A review by heidibrianne
A Widow for One Year by John Irving

2.0

I'd have to agree with some of the other reviews of this novel that the first section of "A Widow For One Year" is the most cohesive and moving. This is probably the reason it was the basis for the movie "The Door In the Floor," starring Jeff Bridges and Kim Basinger, which I had seen and enjoyed several years ago. This is the first John Irving novel I've read, although I've seen the other two notable adaptions of his books, "The World According To Garp" (which I loved) and "Cider House Rules" (which I was indifferent to). My conclusion is that Irving is hit and miss. The latter sections of "A Widow For One Year," about 3/4 of the book, become increasingly far-fetched and mildly grating. Also, the seemingly endless self-referencing to writing and authors is overkill. Had Irving written a novella rather than a long novel and simply stuck with the first 1/4 of this book, it would have been far more successful. It's rare but in this case Hollywod got it right with their pared down adaption.