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Summary: A writer writes about strange interactions between writers
Review: I read 'A Widow for One Year' and then immediately read an old Chris Bohjalian, Past the bleachers. Since that one is not active on amazon, I am putting both comments here. "Widow" --- from the man who brought you tail gunner Garp, and the infamous Volvo castration scene. Irving takes about 400 pages to set you up for the final activities. Not to spoil the plot, but when a realtor shows up, she asks "Is someone getting divorced". They group answers "No, we just got married". No question that Irving is a great writer, and the plot bizarre, but intriguing. It makes you worry about all sorts of things you never did before. I have now read 3 or 4 Bohjalian novels --- and never thought about him as Irving-like until this recent juxtaposition. Both books are set in the Northeast, and use lots of analogies to make us think about life in strange ways. I don't happen to like baseball, so the little league analogies were not good ones fo! r me.
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Summary: Same Old Irving (With Some Fun Twists!)
Review: A Widow for One Year is sooo typical of John Irving in so many ways. A novel about authors, with samples of their work and their struggles (poor writers). Some of the ideas are identical to those used in his previous novels (e.g., the prostitute stuff). The biggest difference in A Widow, however, is that the characters in this novel are much richer, realistic and sympathetic. All of the characters are worthy of interest, and even the cruelest has some very endearing, almost likeable qualities. Some plot twists make this a good John Irving-roll your eyes at the old stuff-read. I would have liked it even more if I hadn't read Garp, Hotel New Hampshire and Cider House Rules all those years ago.
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Summary: A story of a dysfunctional family that never recovers.
Review: This book is full of comedic suspense and drama. Kudos to John Irving to finally see that the children shall pave the way. The descriptions of his characters are so vivid in my mind that I too feel like I am in the house in Long Island along with Eddie O'Hare and the Cole family.
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Summary: Not his best, but if you like Irving...
Review: I am actually a big fan of John Irving, and I enjoyed the book very much. But writers as fictitious characters are, generally, not interesting to me. Otherwise, it's a pretty strong effort and worth reading, but be forewarned that this isn't "Cider House Rules" or "Prayer for Owen Meany".
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Summary: After listening to this book, it has stayed with me forweeks
Review: I listened to the audio version of this book a few weeks ago. While some of the plot developments are pretty bizarre (like many Irving books), I always found the Ruth character sympathetic and interesting. It was not until the end of the book, however, that I felt I could understand Marion and she is the one who has stayed in my mind. I definitely recommend this book.
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Summary: I HAVE READ OVER 1,000 BOOKS, AND THIS RANKS IN THE TOP 5
Review: I DISCOVERED THIS BOOK ON THE INTERNET. A FREE CHAPER WAS OFFERED TO READ. I IMMEDIATELY GOT THE BOOK AND READ IT. I WAS ASTONISHED AND AMAZED BY JOHN IRVING'S WRITING. I NEVER READ ANY OF HIS BOOKS, AND HATED THE MOVIE ( THE WORLD ACORDING TO GARP.) I HAVE RECOMMENDED THIS BOOK TO ALL OF MY FRIENDS, AND AS THEY PROCEED THROUGH THE BOOK, I INTERVIEW THEM AS TO HOW THEY LIKE IT. I HAVE HAD ONLY GOOD RESULTS FROM MY MINI SURVEY. AFTER READING OVER 1,000 BOOKS IN THREE YEARS, I CONSIDER MYSELF A PRETTY GOOD JUDGE OF THE WRITTEN WORD, AND I RANK THIS BOOK IN MY TOP FIVE FAVORITES.
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Summary: Incredibly Disappointing!
Review: I must say I am so incredibly disappointed with this novel that I don't know quite where to begin. A Prayer For Owen Meany is one of my all-time favorite books so it was upsetting to read this and consider they could have come from the same author. The beginning of the book was interesting and the characters had some depth to them, but as they age they do not change. They all became much less likable and their personality "quirks" seemed trite. I absolutely loathed Hannah and found her an unlikely best friend for someone like Ruth--there didn't appear to be anything likable about Hannah (did she have a soul?). I was much more interested in Marion and what she'd been doing for 37 years. (Luckily at 76 she still had nice breasts. Apparently well formed breasts are the mark of a good woman, at least this book seems to keep pounding the point home.) I was so frustrated by the tedium of the Amersterdam section and the ending that I found myself rolling my e! yes at the book. I had to finish just to see what happened and then was actually mad that I'd wasted my time with it at all. I've come to expect much better from John Irving, but I think I'm going to give up hope.
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Summary: How do we live the life we're given?
Review: I read a reader comment that said this book had a predictable ending. Well, LIFE has a predictable ending but what we do with our life is the measure of each of us. Yes, the ending of John Irving's A Widow for One Year is predictable, but, oh, what fun we have while getting there. John Irving tells stories about people who DO things while getting to that predictable end. They do things that are UNpredictable, funny, sad, even stupid. But they are never, never boring. Thank you, John Irving.
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Summary: Excellent reading
Review: I really enjoyed this book. I finished reading it within three days. I enjoy Irving's earlier books and this one was no exception. I would highly reccomend this book to anyone who enjoys Irving's writing.
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Summary: The worst book I've ever voluntarily read start to finish
Review: Did John Irving really write this or did he employ a 7th-grade ghost writer? He reduces his main character Ruth, a supposedly world class literary fiction writer, to the size of her breasts. Obsess much? There is only one mildly likable character (Eddie) -- even the 4-year-old children in the book are annoying. The children's dialogue is completely unbelievable, unless these kids are intellectual freaks. The entire book is littered with exclamation marks, which remind me of "applause" signs so a TV studio audience knows what's "good." But you won't walk away from this book empty-handed: you'll get a wonderful recipe for stir-fry shrimp, John Irving's work-out routine and a few squash-playing tips. I'll be happy if I can get $2 for this thing at a yard sale.
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