Reviews

A Widow for One Year by John Irving

jerseyjulia's review

3.0

I gave this one 3 stars even though I couldn't finish it because the writing was well done and the story idea was interesting. But, no, I couldn't finish it. 100 pages in, I was bored and waiting for the meat of the story to arrive and, since it hadn't, I decided to move on to other books. The POV switched from first-person to omniscient, too, which drove me a little nuts, but the writing itself was polished and highly skilled, so it wasn't all bad, just a little disorienting at times. I even liked the characters, but Irving dedicated a lot of time to meandering thoughts that didn't really go anywhere, and while I'm not the type that needs fast-paced action all the time, I do get a little antsy when I feel like the author is so intent on masturbating while typing that the story falls by the wayside. I'll still pick up another of his books, because a few of them come very highly recommended, so maybe this one was a fluke. Or just not my style.