love it.
Rating: 
Summary: John Irving Lite
Review: A minor effort, not up to his usual complexity and depth. Amusing while you're reading it. Check it out from the library.
Rating: 
Summary: The Greased Palm
Review: I can only assume that this book fulfills a contractual agreement (and was loosely- or NOT-edited because of an Oscar?). What an utter waste of paper, time, and money. I've been an avid fan of John Irving's work for years; that just changed. My only consolation: I put the book on the street with a note marked "free," and at least someone else was spared paying for it.
Rating:
Summary: Not Owen Meany, but definitely Irving
Review: I grew up in Green Bay, and really liked all the G.B. and Packer references. Don't know if Irving visited Green Bay, but he got it right. I couldn't figure out where the plot was going, but then I never do when reading Irving. Like rboffp, Owen Meany is my second favorite book of all time, and The Fourth Hand doesn't really measure up. Patrick Wallingford is not as interesting as Irving's characters usually are, but this book is definitely worth reading and finishing.
Rating:
Summary: A fun parody
Review: To all the people who have written poor reviews about this book: I hear you. Judging it against Irving's previous works like "A Prayer for Owen Meany" and even "A Widow For One Year," it doesn't quite measure up.
But if you measure it against the typical novel fodder, it jumps up a notch.
It's a parody, folks. And anyone who watches FoxNews knows the Disaster Channel is not that far removed from the reality of TV news.
Perhaps as a journalist, I could just relate a little more to the book.
It was a fun, funny, breezy read.
Patrick Wallingford had that mix of likability and shallowness, a la some (though far from all) TV newscasters I know. In the end, I loved him for saying enough is enough on the JFK Jr. (or any other celebrity tragedy) coverage. Amen!
Rating:
Summary: Middle of the Road
Review: I am a John Irving fan. I have enjoyed seeing his writing mature over the years and have come to appreciate what he invests in each of his characters. "The Fourth Hand" is not his best work, but then again, even a modest effort from John Irving is very readable.
|
