Rating: 
Summary: A good read, but not nearly as good as John Irving's best
Review: I have a short list of writers who are my favorites. When they publish a new book, I purchase it and make it a point not to read reviews until I have read the book and formed my own opinion. I also do this because reviewers often give away key points of plot and I much prefer for a book to unfold page by page. John Irving is one of these authors and his new book, "The Fourth Hand," now takes its place among his previous books. In this novel, character definitely takes precedence over plot. The problem is that the characters in this book are less easy to care about than in many of his other novels because they are one-dimensional and solely interested in their own narcissistic issues. Another point of interest to me before reading the book was how Mr. Irving would handle the issue of a physical disability. Again, his use of stereotypes (e.g.amputees who protested his early attempts to keep his arm off-camera) is very one-sided. The world of disability which I have known for years is one of compassion and non-judgmental attitudes. A more likely response would be an understanding that Patrick's adjustment would be a process taking place over a period of time and that he would eventually figure out how he wanted to appear on-camera. While this book was not one of my favorites by Irving, I was glad to read it despite its flaws. A good novel immediately puts you into a different place and time for a few hours, and "The Fourth Hand" certainly accomplishes this. It is not a book I will keep to re-read, though, as I have many of Irving's other books ("The World According to Garp," "A Prayer for Owen Meaney," "The Cider House Rules," "A Widow for One Year," "A Son of the Circus," and "Trying to Save Piggy Sneed.")
Rating: 
Summary: Not Again!
Review: I've been reading Irving for 20 years. Son of the Circus was the first book I gave up on. Widow redeemed him but this book is another disappointment. Borrow it from the library, or a friend, or wait for the paperback. This one is not a keeper.
Rating: 
Summary: Go away you sad critics...
Review: Irving has found new territory, again.. Poor are the people that don't grant him his success. This book is definately different and shows the complex world John Irving is creating in his latest books.To me it is clear since Widow for One Year that John Irving is becoming a "more human" writer than ever. The characters in this book are strangely seeking a world to live in. Like Widow didn't have this already. Come on you fans. After winning an Oscar for the great "Cider House Rules" this is a great way to be back. If this becomes a movie again I am sure it will hit the right notes. In the States what goes up must come down. Do not forget Irving has sold MORE books in Europe than in the States, WE ADORE HIM. Like Gunther Grass, his great friend, Irving should be winning the Nobel Prize. A man who has given us Garp, Larch, Meany, Ruth and now again so many great characters... should be given XXXXXX reviews, not jealously sick reviews by people who don't read but just complain. John Irving is God... if not.. almost. A fan forever.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Review: I, too, am a big Irving fan who bought it first day out and read it in one sitting. Irving fans can't resist consuming it, but we can be disappointed once finishing it. I miss the weightiness of previous books. This book is a minor work with characters I didn't care too much about and a slight storyline. And even worse, it lacks charm.
Rating:
Summary: A literary work of genius
Review: The fourth hand is another wonderful example of John Irving's ability to meld beautiful language, interesting plot and amazing character development. The importance of the theme of the book (loss and redemption through the beauty of love) solidify this book as one of Irving's best novels. The protagonist, Patrick Wallingford, once a 'partial/incomplete' man becomes whole through the realization of true love. This is a must read for all.
Rating: 
Summary: A great book, but as an Irving fan not his best
Review: Speaking as a fan of Irving's previous work it's hard for me to say that any of his work not be vary good, but uncomfortably I get that feeling for The Fourth Hand. A beautiful story full of emotion that is captured with Irving's distinct style, but lacking in the detail "length" of characterization found in his previous work. While the story has great potential as a great Irving novel, the book leaves me with the feeling that it was underdeveloped. I highly recommend that you do read it though because it is still a great book. My expectations were higher though ...
