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3.86 AVERAGE
3.86 AVERAGE
2.5 stars? I was all-in on this book when I started it. A lovely beginning! Interesting characters, interesting premise, solid looking-back narrator. Terrific. Then Irving ruined it, like a handsome man who opens his mouth only to reveal a bit of a jackass. Not that Irving is an ass, but he writes about rape like a man, and he writes about sibling love/lust like someone who’s seen it in porn and thought it appealing.
So, the rape scene was cringy, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. I wrestled with it. However, turned the raped-girl into someone in love with her rapists - for YEARS - and, given this character is the character who is the strongest, most self-assured and confident of the group, she becomes more of a convenient caricature than a person. The, when Irving kills off the the other tragic female character who also was written as aloof and strong, it just seemed unbelievable to me - it lacked a kind of truth of people in favor of drama. It was unearned drama. I felt nothing for these characters and nearly stopped reading when the raped-girl has sex with her brother. So, this is the book that has made me lose all desire to ever read Irving again. A pity, as I did like The Cider House Rules (of course, I read that years ago and wonder if I’d like it as much now as he tends to create and then flatten his characters).
So, the rape scene was cringy, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. I wrestled with it. However, turned the raped-girl into someone in love with her rapists - for YEARS - and, given this character is the character who is the strongest, most self-assured and confident of the group, she becomes more of a convenient caricature than a person. The, when Irving kills off the the other tragic female character who also was written as aloof and strong, it just seemed unbelievable to me - it lacked a kind of truth of people in favor of drama. It was unearned drama. I felt nothing for these characters and nearly stopped reading when the raped-girl has sex with her brother. So, this is the book that has made me lose all desire to ever read Irving again. A pity, as I did like The Cider House Rules (of course, I read that years ago and wonder if I’d like it as much now as he tends to create and then flatten his characters).
"... I think the shape of death is always startling to us -- it is meant to be startling -- and not even proper anticipation can prepare us enough for it."
My latest John Irving, The Hotel New Hampshire, is unlike anything I have ever read. I seem to have a bit of a theme going lately. Many of my choices have been strange. The Hotel New Hampshire is certainly in this category. It starts out weird and the weirdness just continues to the end. You rarely see anything coming (which I appreciate more and more as I get older.) And Irving definitely goes there, goes for it, and we are along for the ride -- or not.
John Berry is our chronicler. He takes us on the journey that is his life growing up as the middle child of an eccentric family of mother, father, 5 children, and paternal grandfather. The family ultimately becomes hoteliers, living in New Hampshire, then Vienna, a short stint in New York, then coming full circle back to New Hampshire. Every character is quirkily off-beat, including friends and family; acquaintances and strangers.
There are recurring themes in Irving’s novels: bears, wrestling, prostitution, Vienna. The Hotel New Hampshire contains them all -- and it’s an odd list. But, he tells this strange story in such a reasonable, compassionate way that it becomes normal for this eccentric family. He philosophically tackles the huge subjects of rape, incest, post-traumatic stress, religion, anti semitism, terrorism, and suicide that is not the usual experience of every family. (I don’t want to come across as prudish or judgmental but I really had to stifle my inner voice when the inappropriate closeness of two characters is continuously touched on and then becomes an integral part of the narrative. This was very uncomfortable for me and I had to stop reading at one point. I then had to make the difficult choice to continue or not. I ultimately decided that the nature of a book is to force us outside of our comfort zones. Like life, where experiences are not always happy, you can’t read only positive things. Sometimes stories make you recoil.) Irving continually calls the Berry family story a fairy tale but it is certainly a dark one. On second thought, fairy tales are meant to be dark. There really isn’t a happily ever after. Not in any family. We must take the good with the bad. "'Human beings are remarkable -- at what we can learn to live with,' Father told me. 'If we couldn't get strong from what we lose, and what we miss, and what we want and can't have,' Father said, 'then we couldn't ever get strong enough, could we? What else makes us strong?'"
