of all the irving that i have read (and that is pretty darn close to all of it), this is my favorite.

the story is so incredibly epic, and the characters are so very real, described in such detail that i feel like i know them from having read the book.

superb.

DNF at 7%. This is one of those books that rambles on and on about everything and everyone the author can think of. Bored.

After John Irving was as in town recently I became more interested in reading more of his novels. This story has a plot and there was one storyline I especially wanted to see to the end. It’s just the entire story is fraught with weird sex stuff. I thought we had got through it and then there would be another weird sex thing. Why does he feel compelled to include weird sec stuff in his stories?

Difficult to read. I loved Garp & Cider House Rules, which seems to be a general consensus for the majority of Irving's readers, but this book did not hit the same note with me that those two did. It didn't even read like it was written by him. Some aspects of the book were interesting, and I quite like them, such as Ted Cole's stories for children & the way that he told his stories. I also liked following Harry for the short time we knew him before he actually met Ruth. What I didn't like, except for the entirety of the red light district section, was the middle of the novel. It was hard to get through; I simply didn't care about Ruth or Hannah or even Eddie. It was nothing to do with a "recycled theme", it was that Irving's characters weren't rich and full of life in this novel like they usually are. They all seemed like vapid characters, difficult to know and understand and it was hard to see what they could be like.

What I did find interesting were the responses that Ruth received about her novels, particularly on the issues of childbirth and abortion -- that she had never had a child, been pregnant or had an abortion so how would she know what it was like? Clearly, Irving has been criticized for these same reasons (particularly regarding The Cider House Rules) and perhaps this was his thinly veiled retort.

"There was the mouse-crawling-between-the-walls sort of sound, and the sound-like-someone-trying-not-to-make-a-sound sort of sound, and the whole range of sounds between those sounds -- the-opening-of-the-door-in-the-floor sort of sound, and the absence of sound that the moleman made when he held his breath."

My friend told me about John Irving many, many, many years ago. He is his favourite author. I love reading people's favourite authors. They are normally their favourite for a reason. I finally read A Prayer for Owen Meany about 6 years ago. I absolutely loved it. It is one of my favourite books. I think the story is perfection. I immediately emailed my friend to thank him for telling me about Irving and apologized for waiting so long to delve into his stories. I couldn't wait to read another.

6 years later, I am finally picking up another book by John Irving. Again, why did I wait so long? It's complicated, like all things that you immediately fall in love with. Was it a fluke? Will I be totally disappointed? Will it ever compare to the first time?

A Widow for One Year, in a nutshell, is a story about Ruth Cole and her family. We meet her when she is 4 years old and then again as an adult. She is the child her parents had while they are still grieving for their two sons who had died in a car accident 10 years before. Ted is a famous children's book author. He is also a womanizer and drinker, among other things I will not elaborate on. Marion is his beautiful, inconsolable wife who has hung pictures all over the house of her lost sons. Marion will not allow herself to love Ruth for fear of losing her too. What happens when Ruth is 4-years-old will shape the rest of her life.

There are things I hated about this book. It wasn't the perfect story of Owen Meany. (Number one being the character of Hannah, Ruth's so-called best friend. I won't spoil anything by getting into details but really? Really??!! Let's just say no redeeming qualities whatsoever. At all. Did I mention, !!HATE HER!!, and not in the love-to-hate-her way either. Rather in the I-can't-wait-to-see-her-get-her-comeuppance sort of way.) Fortunately, there are many more things I loved about this novel. I was immersed in the Cole's story from the beginning, which for me is the mark of a great tale. The writing is excellent, there is suspense, there are creepy, spooky, scary bits, there are funny bits, there are books-within-books, there is undying love.

I can see why Irving is my friend John's favourite. I look forward to delving into another one and I'll try not to wait 6 years 😉

Great story but the end is tough.

I have not read a John Irving novel in years. Now I am wondering why. Great well developed cast of characters put in to very funny, witty and sad situations. You cared about them and what would happen next.

What I remember most about this book it never to turn the steering wheel until after the light turns green.

It was just ok...I didn't really like any of the main characters, and the first half of the book was much better than the second half.

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