The 158-Pound Marriage

Rating:
Summary: Really good (but not his best)...
Review: This book is very interesting. It is both funny and tragic. Irving does a wonderful job at including some history and dramatic discriptions of other lands while looking at family dynamics. He explores the many dynamics of romantic relationships: marriage, lovers, swinging, monogomy, betrail, bitterness love are just a few. It will make you look at your own relationship, be happy you have it, as you connect to the main couple's charaters.

Rating:
Summary: Really good (but not his best)...
Review: This book is very interesting. It is both funny and tragic. Irving does a wonderful job at including some history and dramatic discriptions of other lands while looking at family dynamics. He explores the many dynamics of romantic relationships: marriage, lovers, swinging, monogomy, betrail, bitterness love are just a few. It will make you look at your own relationship, be happy you have it, as you connect to the main couple's charaters.

Rating:
Summary: Early works of Mr. Irving
Review: This book was written early on in Mr.Irvings career. It has those wonderful, quirky, little off center character,so carefully developed. It's no Owen Meany, but it is still a wonderful read.

Rating:
Summary: Early works of Mr. Irving
Review: This book was written early on in Mr.Irvings career. It has those wonderful, quirky, little off center character,so carefully developed. It's no Owen Meany, but it is still a wonderful read.

Rating:
Summary: I do not understand why they need dire action to like a book
Review: This is his third novel, and as critics say, all his first four novels may be considered as one huge project. Each of the first three concentrates on some aspect of life, while in "The World According to Garp" these themes are unified. "Marriage" is all about envy and consequences of letting oneself free with desire. Even if everyone seems to accept excursions outside of marriage, the participants are bound to fail later on, no matter what happens in the early stage. Joy and apparent gain is temporary, while the loss and damage is of long term character.

Rating:
Summary: Typical Irving
Review: This was a typical John Irving read, though there seemed to be a lot more sex in this book than others I've read. The plot centres on two couples that are each having some measure of marital problems. They embark on a special relationship, that's all I can say without giving away the plot. I doubt that it was the point of the book, but Irving doesn't come close to capturing the complexities of marriage. It's a light read about some people who get into a lot of twists and turns because of some of the mistakes that each couple has made in their marriage. It's written from the point of view from one of the men, a writer, and he's a very odd person.