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colorfulleo92's review against another edition
1.0
Well this was disappointing, don't know why I had such high hopes on this as I've only given his books three stars at the moment. The story wasn't interestingly at all and the characters was terrible written. I had bought this and another one of his books on a flea market so might give him a 4th and last try
nferre's review against another edition
3.0
I always feel like I'm supposed to like John Irving more than I actually do. This book was interesting and I'm glad I read it, but maybe just not my style.
amberhayward's review against another edition
3.0
Standard John Irving. Faults, fate, people losing a body part, the northeast, dysfunction. Modern American literature at its finest.
diannaobrien's review against another edition
3.0
It shouldn't really be on my Amsterdam/Arnhem/Cologne/Hamburg/Cologne shelf, because only one small section is set in Amsterdam. But it's an interesting book, a page turner. I wouldn't actually say I enjoyed the book because the characters all seem very surface, and that's too bad because there's a lot to work with here. For example, Ruth is abandoned by her mother at 4, but the book never explores everything that would mean. For example, it notes continually that she's angry about that, but it never ties together the fact of how she never trusts because of her family and her father, the fact that she doesn't even consider marrying until she's in her late 30s and that her only friend is a women she can't trust. That's the EFFECT of events, but none of this or anything else like this is explored in the book.
But I'll give John Irving credit, he's a word smith and I couldn't not read the book, although it is basically a sex drenched mystery, it suffers from the lack of exploring the characters.
But I'll give John Irving credit, he's a word smith and I couldn't not read the book, although it is basically a sex drenched mystery, it suffers from the lack of exploring the characters.
rizoo's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
aaronlindsey's review against another edition
4.0
A lot of characters to keep up with, but the plot held strong.
zhzhang's review against another edition
4.0
It is hard to write about a whole life of a person, yet writing some parts of it, it is already very extraordinary.
rebeccarennerfl's review against another edition
3.0
In a nutshell: a book by a writer, about writers who write about writers.
Or:
Of John Irving's books, this is definitely a solid midlister.
Despite my snark, I did enjoy it.
Or:
Of John Irving's books, this is definitely a solid midlister.
Despite my snark, I did enjoy it.