Rating:
Summary: Irving Provides both a Hoot and a Ponder
Review: Irving's newest selection is a welcome return to familiar territory for his devoted readers. The novel The Fourth Hand reveals sympathetic and intriguing characters through bizarre incidents treated as the mundane. As is expected by his readers, the characters are idiosyncratic and muted, but infinitely likable and pitiable during their travails through Irving's surreal but grounded landscape, which is mostly urban and American in this novel. While he does not reign in his affinity for the uncanny and coincidental, Irving does seem to offer some restraint with his imagery and symbolism that have been critiqued in prior work as " heavy-handed". This novel is above all, a narrative. But the only major flaw is tethered to that same restraint. The writing sparingly uses dialogue and reads like a story told perhaps over a long drunken weekend, or one an eccentric uncle might be adept at spinning after far too many years of practice. The author even drops the veil a few times early in the novel with phrases such as " don't forget " and " don't think". This is troubling but not entirely damaging. Irving's expertise at subtle farce ( particularly sexual ) and especially crisp description is preserved as when he describes a female character as " pretty in a kind of bereft or disturbed way, as if there'd recently been a suicide or a murder of someone close to her..." The novel certainly demonstrates an author more in tune with reflection and redemption. The tone and overall passion of the work is more gentle, but still charged and compelling. This may simply reflect the Irving on the jacket that now appears scholarly and grandfatherly ( no doubt gazing at his Oscar ) rather than the iron jawed ex-wrestler on his early books. For fans, and I am one, it is a joy. For anyone, it is a crafted and original tale that explores archetypal yearnings and questions, albeit in Irving's own slightly twisted universe. I read it quickly and needed to know how it would end. And that is likely the finest endorsement.
Rating:
Summary: Eh.
Review: From the man who gave us "Garp", "Owen Meany, "Hotel New Hampshire", "A Widow For One Year" and "The Cider House Rules", I expected more. In the last four years I have become a rabid John Irving fan, and have devoured 8 of his ten novels and loved most of them. However, "The Fourth Hand" left me fairly cold and flat. Irivng seems to be at his best when writing from what he knows: boarding schools, wrestling, bears, and when he writes in a true Dickensian Style. I'm sorry to say that "The Fourth Hand" has no boarding schools, no character aspires to be (or was) a wrestler, and the only wild animals are the lions in chapter one. Wallingford is shallow and uninteresting for the first two thirds of the book, and the female characters surrounding him are primarily cardboard displays. At one point, one of his conquests (Angie the makeup girl) sets up some very interesting possibilities, but in the end, turns out to be as uninteresting a character to us as she must be to Wallingford. The plot is thin this time around, and although hardly predictable, has none of the classic structure, skill and style of "Owen Meany", and none of the heart of "Cider House." Perhaps it is unfair to categorize this novel with the others I've listed here. It is not a New England/Vienna novel, it does not aspire to the depths of literary greatness that "Owen Meany" does, and it has none of the political timeliness of "Garp". It is a simple story of a simple man. Unfortunately, Irving has shown us that he is capable of far more than this simplicity. Maybe expectations lead to disappointments, but after the four BRILLIANT novels I mention above, "The Fourth Hand" pales. If you are already an Irving fan, by all means, read it. But if you have never read Irving before, start with "The World According to Garp", start with "The Hotel New Hampshire", but leave this second-class novel until you've read all the rest.
Rating:
Summary: Don't Buy it Until You've Read More Reviews!
Review: Anyone who is a long-time fan of John Irving will be very disappointed in his latest work. I have read about 4 chapters and cannot believe this was written by the same person who gave us such masterpieces as "A Prayer for Owen Meany", "The Cider House Rules" and "A Widow for One Year." The character development is poor and the language less than artful and often amateurish. What started out as a brilliant way to demonstrate what would cause someone to change his/her life has been ruined by a sophmoric attempt at writing. Did he use a ghost writer?
Rating:
Summary: Another in a long series of excellent novels
Review: Irving provides us with another great, weaving story that takes several unexpected twists and turns. The exploration of love, worth and purpose are interesting and the technical complexity of the novel is impressive. This is one of the few novels he's written that does not include children in the primary plot.
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