Rating: 
Summary: What a writer! And what writing!
Review: As the jacket reminds us - Irving's WFOY is 'a joy to read'. There is a mellifluosness (honeyed) quality to his prose which makes it easy to scan. And his interests are quite reflexive, and self- conscious - a writer, writing about writers, and the process of the author going about gathering the material for his/her next work. The structure of this long book - quite rightly compared to his (self-confessed) exemplars - the Victorian novelists - makes for a challenging and involved read - a book with its head and shoulders well above the others around it. And, no doubt, this 'honeyed challenge', is in large part, responsible for the joy experienced during the read. Irving revels in laying bare the processes that go on in a writer's mind - in displaying (to echo TS Eliot's words) 'the function of a novelist'. Irving (through his heroine) quotes Graham Greene's essay, where Greene was reflecting on the novelist as a 'guide through the unseemly'. Is it unseemly to witness Marion Cole - recently bereaved by the death of her twin sons - finding a sexual release for her grief in the young Eddie O'Hare? - (who is about the same age as her twin sons when they died). Is it unseemly as 'we' stand with the heroine, in the closet of the prostitute, and 'witness' the dreadful death scene? Would we have ever let such material range through our own minds without the guiding force that the novelist, through his heroine, has provided? I think that Irving powerfully demonstrates just what it is that he sees (one aspect) of the function of the novelist to be - and be brave! Read him - you'll be impressed! This reader certainly was.
Rating: 
Summary: Boos from a fan of many years
Review: This book is an embarrassment. Irving must know that since the paperback version has an interview with him appended as a feeble attempt to explain to us why he wrote such a bad book. It was also offensive both in storyline, character development and presentation. Mr. Irving, please cease your habit of emphasizing words via the use of italics. It was distracting at first and then just plain annoying. I cannot believe this mess was from the same author of Owen Meany, Garp and Ciderhouse. I am so terribly disappointed and angry at the time I spent trying to find out if anything of any merit was being said.
Rating:
Summary: Irving does it again!
Review: Ever since "The World According to Garp", I have been a diehard John Irving fan. He did NOT disappoint me with "A Widow.." Young Eddie O'Hare is pushed into a summer job by his didactic, boarding school professor of a father. Originally intended to be a "writer's assistant" for Ted Cole (a children's story writer and illustrator who beds most of the young mothers he has model for his books), Eddie instead finds himself hopelessly in love with, and a lover of, Ted's wife, Marion. Marion has lived in a bit of a post-traumatic haze since the violent deaths of her two beautiful teenaged boys, and this means she is not much of a mother to little Ruth (born after the boys died). This novel is primarily told through Ruth, who becomes a great writer in her own right and eventually loves a good man (her own father having been a decent father but a terrible spouse). While this all sounds somewhat dreary and even slightly soap-operatic, it is good, funny, slightly crazy story-telling. One of the things I so like about Irving is that he is an emotional writer, or better said, he tells an emotional tale. He is not one to drag you into a story, but rather, allows his readers to make their own decisions about why they like, dislike, favor, or root for any given character. He builds complex protagonists and serves them up in a complicated and intelligent fashion. The reader is sucked in and at the very end of the book one can close the back cover and smile. It works, every time.
Rating: 
Summary: Depressed for 3 weeks......
Review: This seems to be one of those love it or hate it books, and let's just say I didn't love it. I have a tremendous amount of respect for John Irving, and in fact he's written some of my favorite books. But there was just something about this book that didn't sit well with me. Mind you, I'm not a prude, and in fact I prefer books that are daring and edgy. But like others that have commented here, I had a very tough time maintaining any interest in any of the characters. I was ready to just quit reading it at various points, but I did stick with it until the end. But it was generally an unrewarding read for me. And why did Irving have to keep bringing up the size of his protaganist's breasts time and time again? I swear, in the last part of the book, this is mentioned on nearly every page. That may be a slight exaggeration, but I can assure you it is very slight. I cannot for the life of me understand exactly what point he was trying to make with that. Also, I didn't see his recollection of the accident that killed the two boys as being compelling narrative. When he used a similar set of circumstances in "Garp", it was truly heart-wrenching and served the story very well. Here, it just seems that he is trying to manipulate his readers in a very cruel manner. I give it two stars because it was well-researched and technically well written.
Rating: 
Summary: an engrossing and different book
Review: While this novel was not on par with Garp, Cider House Rules or Owen Meany...I still found this book to be a page turner. THe characters had the usual Irving eccentricity and were enjoyable to follow. I loved it.
Rating:
Summary: not compelling
Review: I found that I could not sympathize with these characters. Most of them were simply not likeable. It was a really annoying read--overuse of foreshadowing, predictable flat characters, and not very believeable. And the word "irony" was misused more than once! Nothing good really happened in the book. I wanted to shout out "Get some counseling!" to each one of the characters.
Rating: 
Summary: A widow for a Year
Review: I didn't mind this book. I just expected something a bit different I guess from the author. What with his other novels - The world according to Garp. I read the whole book over the course of a weekend so I obviously got involved in it! But I just didn't think it was brillant. I probally never would have chosen to read the book normallly but I read it as part of a book club I am involved in. When I picked it up at the bookshop I thought it sounded a bit soft and romantic. Then I thought well it's written by "whats his name - Irving" so I thought it probally isn't as soppy and romantic as I first imagined. Anyway, the long and short of it is it's Ok. But if you had told be Daniella Steele or Judith Krantz wrote the book I wouln't at all be surprised. Beacause that's what it was like - a Daniella Steele novel!
Rating:
Summary: What a masterwork by a master writer..........
Review: I love John Irving. Read this a year ago, and just finished it again for my book club. Can hardly wait until we discuss it! Found so much more the second time. What I love about his storytelling is that everything is used - absolutely everything. An apparently innocuous detail will reappear and mean something else. Words - the titles of the children's books that Ted writes. I guess its the connections that form and reform, like a wonderful maze. Also, I love how he tells you what happens in the future, for example: "She did not know they would not meet again for 30 years." This kind of foretelling of the future makes the situation and characters more complete for me. According to other reader reviews I have read, Irving is not for everyone. Well, okay! But he sure is for me a wonderful, wonderful, thoughtful read.!
Rating:
Summary: Not profound but still enjoyable
Review: While Prayer for Owen Meany 's implausibility could be accepted as part the fable that novel was, Widow is similarly implausible yet it seems we are asked to take it more seriously and it is far less profound. Despite the gimmicky coincidences and contrivances, John Irving still fills books with characters that the reader really gets to know and enjoy. While other John Irving books are better, if you like John Irving, you'll like this.
Rating:
Summary: Widow for One Year
Review: Irvng had me totally engrossed in his story from beginning to end. A story about an intimately connected group of writers writing from their experiences and imagination, reading one another's writings and reacting has many fascinating levels to ponder. All of the marvelous threads of this story begin their weavings early in the book so that you aren't left too long holding the strands. The best John Irving and the best novel of the year for me.
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