Reviews

The Last Chairlift by John Irving

corvin45's review against another edition

adventurous inspiring reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

adrionmacaron's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

bibliotequeish's review against another edition

4.0

The life story of Adam. Born out of wedlock, to his ski instructors mother, Adam did not know who his father was. In his life he will meet many people and those people will shape his life.
This book started off slow. It was daunting because it is over 900 pages and the first couple of chapters did not draw me in. I wondered if it was worth it.
If you start this book and feel that was, stick with it.
This story is worth it and once it gets going it does not stop.

biodesert's review against another edition

Classic Irving themes, but boring—book needed editing. 

neaful's review

mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

1.0

I love Irving and am a downhill ski racer, but this is the same Irving over and over again. It was a tedious slog to read.  And  I love skiing.  

audra_spiven's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

2.75

sometimes_iread's review against another edition

challenging mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I think each time I talk about this book, I comment on its chonkiness. I’m sorry, but it really is huge! The one and only time I tried to bring it out to read on my commute, I nearly pulled a muscle in my fingers trying to hold it and reading it after I broke my arm was completely out of the question. Woes of a chonky book reader.

Anyway, The Last Chairlift by John Irving was an experience to say the least. I felt as if I had lived a few lives along with the characters. This is my first Irving read, so this might be new to only me, but the meandering nature of the narration took me by surprise. In fact, the entire book is pretty tangential to its blurb, yet that mere fact is so quintessential of it. 

The Last Chairlift follows Adam, son of a ski enthusiast, a part of a very unconventional yet loving family, and a jellyfish floating along life’s current. I don’t think I’ve read this many pages detailing the life of such a drifter who doesn’t even have a funny bone to redeem him. Yet, I was invested in his life because of all the colourful characters in his family. Perhaps that is the whole point, that we are who we are because of our family, by birth or found. It is those around us, how they view us, how they interact with us, how they shape us, that makes us us. Irving explores this by delving deeply into Adam’s history and his family without really telling us who Adam is as a person. All we hear are the opinions that others share with Adam of himself and him agreeing with them and taking it on as his defining traits. Conversely, can we ever truly know ourselves? Or do we merely take on an amalgamation of others’ views of ourselves? Kind of a downer but interesting nevertheless. 

That was pretty much how the book was for me, but I’m not doing it justice, because it grew on me, it really did. Whether it was Nora and her abrasive tenderness or Mr Elliott and his wisdom from being so markedly different or even this family’s tendency to look for similar looking partners, it all grew on me till I didn’t want it to end. Will this spur me to read another Irving? I’m not sure, but I do know that I would be open to such a possibility if I ever stumble on one.

Diversity meter:

Unconventional family

amydiscenza's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

paolo_di_anversa's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

isabeldelpha's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

mr irving we all appreciate that you support the lgbtqia community but for the love of god did this HAVE to be 900 pages??? i’ll allow it just this once because finishing this made me feel just the right amount of empty inside