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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.
emilybeaudry's review against another edition
2.0
I was so happy to finish this book...not because the ending was any good, but just because I can finally be done reading it! Although Irving peppers this book with a few nuggets of insight and even an interesting story line here and there, this book is nothing but a disjointed mess. It's almost as if he collected all of his notes from over the years, mashed them together, made loose connections, and called it a novel.
Not even remotely worth the ridiculous amount of time it took me to get through this novel. Looking forward to whatever I read next - no matter how bad it is, it couldn't be much worse than this.
UPDATED REVIEW: You know what, I'll toss another one star onto my review because I've had some time to be away from this book and ponder its point. I think it was about how people are affected by the absence of something or someone in their life. I don't think Irving did a very good job of explaining this, but I think that's what he was getting at. I actually blame the editors at this point. In any case, don't even bother, it was pretty bad.
Not even remotely worth the ridiculous amount of time it took me to get through this novel. Looking forward to whatever I read next - no matter how bad it is, it couldn't be much worse than this.
UPDATED REVIEW: You know what, I'll toss another one star onto my review because I've had some time to be away from this book and ponder its point. I think it was about how people are affected by the absence of something or someone in their life. I don't think Irving did a very good job of explaining this, but I think that's what he was getting at. I actually blame the editors at this point. In any case, don't even bother, it was pretty bad.
mrnblsblls's review against another edition
3.0
Al acabar-lo m'ha agradat, però me'n esperava una mica més.
És un llibre llarg (la versió que tinc té 745 pàgines) per tant, hi ha temps perquè t'agradi, et sembli lent, no sigui el teu estil i que vulguis que no s'acabi. Així i tot, és un llibre que es queda amb tu i que recordaràs.
És curiós com un llibre del qual esperava molt, però em va decebre una mica i alguns moments se'm van fer incòmodes, m'ha acabat agradant. Noto que he conegut els personatges però en vull saber més.
I llegint les dues últimes frases, pell de gallina.
És un llibre llarg (la versió que tinc té 745 pàgines) per tant, hi ha temps perquè t'agradi, et sembli lent, no sigui el teu estil i que vulguis que no s'acabi. Així i tot, és un llibre que es queda amb tu i que recordaràs.
És curiós com un llibre del qual esperava molt, però em va decebre una mica i alguns moments se'm van fer incòmodes, m'ha acabat agradant. Noto que he conegut els personatges però en vull saber més.
I llegint les dues últimes frases, pell de gallina.
maggiecburns's review
2.0
John Irving is an excellent writer, but I was terribly bored reading this. I gave up towards the end. It took awhile to get through.
mindygough's review
3.0
Welllllllll, hmm. Not sure what to think of this one. I would say it had good bones, but needed a little work here and there. The story was engaging but I didn't connect with any of the characters and found the young man/old woman dynamic creepy. I also found the quoting of Ted's books was jarring and did not add to the story.
casualreader5's review
4.0
My first John Irving read... not my favorite, but I really enjoyed it. A little bit drawn out if you can believe it... very interesting complex story, great character development and some really haunting parts.
andheaventoo's review
3.0
3.5 stars.
There's a reason that I managed to read 500 pages of this... thing without once getting bored DESPITE the fact that I barely gave a shit about the characters. Marion was the most tedious of them all, and IMHO not strong enough to carry the book. Eddie O' Hare and Ruth were great in the sense that they were different but I never really felt attached to them. I can forgive that though because the narrative clips along at a crisp pace, the pacing is damn good and the book ruminates on writers in ways that I, as a writer, liked a lot.
There's a reason that I managed to read 500 pages of this... thing without once getting bored DESPITE the fact that I barely gave a shit about the characters. Marion was the most tedious of them all, and IMHO not strong enough to carry the book. Eddie O' Hare and Ruth were great in the sense that they were different but I never really felt attached to them. I can forgive that though because the narrative clips along at a crisp pace, the pacing is damn good and the book ruminates on writers in ways that I, as a writer, liked a lot.
christik's review
emotional
funny
medium-paced
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident and Child death
jiujensu's review
5.0
A lot of similar recurring themes with World According to Garp. Both have writers as characters and so lots of opinions and pet peeves on novel writing, husbands as housewives, Amsterdam and prostitutes, gory tragedy and loss and practical love vs happier love and contrasted with lust.