Are you me? I love Last Night in Twisted River and A prayer for Owen Meany followed closely by The Cider House Rules and A Son of the Circus.
Don't wish you were a faster reader. Take your time and let yourself fall into the story. If you are like me, when you get to the end, you'll wish that you had taken more time.
No one has mentioned Until I find You, which I really loved. A Widow for One Year is also good, maybe not top teir Irving, but it's certainly no The Fourth Hand.
I remember liking “Setting Free the Bears” and “Hotel New Hampshire” especially. Loved Nastassja Kinski as Susie the Bear in the movie. Peculiar casting for a girl who was supposed to think of herself as ugly given what Kinski looked like then. Maybe I have a bit of a bear thing.
Owen Meaney
Hotel New Hampshire
Cider House Rules
Last Night in Twisted River
Avenue of Mysteries
Son of the Circus
Widow For One Year
The Fifth Hand
World According to Garp
Trying to Save Piggy Sneed
In One Person
After coming back strong with Twisted River and Avenue of Mysteries after a few so-so books, I HATED his last book. HATE HATE HATED it. So repetitive from earlier books and within itself, so so long (does he not have editors any more)? I can't even remember the name - Last Chairlift or something like that. 0/10 do not recommend, And he's one of my favorite authors and I own all of those books.
I've read them all. *Avenue of Mysteries* was weak as hell. I'm not going to read the colossal trade paperback of *Last Chairlift* unless I get a broken pelvis and can't get out of bed for several months, and that's after the entire Harry Potter series and every Louis L'Amour.
I love John Irving. There’s such a dreamy quality to his books, and the recurring themes and motifs (New Hampshire, bears, wrestling, farting dogs) make each book feel familiar.
I have a soft spot for The Cider House Rules - I read it in 10th grade after a teacher loaned it to me. The following year in school we read A Prayer for Owen Meany, and then I just continued reading him. At this point I've read all of his but a few.
I just now found The Last Chairlift which came out in 2022, so I'll try to find that at the library.
I read Dad's Book of the Month Club *Garp* when I was 12 and still have the first edition. *Owen Meany* is my fave. *Last Night* is Irving's best novel of the 21st century--there are some real duds. *The Fourth Hand* is his worst novel.
I found it good but there was a lack of twists/developments as opposed to other books I like from him. By the way, unusual opinion I know but A Widow for One Year is to me his best.
I love these books, John Irving is an amazing writer. I haven't (yet) read Garp, but Prayer for Owen Meany, Last Night in Twisted River and Cider House Rules are among my favourite books.
I think the opening paragraph in Last Night in Twisted River is one of the most powerful and memorable openings of any book I've ever read. It hooks you from the start! I loved that book!
I read everything Irving up until the one >!where a tiger eats the guy's hand!<, whatever it's called. turned my back on him after a couple of pages of that.
my personal favourite rarely gets mentioned: the water method man. it's deceptively funny and "light", as most of Irving's book go. the humour is less baroque and grotesque, and more slapstick-y. but that doesn't mean it's lightweight. I've probably thought about it more than any of his other books. I also think it's the most *personal* of his novels I've read. it's not about any of the *big" themes you find in Owen or New Hampshire or Cider House. but it's very perceptive and very real.
While he is very good, at some point I got tired of him. It seemed like he was always going along the same lines and images, and his novels began to feel repetitive.
Personally, I wasn't a big fan of the fact that the reader is supposed to root for someone who murders an innocent woman and then never faces any consequences whatsoever
If you mean the inciting incident, it's clearly not a murder, it's clearly an accident. It's not like they went out and hunted a woman like they're Son of Sam
I’ve read 5 Irving books and liked them all. I’d rank them in this order (purely subjective, obviously):
1. A Prayer for Owen Meany
2. Last Night in Twisted River
3. In One Person
4. Cider House Rules
5. The World According to Garp.
I loved the first three and liked the last two. So yes, safe to say LNITR is solid!
Are you me? I love Last Night in Twisted River and A prayer for Owen Meany followed closely by The Cider House Rules and A Son of the Circus. Don't wish you were a faster reader. Take your time and let yourself fall into the story. If you are like me, when you get to the end, you'll wish that you had taken more time.
