Rating: 
Summary: It was a wholesome book
Review: I have not much experience with Irving's books. I had first fell in love with "A Prayer For Owen Meany"...after that, I thought there were no other matches....until now......"A Widow For One Year" grabbed me right away when I started off the novel..What really sucked me into the book was the richness of each character, especially Eddie, Ted, Marion, and of course Ruth....Even though I kind of got lost when the novel turned into another novel.....I felt it was dragging then...But other than that..I had enjoyed ever word and every touching moment.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointed after waiting so long.
Review: I am unaccustomed to feeling disappointment at the end of an Irving novel. The plot was uninventive. It had a disjointed sense and I felt no emotional attachment to any of the characters. There is a common personality type in many of his main male characters that is getting tiresome.I adore Irving and all of his other novels. This one was disappointing and anti-climactic.
Rating: 
Summary: Sublime
Review: Sublime, divine: Ladies and gents, this is LITERATURE! John Irving's frequent misteps since "The World According to Garp" are more than atoned for by "Widow." The Dickensian sweep of "A Son of the Circus" combined with Irving's wonderful ability to (guess what) tell a story! Buy it, read it, pass it on to friends, lovers, acquaintances. As good as a long lick of homemade ice cream on a hot summer day. You won't be disappointed!
Rating:
Summary: Our Greatest Living Storyteller
Review: Irving can spin a story better than anyone I've read in the last twenty years. Yes, he touches many of the same themes in his novels. Yes, he often has 'writer' characters whose prose styles are (often mockingly) similar to his own. Ted Cole, for example, tells stories whose conclusions the reader can always see coming (but they never end EXACTLY as you expect). Sound familiar? It doesn't matter. Irving doesn't claim to be (or want to be) Thomas Pynchon. What is perhaps most amazing about Irving (and this novel) is that the familiar ground he treads always yields something new. The reader is never bored. Even when you see the ending coming, the MANNER in which it unfolds never fails to surprise and delight. Note on my own hypocrisy: I only rate this one an 8 because I feel that 'A Prayer for Owen Meany' and 'A Son of the Circus' succeed in breaking free of Irving's well-worn themes of New Englanders caught in infidelity. That aspect gives them a slightly higher rating in my personal lexicon. Freshness notwithstanding, 'A Widow for One Year' soars and rolls and never fails to entertain.
Rating: 
Summary: Self-serving of Irving
Review: One can always detest the extravagances of a celebrated life. One can even hold disdain for the truly gifted as they slowly evolve into the truly miserable. Yet if the talented party maintains his/her level of excellence, then demerits for lousy temperant take in much lower significance. Mr Irving has clearly become a charicature of himself. This novel fails in some many different areas, that one can truly create a novel just by expounding on each. The central theme is one of dullsville with very little momentum sustained or built up for that matter. We see the inner workings of an existence that seems nary a lite year in the future. Prowess is one thing, but decadense is something entirely different. Nothing seems to resonate with the reader. form the earliest pinings, it is obvious this book will be an ordeal to finish. Sometimes dignity in the face of art is twisted around and only malcontent is the byproduct. We come to expect so much more from Mr Irving that this in its best light, must surely have been an aberation. The unsophisticated layman may be intrigued as the public reviews on this page illustrate, yet to those with any creative ability, it is a big bore. The lemmings on this page not withstanding, this is a very sub par effort from an old master.
Rating:
Summary: not his best, but still good
Review: It took a long time to realize that I couldn't love this book even though I really wanted to, but it's just not as good as his others. He's obviously a wonderful writer, and I still enjoyed it, but I guess I was wishing for something on the level of Cider House Rules or Owen Meany. It has the classic Irving devices (and I for one love his use of italics: they're not overdone or annoying, they truly add to my enjoyment and understanding of his dialogue and descriptions), and the story is interesting enough: I wish I could give it a 10.
Rating:
Summary: A rollicking GREAT tale from the US master
Review: John Irving (with special thanks to his wife Janet who requested a love story) has written a masterpiece! It's the best since Hotel New Hampshire and Cider House Rules. A rollicking great story - full of life and energy and pathos and humor. I'm in love again!
Rating:
Summary: Order It Today!!!
Review: This is an excellent book. I spent every spare minute reading it. Irving is the master of turning every day fears into compelling stories. I've been a fan since Garp.
Rating:
Summary: Another Winner!
Review: Irving's newest entry is not quite as moving as "A Prayer for Owen Meany" but is still an impressive work. He is one of the few writers today that can tell a damn fine story. I was enraptured from the first chapter to the last and would highly recommend it for a long weekend reading session!!
Rating:
Summary: A very good book _ but not Irving's best.
Review: This would be an easy 10 if someone else wrote it _ there are no bad Irving books, only good and better. But this one lacks the unity of "A Prayer for Owen Meany'' or the Garp-like farce of "A Son of the Circus.'' Still, only Irving can pull off this kind of novel _ a tragedy leavened by dozens of comic moments. Nor can anyone else draw characters like Irving _ You can see the 16-year-old Eddie O'Hare in the 53-year-old who closes the book living in a house where he's awakened four times a night by the Long Island Railroad. The flaws? I'm not a fan of books within books and Hannah's a bit of a cliche. Overall _ for someone else, this is a 10. For Irving, just an 8.
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