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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
I suppose it would be that one won’t love all the books one reads in a year. This was my first “bust” of 2014. The book is in three portions, following three segments of our protagonist Ruth’s life. First, when she is four and her mother begins an affair with her husband’s assistant who is 16 years old, Second, when she is mid 30s and contemplating marriage, and Third, when she has been widowed about five years after the wedding. The first segment is the strongest of the three. While I found the affair pretty skeevy, it’s the best written. But I found adult Ruth to be an incomplete person–there were times where I felt her actions or reactions were completely implausible, and I got really sick and tired of the running commentary on her physical appearance. I hate to say it, but the whole thing seemed like a man trying to write a woman and just not getting it.
I read 224 pages of this book and I just could not get into it. The characters were unlikeable and it seemed like a shit ton of drivel about joyless sex and people who are incapable of thinking of anything else. Either the book is utter crap or I just really missed the boat on this one.
I really enjoyed the front half and back half of this book. I found middle was slow and dragged on forever. I only finished because I am stubborn.
I could not get into this book. I always think I can get into John Irving books but I never do. The plots are just too jumbled around and are never interesting.
There's something that I realized about reading john Irving after finishing this book: you need to be able to suspend your disbelief and accept huge coincidences in order to let go and truly enjoy his books. I have accepted this and I do. I was angry at Ruth for what happened to Rooie, felt like she got off too easy, that she let herself off the hook too easily. I'm torn about Marion. On the one hand she lived just a fraction of a life. On the other hand, it was a life of her own making.
I picked this up because I liked the movie A Door in the Floor, and I ended up hating it.
John Irving redeemed himself for me with this book. I was not into Twisted River and worried about jumping into another Irving book so soon, but I was deeply enthralled with Ruth's life. Such an interesting woman who can really care for herself. Her indifference to the fate of her father made me envy her. No regrets. In this day when women are waiting longer to get married and have kids, I think she plays that role well. I also love how Irving intertwines the workings of a writer in his books. It is informative and interesting to know how the process works for some authors.
I could not get into this book at all. It felt like trudging through mud. I loved Owen Meany, but this one was just not for me.