Rating: 
Summary: Expecting more from Irving
Review: Let me establish up front that I am an Irving fan. I love OWEN MEANY and WIDOW FOR A YEAR and treasure CIDAR HOUSE RULES. They are rich, spellbinding novels with wonderful vibrant characters. But his latest disappoints. THE FOURTH HAND is a good read. In fact, I finished it in one gulp, but, ultimately, there is not much there. In the end, it all feels rather hollow, much like his Patrick Wallingford. Also, I found too many of the characters unlikeable, and not in a quirky way. (Interestingly enough, just as I was thinking that Irving's main charcter was too vapid and one with whom I did not want to spend too much time, Irving has the character articulate his own flaw and decide to change, so obviously that was the author's intent. Does that also account for several other charcters who are similarly and deliberately transparent? It might be, but that doesn't make them interesting people.) Some story lines were not satisfactorily completed, specifically that of the hand !surgeon. (The tag at the end to wrap up his story seemed almost like an after thought.) And while the novel is funny in spots, I wished for more of Irving's outrageous humor. I was not bored. THE FOURTH HAND is a solid summer read...but from Irving, I have come to expect much, much more than a summer read. (Yet, it might make an awfully good Tom Cruise movie down the road.)
Rating: 
Summary: Did John Irving really write this crap?
Review: Diehard fans of Garp, Cider House, and Owen Meany will be more than disappointed by this book. It has none of the distinguishing characteristics of John Irving's masterpieces, and it displays more than a few traits of A Widow for One Year (another disaster). The quirky sense of humor Irving used so delicately in Garp is now too in-your-face, as is his new habit of communicating directly with the reader (which I found as annoying as an actor talking to a camera). This book may be merely a fluke, but after two bombs in a row, I think it may be more of a pattern. The timelessness that made Garp (and others) modern classics has been replaced by a dated story that (badly) discusses pop culture and current events, ensuring that it will never attain the same classic status. Perhaps Irving's recent triumph at the Oscar's has rendered him only able to write screenplays - which is probably what this should have been, but never a novel. If his wife did inspire this piece of trash, he should consider using earplugs at all times. (Is his ex-wife a writer? Maybe she has done something good.) I hope this book was just a coffee break before he gets down to another masterpiece, but I have a sneaking suspicion that my favorite author has finally run out of steam. Irving's own advice might help him now: ....
Rating: 
Summary: ONE OF IRVING'S BEST!
Review: Patrick Wallingford is a New York television journalist reporting a story from India. During a televised segment, Patrick has his hand eaten off by a lion.In Boston, world renowned hand surgeon Dr. Nick Zajac is trying to deal with his monstrous wife - after their divorce - , make peace with his six-year old son Rudy, keep the family dog Medea (named after a sorceress who killed her children), that suffers from an illness called "dietary indiscretion", from being put to sleep, and be the first doctor to do a hand transplant. And, in Wisconsin a woman wants to give her dead husband's hand to Patrick...the only problem - her husband is not dead yet! 'The Fourth Hand' is a vintage Irving novel; while at first being a satire, and very funny, it then delves much deeper to examine sex, love, marriage, grief, loss, and ultimately redemption. As the novel begins to open each of the characters lives, the reader is held in a trance, not knowing what shenanigans will befall, or how each of them will become further entwined. And, all the while Mr. Irving keeps a steady hand having each new outrageous situation funny, and believable. John Irving is the BEST at what he does; he takes a "what if..." question, and then explores it to it's fullest, with hysterical humor, eccentric characters, and heartfelt tenderness leading to an enlightening look at the power of second chances, and succeeding. Sure to be a classic, 'The Fourth Hand' will skyrocket to the top of the bestseller list's. Do yourself a favor, buy the book, set aside a few hours, and enjoy. A MUST read! Nick Gonnella
Rating: 
Summary: Satisfies the Irving fan
Review: What can you say if you're an Irving fan and can't get enough? Although this book is more comical and less deep than "Widow For One Year", it still satisfies greatly. As with most Irving novels, I couldn't put it down and read straight though in an evening. The typical Dickensian characters are all there. The book is a bit more political than other Irving novels, but there's nothing wrong with that. I suspect this one will be compared much with "Son of the Circus", especially with the few India scenes, but the writing is much more breezy and friendly in this novel. I suspect this is what puts off reviewers as they seem to abhor any friendliness in writing. But Irving being a master craftsman is able to pull it off and still paint a rich tapestry. Again, this is a comparison to Dickens, but Irving certainly wouldn't mind.
Rating:
Summary: Two Thumbs Up for The Fourth Hand.
Review: As one of Irving's shortest novels, this is a speedy read, but don't mistake the brevity for lack of content. The Fourth Hand starts out as a comic sex farce and ends as a melancholy study of loss and longing. Inbetween there are hilarious looks at the world of the instant media, medicine and the Green Bay Packers. As a side note, fans will note the book is dedicated to the producer and director of the movie version of The Cider House Rules...The Fourth Hand, coming to a movie screen near you??
