Rating: 
Summary: a masterpiece of multi-layering
Review: To emulate a memorable character from a novel written by one of John Irving's favorite authors..."Does one 'sniff' a hint of Robertson Davies's multilayering of plot? Perhaps a bit of Buechner's comedic wit? I believe so."Now, with that said, I'll just come out and say what I feel--"The Water-Method Man" is an often grotesque, but consistently hilarious book. Rarely do I laugh audibly while reading a novel. I did so a lot while reading "The Water-Method Man." In "The Water-Method Man" (his second novel) Irving made a gigantic leap in plot complexity from his first novel, "Setting Free the Bears" (also a favorite of mine). "Bears" had largely a tripartite soul as far as its plot went--nice and neat. "The Water-Method Man" is a masterpiece of nonlinear, multi-plotline story telling. Again, more than anything, this book is FUNNY (yep...all caps funny). Even the chapter headings are humorous. A few examples: "Prelude to the Last Stand"; "One Long Mother of a Day"; Slouching Towards Overturf" "Another Dante, A Different Hell." The characters of "The Water-Method Man" really do come to life. Biggie, Couth, Dante, Arnold Mulcahy and Tulpen will all stick in the reader's mind for a long time to come. The Trumper--Thump-Thump--Fred--Bogus character is hard not to like even at his most despicable. This could almost be a parable about the kind of trouble we humans seem to get into without fail when we have no real help outside of ourselves. The character of Merrill Overturf is sure to strike a cord with anyone who has ever been a little "off" in their formative years. I found him the most humorous of all the characters, almost a Platonic ideal of humor. The subplots of Akthelt and Gunnel (an old low Norse epic poem Trumper is translating throughout most of the book) and the movie Packer makes of Thump-Thump's life (the title of which I will not mention here) are both ingenious literary devices. They also provide consistent comic relief (bottled insanity) from the more toned down comedy. While I cannot endorse the vulgarity of some of this book, I am indeed glad I read it. It has helped me to see from a perspective (in some cases mind you--other stuff here is just plain bizarre--never been through it) that I once saw the world from. It is always useful to look back. For whatever it is worth, I just thought I'd share my thoughts on the book with you. This is one of the funniest books you'll ever get for your money. But strange.
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