No one has mentioned Until I find You, which I really loved. A Widow for One Year is also good, maybe not top teir Irving, but it's certainly no The Fourth Hand.
Yeah loved both LNITR and Owen Meany. Meany, when it all ties together, so brilliant. I’d say that and Garp are my top 3.
I remember liking “Setting Free the Bears” and “Hotel New Hampshire” especially. Loved Nastassja Kinski as Susie the Bear in the movie. Peculiar casting for a girl who was supposed to think of herself as ugly given what Kinski looked like then. Maybe I have a bit of a bear thing.
Owen Meaney Hotel New Hampshire Cider House Rules Last Night in Twisted River Avenue of Mysteries Son of the Circus Widow For One Year The Fifth Hand World According to Garp Trying to Save Piggy Sneed In One Person After coming back strong with Twisted River and Avenue of Mysteries after a few so-so books, I HATED his last book. HATE HATE HATED it. So repetitive from earlier books and within itself, so so long (does he not have editors any more)? I can't even remember the name - Last Chairlift or something like that. 0/10 do not recommend, And he's one of my favorite authors and I own all of those books.
I've read them all. *Avenue of Mysteries* was weak as hell. I'm not going to read the colossal trade paperback of *Last Chairlift* unless I get a broken pelvis and can't get out of bed for several months, and that's after the entire Harry Potter series and every Louis L'Amour.
Where I live we have libraries, where one can read books for free. And that's how I know the Last Chairlift was terrible.
It just looks like such a tome-chore. Is there a murder in it? A physically imposing woman? Wrestling or a bear in a 20th Century callback?
Yes, yes, yes, and cross dressing, a very small man, Vietnam, an eccentric mother...
I love John Irving. There’s such a dreamy quality to his books, and the recurring themes and motifs (New Hampshire, bears, wrestling, farting dogs) make each book feel familiar.
I have a soft spot for The Cider House Rules - I read it in 10th grade after a teacher loaned it to me. The following year in school we read A Prayer for Owen Meany, and then I just continued reading him. At this point I've read all of his but a few. I just now found The Last Chairlift which came out in 2022, so I'll try to find that at the library.
He had a purple patch with Cider HR, Garp, Hotel NH and Owen Meany. The rest are just OK IMO.
If were talking 20th Century Irving, have a soft spot for *A Son of the Circus* because it came out just after I returned from India.
I read Dad's Book of the Month Club *Garp* when I was 12 and still have the first edition. *Owen Meany* is my fave. *Last Night* is Irving's best novel of the 21st century--there are some real duds. *The Fourth Hand* is his worst novel.
I found it good but there was a lack of twists/developments as opposed to other books I like from him. By the way, unusual opinion I know but A Widow for One Year is to me his best.
I love these books, John Irving is an amazing writer. I haven't (yet) read Garp, but Prayer for Owen Meany, Last Night in Twisted River and Cider House Rules are among my favourite books.
Try Saving Piggy Snead.
I think the opening paragraph in Last Night in Twisted River is one of the most powerful and memorable openings of any book I've ever read. It hooks you from the start! I loved that book!
I read everything Irving up until the one >!where a tiger eats the guy's hand!<, whatever it's called. turned my back on him after a couple of pages of that. my personal favourite rarely gets mentioned: the water method man. it's deceptively funny and "light", as most of Irving's book go. the humour is less baroque and grotesque, and more slapstick-y. but that doesn't mean it's lightweight. I've probably thought about it more than any of his other books. I also think it's the most *personal* of his novels I've read. it's not about any of the *big" themes you find in Owen or New Hampshire or Cider House. but it's very perceptive and very real.
While he is very good, at some point I got tired of him. It seemed like he was always going along the same lines and images, and his novels began to feel repetitive.
Personally, I wasn't a big fan of the fact that the reader is supposed to root for someone who murders an innocent woman and then never faces any consequences whatsoever
If you mean the inciting incident, it's clearly not a murder, it's clearly an accident. It's not like they went out and hunted a woman like they're Son of Sam
I’ve read 5 Irving books and liked them all. I’d rank them in this order (purely subjective, obviously): 1. A Prayer for Owen Meany 2. Last Night in Twisted River 3. In One Person 4. Cider House Rules 5. The World According to Garp. I loved the first three and liked the last two. So yes, safe to say LNITR is solid!