Rating:
Summary: Anothr fascinating work
Review: Drop dead gorgeous hunk Patrick Wallingford is covering the Great Ganesg Circus in Junagadh, India following up on the death of a male trapeze artist and the fight over using safety nets. When the lions begin roaring, Patrick takes his microphone and sticks it inside the cage only to have a hungry beast sever his left hand and wrist while on international TV. Patrick knows that his chances of becoming an anchor ended with the maiming of his hand even if he received tons of sympathy. However, a new opportunity surfaces when eminent surgeon Dr. Nicholas Zajac decides on performing the first hand transplant, using Patrick as his patient. Packer fan Doris Clausen offers the hand of her healthy and living spouse because she wants the beautiful Patrick whole. However, she demands hand visits and he impregnate her in exchange for the extremity. Meanwhile instead of calm before he tries the impossible, Nicholas deals with his own personal nightmares that could impact the success of the first hand transplant operation. THE FOURTH HAND is an entertaining condemnation of media excesses using loss, broken relationships and all under the news spotlight. The story line is humorous though at times is undecided between acrimonious hyperbolic satire and realistic condemnation. Still, in the world according to John Irving, this second chance redemption tale is an emotional story that tackles the reader in a blitz and never lets go until atonement comes for one and all including a wristlocked overzealous reviewer. Harriet Klausner
Rating: 
Summary: A disappointment
Review: John Irving is a wonderful author, but this is a disappointing book. The plot really didn't develop. At times it trailed off into dead-alleys. We were never given an insight into why the widow made the choices she made. In all, nothing too terrific. Irving himself, said at the end of the book, that the book was based on a thought expressed by his wife. Somehow or other, that's all there is - a thought - expanded across 300+ pages. I suppose it was too much to expect another marvel right after "A widow for one year." Let's hope that this is 'an in-between book' - that the next one will once again have Irving back to his genius standard.
Rating:
Summary: So BAD.
Review: I love John Irving books, really I do. He's one of my favorite authors. But this was just a really awful novel. The story has no likeable characters, the main character is boring and seems to learn nothing from his experiences, the women in the book want nothing more than the protagonist's "seed" so that they can impregnante themselves. No one seems believable, or sympathetic, or the least bit interesting. If this book were a party, you would be looking at your watch until you could leave. There were times when Irving himself seemed bored with his story -- rather than SHOW anything, he would just TELL huge chunks of the story, as if he wanted to skip ahead. I hope whatever caused Irving to write this book will go infect someone else instead -- I miss the great author he used to be.
Rating:
Summary: Missing something...
Review: John Irving is a brilliant writer, but "The Fourth Hand" is less than a brilliant book. It's immensely readable, that's for sure--it's hard not to fly through this book, even if you're an incredibly slow reader, like I am. But by the time you've sprinted to the end of its 313 pages--making it Irving's second shortest novel after "The Water-Method Man"--you're left with the twitching-phantom-limb feeling that "The Fourth Hand" is missing something important. But what is it missing? Most of the characters are sufficiently unique and interestingly colorful to satisfy any long-time John Irving reader. I loved the subplot with the hand surgeon, Zajac, his son, and his housekeeper. The writing, as usual, is top-notch. (I must say, however, I was a little disappointed with the first sentence. Usually Irving knocks you right off your feet with his first sentences. This one barely made me shuffle my feet.) What "The Fourth Hand" lacks that Irving's best novels nearly drown you in is a sense of emotional immensity. It doesn't help matters that this is such a short book. I think Irving is at his best in the form of the sprawling novel, where his themes and characters have ample time and space to weave themselves together on the loom of your imagination. "The Fourth Hand" suffers from excessive lightness. It might be thought of as the 158-Pound Novel. There's a heaviness--a pleasant heaviness--to books like "The World According to Garp," "A Prayer for Owen Meany," and "A Widow For One Year" that simply isn't here. And the plot just isn't as satisfying as that of "The Hotel New Hampshire" or "The Cider House Rules". After a solid beginning--the first sentence notwithstanding--this novel just meanders. You are still compelled to know what happens next (Irving's main strengths as a storyteller never really flag) but you find yourself just not caring which way things turn out. Part of the problem I believe is the downright bizarreness of the central love story. The main character, Patrick Wallingford, is a sort of empty soul, who begins, with the progression of events in the story, to fill himself up. The stuff he fills himself with, though, seems so arbitrary and weird. That he falls in love with the not-necessarily-likable Mrs. Clausen, the widow of the donor of his new left hand, is a plot point that is just given to us, rather than built up to. Mrs. Clausen isn't exactly unlikable, but she's just too emotionally obscure to create much sympathy in the reader. The gum-smacking Brooklyn makeup-girl that Wallingford tarries with briefly is much more likable than Mrs. Clausen herself. But maybe that's just the way the hand of fate is dealt, and we don't have much of a choice who we fall in love with. Either way, at the end of this novel, I felt I hadn't gotten the full Irving treatment that I had come to expect. There are moments of greatness along the way, and any longtime Irving fan should certainly read this novel, but it's just not one of his best.
Rating:
Summary: Very good book
Review: The Fourth Hand, like John Irving's other novels is a very well written and all around exceptional book. Patrick Wallingford is a TV journalist who is divorced and likes to hit on other women single or married. Patrick is reporting a circus in India when he gets his left hand bit off by a caged lion. When the novel first begins you will think this guy is a jerk but by the end of the novel he has changed dramatically. Meanwhile, a man in Wisconsin has accidentally shot himself. His widow wants to offer his left hand to Patrick. Things occur throughout the novel and soon Patrick begins to fall in love with Mrs.Clausen, the widow. She is not too quick to let Patrick know how she feels. By the end of the novel Patrick is no longer the person he once was. This is a comic and love story compiled together to make an exceptional novel.
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