Rating: 
Summary: Unusually captivating
Review: I discovered this novel at the bookstore. I read the back and was attracted to the unusual plot. Skeptically I began reading the first chapter and 50 pages later I was hooked. The characters are real and engaging... and the story was unique and entertaining. Not only would I read this book again... I'm going to buy a copy for each of my friends.
Rating: 
Summary: Zero stars
Review: This is undoubtedly the worst book Irving has published. If you are new to Irving, read Owen Meany, Cider House, Garp, and Widow for One Year. Don't judge Irving by this poor production. Avoid this one, and Son of the Circus too. If you are a devoted Irving fan as I am, borrow Fourth Hand if you feel you must read it.
Rating: 
Summary: No masterpiece, but I enjoyed it very much.
Review: I liked this one. It's shorter than John Irving's recent books, which I found quite nice. It's very well organized, an element I particularly enjoyed, and it's engaging. It's not deep and it's not terribly meaningful, but if you're a John Irving fan and don't feel like reading a 600-page book, definitely read this. It's all John Irving but without the disposable 400 pages. Go for it!
Rating: 
Summary: Leave No Regrets On The Field
Review: John Irving is in fine form with The Fourth Hand. While initially I looked at the size of the book (a scant 313 pages) with disdain, compared to the Irving books that have preceeded it (Garp, Owen Meany, Son of the Circus, Widow for One Year); the story found inside these 313 pages is every bit as sizeable as the others.Patrick Wallingford, a nationally known television journalist, gains further notoriety after losing his left hand during an assignment in India, and again when he undergoes surgery to replace it with a donor hand. Enter Doris Clausen, the widow of the donor, and Nick Zajac, the surgeon who performs the surgery. Dr. Zajac wants the fame associated with the surgery, should it be successful, but Doris Clausen wants something else...a baby, 'fathered' by her now deceased husband, and visitation rights to his hand, even after it is attached to Wallingford. While Doris Clausen and Dr. Zajac go through transformations of their own during the course of the story, Wallingford, a devout womanizer and divorced man with little faith in his ability to be faithful to any one woman, finds that through the loss of his hand, and the subsequent events, he finds himself and his soul. The story is typically Irving...with many recurring themes from prior novels. But Irving's adroit writing skill keeps them fresh and fascinating for this new tale. Anyone who has invested some (well spent, in my opinion) time reading past novels by the same author will see these themes, and relish the treatise that Irving once again gives them. John Irving succeeds with this novel as with his others. Though to compare it in size to them it is to perhaps view it as 'dwarfed'. But the story is as fully realized as any of his others. His quote at the end, puportedly placed above the door to the locker room of the Green Bay Packers football team, 'leave no regrets on the field' is poignant to the story and to the book itself...the characters come full circle in many ways, though perhaps not to the exact resolution they anticipated or desired, and I as a reader found that although I expected to be disappointed by what I considered a 'shortchanged' offering from Irving, I left no regrets between the covers of the book. I highly recommend this book, to all fans of Irving, or to those who wish to give him a try. Like his earlier novels, The Water Method Man, The 158 Pound Marriage, etc...its not the size of the story that counts, its the content inside. This book doesn't disappoint.
Rating:
Summary: This book says a lot!
Review: I always love works by John Irving, though I haven't read him in several years. "The Fourth Hand" reminded me of why I like him: quirky characters, improbable situations, unique love stories. This book has it all, and compacted in a much shorter story than his usual work. Patrick was believable as a journalist who eventually develops a conscience (I have met a few of those), and Mrs. Clausen was a sympathetic character without being overwrought. This book has a lot to say about both medical and journalistic ethics, and he works in real life situations nicely. I highly recommend this book.
Rating:
Summary: Exceptional story!
Review: I thought this book was wonderful! It was the first Irving book I've read, and it's definitely made me a fan. There were parts that were really funny, and parts that were so sad. Even though the plot seems outrageous, Irving has you believing this is the most normal thing in the world. It's full of adventure, love, and heartbreak. It's a pretty easy read, but impossible to put down.
Rating:
Summary: a good read
Review: I enjoyed reading another Iriving novel, but while I'm an Irving fan, I've noticed something I don't like about his books. He never describes the character's emotions or feelings or body language or facial expressions. It almost makes the people seem two-dimensional. But besides that, this is still a good book. The story is kind of unusual, as are most Irving novels, but if you've enjoyed his other books, you should like this one too.
Rating:
Summary: Light Irving Reading
Review: As a longtime John Irving fan, I loved this book. It was a nice change from "Widow for a Year" which was excellent but depressing in places. Don't shortchange this fun, quick read!
Rating:
Summary: Novel or porn skript?
Review: I find myself sorely disappointed by this, John Irving's, last effort. The book reads like a skript of something Larry Flynt may have been interested in and meanders in such a way as to remind one of an adolecent boy's daydreams. Basically, the plot disappears behind a not so interesting character hopping in and out of bed with different women. My advise is to get the Playboy channel instead. I want my money and my time back please! Note that "The Hotel New Hampshire" is one of my all time favorite books.
Rating:
Summary: Fun but uneven
Review: I'm of two minds about this book, in part because the only other Irving works I've read are Owen Meany and Cider House Rules, both of which have a modern classic sort of vibe. The breadth and scope of both of those books is very different from this one. In food terms, it's like comparing a formal banquet with fusion cuisine appetizers. What I like about this book is that there are a number of entertaining and unusual bits that hold your interest. While I don't find Patrick's love life that plausible, it makes for fun reading, for example. What keeps the novel from being a meal is that lack of plausibility. People do not live coldly logical lives, but it seems like the characters in this book have a moral code that places whim in a central position. I would also have liked to see more things tied up with the doctor. We got into his life quite a bit, perhaps too much for a character that was often at arm's length (so to speak). It may have been worthwhile to keep him in the background and give more time to Doris and the Clausens, to get some insight as to how the ending came to be (other than fate or the power of a banned Indian medication). All in all, it's worth a read, but keep your expectations at a reasonable level.
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