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aks_maine's review against another edition
4.0
I had a hard time determining if I actually liked this book, or if my enjoyment simply came from the fact that A Widow For One Year is EONS better than the last John Irving book that I read (Until I Find You). Thinking it over, I have decided that I actually really liked the story. It was nowhere near Hotel NH, Owen Meany, Garp, or Cider House Rules, but I really enjoyed the characters and the plot line. The first section is the strongest part of the book, but it's worth it to see how the rest of the life comes together. One thing that I found interesting was that the primary main character (that sounds redundant, but it makes sense - I swear) was a woman, which goes from JI's usual style of having the focus be on a man. He wrote it well and had some really strong characters. Not a classic, but very good none the less.
renatasnacks's review against another edition
3.0
I liked this, but not as much as I liked [book:A Prayer for Owen Meany]. Here are some reasons I liked it less, I think: more cleverly self-aware, which I usually like, but somehow not here; less likeable characters, I suppose?; while being more self-aware (a lot of writing about writing about writing...) also being less believable, to me.
BUT STILL: I like John Irving's prose, and even though I found myself liking the characters less than those in Owen Meany, I still did care for them.
BUT STILL: I like John Irving's prose, and even though I found myself liking the characters less than those in Owen Meany, I still did care for them.
balise's review
5.0
This is mostly the story of four characters, Ted Cole, Marion Cole, their daughter Ruth Cole, and Eddie O'Hare, who's been hired as Ted's assistant/chauffeur as Ruth is 4 years old. The story happens at three different stages: when Ruth is 4, 36 and 41 years old, respectively. The first part is more Eddie's story, the last two are more Ruth's story. There's just enough improbability, it's rather funny, sometimes disturbing - it's not my favorite Irving (because that would be Cider House Rules, obviously), but it's still Irving. Weirdly enough, I had read this one a few years ago, a lot of details came back to me while I was reading, but the main story had completely eluded me.
writerlytype's review
I love many other John Irving books but not this one. I admit it has been decades since I last read something of his but I had fond memories of being swept up by Owen Meany in college and thought perhaps one of his novels would be a good kickstart for my 20 in 2020 challenge. But this particular novel has not aged well. And my tastes have definitely changed.
vanities's review
2.0
I expected more after reading garp but this book is pretty boring. A lot of randomness and nonsense that isn't even entertaining. The size of Ruths breast are apparently a huge importance to this story. As i did while reading garp I wondered who was the main character of this book. I think it's ruth's tits.
jeenwheetson's review
1.0
What a terrible book. This book has nearly ruined John Irving for me. When you commit to read 500 pages, you hope you can trust the author to actually take you somewhere. This was one rambling side story after another, mostly thinly veiled journal entries about the role of personal experience in writing fiction. An actual book about writing would have been much more engaging. There is tragedy and sexual deviance and sprawling intergenerational tales set in New England just like usual with Irving, but they're all a mess, they don't fit together at all. I've only read about half of Irving's books, but I'm afraid I've already covered all the good ones.
lola425's review
4.0
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.
thrifty_librarian's review
4.0
I finished this one today. It was long, but I really enjoyed the uniqueness of it. So much goes on through the course of the book, and each character experiences a ton. I like that it's all action-based; despite how long it is, there's not a lot of summary.
I didn't really LIKE any of the characters, except Eduardo, who only had a bit part. And the first section is so dramatic and real, then afterwards everyone turns two-dimensional and just sort of drifts along.
I thought it was cool that Irving showed "samples" of the characters' writing, though I was bored by the long descriptions of it.
More than anything, I appreciate the sheer imagination behind this. I'd definitely read more by Irving.
I didn't really LIKE any of the characters, except Eduardo, who only had a bit part. And the first section is so dramatic and real, then afterwards everyone turns two-dimensional and just sort of drifts along.
I thought it was cool that Irving showed "samples" of the characters' writing, though I was bored by the long descriptions of it.
More than anything, I appreciate the sheer imagination behind this. I'd definitely read more by Irving.