Rating: 
Summary: What happened?
Review: I'm an avid John Irving fan... I eagerly awaited to get my hands on this book and read it...the thing is, I was completely disappointed. I'm not sure why exactly - I was just incredibly bored. I didn't even finish the last part of the novel - I couldn't. It just seemed like a ridiculous story to me and it felt like torture reading it. I'll stick with Owen Meany.
Rating: 
Summary: Strange
Review: I kept waiting for the book to connect with my consciousness, but it never did. I kept reading along hoping I would begin to care about these characters and their lives, but I never did. I never really developed anticipation for what would happen next. Perhaps it was my failing, but I didn't see the point to the story.
Rating:
Summary: NOOOOOO
Review: I can't believe John Irving wrote this book....it was just awful. All through the book I kept thinking it must be another guy using the same name. Irving has written some great literature (in my "book") that I'm going to pretend I never tried to read "The Fourth Hand". He can do so much better.
Rating:
Summary: The Opposite of a Chick Book
Review: A peek into the male pysche, in a surreal sort of way. I did tune in very quickly to the completely male perspective offered by Mr. Irving. All the female characters could be made of cardboard - there is no depth whatsoever. Everything seems to boil down to sex, sex and more (nearly always meaningless) sex and the story goes way out into neverland on this journey. Patrick Wallingford, Mrs. Clausen and the weird Doctor Dog DooDoo were just a little past eccentric or believable and I'm still trying to figure out exactly what the point of the story was. I must say that the writing was exceptional, even if I obviously did not "get" the message.
Rating:
Summary: Where is Irving?
Review: Where is the John Irving who won my heart in 1978 with Garp? Definitely not in these pages. Loathesome characters, foolish plot.......could not waste the time finishing the last third of this wretched novel. Thank God for Jonathan Franzen whose "The Corrections" combines the best of 'good' Irving, Anne Tyler, and Tom Wolfe.
Rating: 
Summary: The comfort of John Irving....
Review: It is difficult to write a standard review for this book on the heels of such comprehensive reports by Publisher's Weekly and Amazon's fine review staff. This is an endorsement; and by fellow reader without any economic benefit derived from the reader's purchase. I simply suggest you not deny yourself this very singular literary pleasure. These are difficult times for the sensitive reader. Magazines and newspapers recount sorrow and tragedy in an endless progression. This is a book that not only illuminates the business of reporting tragedy, but interestingly enough, offers a wonderful respite in it's warmth and charm. This is an endearing romance, a story of passion and vision, parenting and family. I enjoyed this book at a restless time in my life. It was a calming and charming respite from the daily brutality we read and hear each and every day. What more can anyone ask for?
Rating:
Summary: Thoroughly enjoyable
Review: I read for entertainment. Irving's books are always entertaining; with their quirky characters, implausible events, overtly sexual encounters, and often tragic climaxes. The Fourth Hand is no different. It's a book of fiction...it's not real. If you want to be entertained, please read the book. If you want to read something about reserved, quiet, everyday, run-of-the-mill, stay-home-and-read characters, write and read about yourself. And if you don't like the characters, or the portrayals of specific people, please don't think the author shares these beliefs. Again, this is a book of fiction. It has made-up characters and plots. How interesting would a book be if it only told the story you see everyday? Irving adds spice to his books that give the reader the ability to escape from the everyday.
Rating: 
Summary: Dealt a difficult hand
Review: I usually love John Irving's novels because of their quirkiness and imaginative characters. The characters in this one didn't live up to expectations. The only character that enhanced the story was the hand doctor and he was dropped half-way through the book. Patrick's relationship with Mrs. Clausen was slow, silly, boring and pretty pathetic. What woman in her right mind would want a man like this in their lives. It seemed that Mr. Irving was contracted to write 300 pages and ran out of ideas at about 150. Did we need to know every detail of feeding a baby, changing diapers and swimming in the lake? If I wanted to know so much about Stuart Little I would read the book myself. I couldn't wait for it to be over at that point. A few reviewers complained about the description of all of Patrick's sex acts but at least the book was interesting then. If you liked "The Cider House Rules", "The World According to Garp" and "A Prayer for Owen Meaney" you will not like this one. What a great disappointment.
Rating:
Summary: Disturbingly Sexual
Review: Wow. Every four pages or so, I'm stuck wondering just how this book got out of the sex shops and into the Borders around the country. "Is this Irving character some sort of sex storywriter gone professional or something?" one might think. The Fourth Hand was incredibly well done, don't get me wrong. Dr. Zajac enchanted me, and I really hoped to read more on him. Its seems like halway through the story, Irving wrote him off, gave him a happy ending, and focused on Wallingford. Wallingford's obsession with Mrs. Clauson is extremely vivid. The entire story was very vivid. Especially the sex scenes. Sensational story. But it makes you wonder just what kind of sex life the author really has.
Rating:
Summary: What's wrong with you, John?
Review: This reads like something a 9th grader would write. In some ways it's like a compilation of rejected Penthouse Forum letters, except that Penthouse rejects would at least be mildly entertaining, unlike "Fourth Hand". My complaints: The whole cast of characters is completely unrealistic. Every woman the main character meets (most who've barely even met the guy) seems to strip off her clothes and seduce the guy within minutes. Other women characters behave the same way to other men in the book, so it makes me wonder about Irving's concept of women. Second, almost the only way Irving communicates his male characters' emotions are the dozens of references to their erections and hard-ons. This isn't good writing, and it's not even a good trashy book. Irving describes a couple of times a character's experiences while under the influence of pain-killers only available in India. I think that this whole mess of a book must've been written while taking this same medication. So what was this, John? Your means to pay the mortgage teh next couple of years?
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