The Hotel New Hampshire made me think, made me laugh, made me cry, made me cringe, and made me angry. At times I was incredulous but I had to put aside my conventions and come to terms with what Irving is saying (all with superb writing.) And that is the mark of a great story … but unique … and very strange … and dark … and cringey -- we can’t forget that.
My latest John Irving, The Hotel New Hampshire, is unlike anything I have ever read. I seem to have a bit of a theme going lately. Many of my choices have been strange. The Hotel New Hampshire is certainly in this category. It starts out weird and the weirdness just continues to the end. You rarely see anything coming (which I appreciate more and more as I get older.) And Irving definitely goes there, goes for it, and we are along for the ride -- or not.
John Berry is our chronicler. He takes us on the journey that is his life growing up as the middle child of an eccentric family of mother, father, 5 children, and paternal grandfather. The family ultimately becomes hoteliers, living in New Hampshire, then Vienna, a short stint in New York, then coming full circle back to New Hampshire. Every character is quirkily off-beat, including friends and family; acquaintances and strangers.
There are recurring themes in Irving’s novels: bears, wrestling, prostitution, Vienna. The Hotel New Hampshire contains them all -- and it’s an odd list. But, he tells this strange story in such a reasonable, compassionate way that it becomes normal for this eccentric family. He philosophically tackles the huge subjects of rape, incest, post-traumatic stress, religion, anti semitism, terrorism, and suicide that is not the usual experience of every family. (I don’t want to come across as prudish or judgmental but I really had to stifle my inner voice when the inappropriate closeness of two characters is continuously touched on and then becomes an integral part of the narrative. This was very uncomfortable for me and I had to stop reading at one point. I then had to make the difficult choice to continue or not. I ultimately decided that the nature of a book is to force us outside of our comfort zones. Like life, where experiences are not always happy, you can’t read only positive things. Sometimes stories make you recoil.) Irving continually calls the Berry family story a fairy tale but it is certainly a dark one. On second thought, fairy tales are meant to be dark. There really isn’t a happily ever after. Not in any family. We must take the good with the bad. "'Human beings are remarkable -- at what we can learn to live with,' Father told me. 'If we couldn't get strong from what we lose, and what we miss, and what we want and can't have,' Father said, 'then we couldn't ever get strong enough, could we? What else makes us strong?'"
The Hotel New Hampshire made me think, made me laugh, made me cry, made me cringe, and made me angry. At times I was incredulous but I had to put aside my conventions and come to terms with what Irving is saying (all with superb writing.) And that is the mark of a great story … but unique … and very strange … and dark … and cringey -- we can’t forget that.
Really good story. It has some difficult subject matter, but what John Irving book doesn't? ;)
dark
emotional
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
a pretty dark book with some disturbing moments, but a fascinating story
Late to the party with this one, but Irving and his quirky,weird family of oddness slowly sucks you in and takes you away. Classic Irving and that's a good thing ! Warm hearted and tender even if sexually charged and filled with the walking wounded throughout, it´s the goodness and sweetness of the group that drives the book forward. Lovely book - solid 4 stars. Revised to 5 stars !Too few books like this !
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
Playful prose and economic exposition made my time in The Hotel New Hampshire fly by. Irving’s blend of madcap and misfortune makes for a brand of tragicomedy that’s wholly his own.
I thought it would never be over. I don't really know how to rate this book... I didn't enjoy it at all, but somehow I feel it wasn't so much the book's fault as that it just wasn't for me. I think it was well-written (although many aspects were terribly repetitive, to me), and I did actually care for the characters. It was just so tiresome and grim. I really don't get how so many reviews call it "joyful" - uh, what?
sorrow floats.
i also wrote a song called "SMART BEAR".
this is one of Irving's best, i think (i've read almost all of 'em, too).
i also wrote a song called "SMART BEAR".
this is one of Irving's best, i think (i've read almost all of 'em, too).