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Summary: John Irving's various alter egos.
Review: Is John Irving a blend of Ted and Eddie with Ruth and/or Marion his feminine side in real life? Irving is my favorite author so perhaps I am biased. Humorous, outlandish, and moving. I always end an Irving book with lots of questions and this one is no exception; however, the rushed ending may have something to do with this. All in all, a good read and a must read if you love this author.
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Summary: This is a familiar journey for all Irving fans
Review: John Irving's 'A Widow for One Year' is in many respects a familiar journey, travelling down an already well-worn route. The connection between each character is made through the metaphor of fiction - they either bask in literary glory or delight in their failure. Either way, it is an escape for all of them - Ted Cole knows that neither Marion or Ruth will enter his workroom and Marion's nom de plume is surely a way of hiding the reality of her past in an easier-to-swallow fictional form. The polarity of this literary world is shown to greatest affect in Ted's relationship with his daughter, her love of squash comes only from her need to beat him in his own court which of course has been designed to give him the upper hand. When finally she beats him, he realises that there is only so far that you can bend the rules; of squash or otherwise.As before in Irving's novels Europe is the centre of the action. In ' The Hotel New Hampshire' the family bond fully through the shared loss of Egg and their mother. Similarly Ruth's travel around Europe on her book tour encompasses a large proportion of the foundation of the novel - her encounter with Wim and her meeting with Rooie are all hugely influential on the outcome of the story. The reason that this novel lets me down is that Irving's first use of the female main character is tentative. Ruth comes across on the one hand as a woman trying to be a man, in the sense that she comes across as a very male creation. Her reactions are either inherantly male or a caricature of female behaviour. This doesn't come wholly as a surprise. In 'World According to Garp' and 'The Hotel New Hampshire' for example the main male characters are both supported, and occasionally overshadowed, by a supposedly supportive female character. The male strength is nearly always undercut by the power if the 'female form' to the point often of obsession ('The Hotel New Hampshire' and 'The Cider House Rules'). Ruth's character therefore appeals very little to me as a woma! n, and as a person she seems distant in a way that I as a reader have difficulty understanding. The dichitomy between Hannah and Ruth also deepens the divide between Ruth and reader. How can they be friends when clearly they are so different, so quick to condemn each other. The lack of empathy that I feel for Ruth therefore makes 'A widow for one year' an enjoyable read but somehow lacking the power of classics like 'A Prayer for Owen Meany' or Garp.
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Summary: female Garp, only less so
Review: It is only because Irving is so good that his readers can be so critical of him. He is simply a magician at his best, and a con artist at his worst. Undoubtedly, Widow displays his wonderous magic, but as an avid reader, I anticipated all of the tricks and even knew when and where to expect them. But, that doesn't make them any the less wonderous...
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Summary: A Beautiful, Mature Novel
Review: John Irving has written a mature and moving story of love and the passing of time. The characters are true and, particularly if a reader reads between the lines and imaginatively fills in their lives outside of the three periods in which they're presented, fully realized. There's just the right amount of Irving's humour and sense of the bizarre to please those of us who look for it, yet it is restrained and well fit into the larger, more serious story. It is sad, funny, absurd, real, invented, and connected in strange yet inevitable ways--just like life. Ted's telling of the death of his sons was one of the most powerful passages I've ever read. Thank you, Mr. Irving, for this wonderful read. And thank you for showing that, whether a life contains a little or a lot of misfortune, it is still a life worth living.
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Summary: I just had to keep reading
Review: If not wanting to put the book down becuase you're so absorbed in the story and wanting to know what happens next to the characters with whom you've come to identify is a measure of successful fiction, then this book succeeds despite its faults. Irving can be annoying and ponderous -- thank God no bears in this one -- but the story is a good one and we care about its characters. I'm not a prude but the preoccupation with sex and juvenile fascination with women gets a little old and you wonder if it's needed or just Irving's way of staving off his own fears of getting old. You feel a little stupid and annoyed at the end for caring so much about these people but you do care. Clearly his best and most readable book since Garp.
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Summary: The only explination for a review of one star is ignorance
Review: Although this is probably Irving's lightest plot structure since The 158 Pound Marriage, it is his best internal profile of human character. The people in this novel are amazing, and the themes; inter-realted with the understatement in the childrens books of Ted Cole, all serve to fill out the plot, making Eddie, Ruth and Ted some of his most memorable characters. In terms of rank, I think it sits only behind A Prayer for Owen Meany and The World According to Garp. If you don't enjoy this novel as much as his others, then you haven't understood a thing about any of them.
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Summary: Just what I expect from Irving
Review: Unexpected twists and some shocking incidents were evident throughout the book. The characters were well defined and each had an appeal which made me want them to return to action. I wanted the book to go on, and savored the last 100 pages. The ending was dead-ass perfect. This is as good as Irving gets.
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Summary: A great read
Review: The jacket cover photo is the empty picture hangers on the wall when Marion left Ted. I am becoming a real fan of John Irving, it is quite a talent to resolve every story line and every character. I thoroughly enjoyed the stories from Eddie's point of view, Ruth didn't seem to want to tell the story.
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Summary: Absorbing, spellbinding, memorable.
Review: I was totally enraptured by the book. I could not put it down. I felt Ruth's pains and her joys. I cried for Eddie, Ted, Marion and Hannah for many different reasons. Some of it was sympathetic, some empathetic. I read every word and absorbed each one, unlike many other modern writers' works. I cannort recommend this enough.
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Summary: Read the book, not the reviews
Review: Once again, I am moved to comment on how a truely great author always gets reviews that are at extremes. As I read the reviews on this page two things struck me. The people who loved "The World According To Garp", loved "Widow For One Year", the people who loved "Owen Meany" hated it. I am among the former and give it a high rating. I would also dismiss the boorish comments of some of the pseudointellectuals, paticulaly the one who thought significant portions of the book occurred in Austria. The last time I checked Amsterdam was in Holland. One thing is for sure, if you read Widow For One Year, you may or may not like it but you will not be dissappointed. It is classic John Irving.
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