Scan barcode
ninyai's review against another edition
1.0
I don't know how and where I still got the motivation to finish this book! One of the books I just had to finish but didn't want to finish (I just picked it up from the library display). The story was about a disabled Mexican writer who went to the Philippines to visit a cemetery for a friend. He ended up having prostitutes by his side (ironic since his mother was one) almost all of the time who gave him their services which he enjoyed. I don't how the author was able to combine so much religion (Catholicism) with so much intercourse information and how he managed to mix it together. So much involving sacrilege. The story is so long. 1 chapter is equivalent to 3 chapters in a normal book.
shadowwolf1978's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
meaghandesigns's review
4.0
Ah eh John Irving is still better than most books. Kept me questioning and speculating.
revrebeccatankersley's review against another edition
5.0
Before beginning any John Irving novel, I make sure I have a few hours for uninterrupted reading. It takes a while to get into one, but that’s because Irving knows well how to develop characters. By the time the book’s ended, I’ve had all the feelings and don’t know what to do next with myself.
Avenue of Mysteries didn’t disappoint!
Avenue of Mysteries didn’t disappoint!
jfaberrit's review against another edition
4.0
This is, as expected, a John Irving book. It's a long, shaggy dog story with some memorably bizarre characters, a lot of funny set pieces, some occasinal insight into the human condition, and a lot of weirdness. It's certainly not his best (Cider House Rules, Garp), or even the best of his slightly more recent stuff (Widow for a year, Twisted river), but it's fun, and his knack for weird imagery remains intact. The characters' tics are more amusing than annoying, and the main ones are all well drawn (in some ways Juan Diego, the central character, is basically there to reflect them as he is something of a cipher throughout). Like I said, it's a John Irving book.
sjrenfroe's review against another edition
5.0
And now I’m crying on a train between La Spezia and Rome because of this damned book.
It took me long enough to actually like the thing ~ Irving’s writing style took some getting used to. I picked up this book in a shop in Voss, Norway on the tiny English novels shelf, and soon after opening it became skeptial. Irving wrote very differently than I think. His sentences were abrupt and truthful, peeling back all layers of his characters’ personalities until I read only the essentials. I didn’t like this at first. I felt like the light-heartedness was gone and had left only the barest heartbeat of life. It was far too human for my taste.
But what does that mean, really?
Irving described two sides of Juan Diego’s life ~ his childhood and his adulthood. These blended more and more until the moments separating them were hard to identify. I adored Juan Diego’s childhood self and found his adult self distasteful ~ as a child, the boy experienced life innocently and with hope, yet as an adult his thoughts revolved mainly around sex and writing. I found this depiction of childhood versus adulthood frightening ~ I didn’t want it to be anything near true.
The point was, I think, to slowly show the reader that the child is the adult, and vice versa ~ it is far too easy to judge someone in passing based on who they are in that moment when there is, of course, an entire story behind them. The context is always a story. The wonder of this book is that it could have been written about anyone, it could have described anyone’s life, and it would have still made me cry on this train.
By the end of the book I had fully realized that Irving had created a love potion with his words I’d unknowingly drunk through absorption of language. I was enraptured and in love, although I somewhat resented my encapturement.
I in turns hated and loved this book. Bottom line: it bared its soul and, through this, touched me deeply.
It took me long enough to actually like the thing ~ Irving’s writing style took some getting used to. I picked up this book in a shop in Voss, Norway on the tiny English novels shelf, and soon after opening it became skeptial. Irving wrote very differently than I think. His sentences were abrupt and truthful, peeling back all layers of his characters’ personalities until I read only the essentials. I didn’t like this at first. I felt like the light-heartedness was gone and had left only the barest heartbeat of life. It was far too human for my taste.
But what does that mean, really?
Irving described two sides of Juan Diego’s life ~ his childhood and his adulthood. These blended more and more until the moments separating them were hard to identify. I adored Juan Diego’s childhood self and found his adult self distasteful ~ as a child, the boy experienced life innocently and with hope, yet as an adult his thoughts revolved mainly around sex and writing. I found this depiction of childhood versus adulthood frightening ~ I didn’t want it to be anything near true.
The point was, I think, to slowly show the reader that the child is the adult, and vice versa ~ it is far too easy to judge someone in passing based on who they are in that moment when there is, of course, an entire story behind them. The context is always a story. The wonder of this book is that it could have been written about anyone, it could have described anyone’s life, and it would have still made me cry on this train.
By the end of the book I had fully realized that Irving had created a love potion with his words I’d unknowingly drunk through absorption of language. I was enraptured and in love, although I somewhat resented my encapturement.
I in turns hated and loved this book. Bottom line: it bared its soul and, through this, touched me deeply.
reading_ani's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I feel so bad rating this book so low, but unfortunately, I really didn't like it and I'm pretty sure if I hadn't bought and listened to the audiobook additionally to the physical book after a couple of pages, I probably never would have finished it. I really liked the premise and was looking forward to reading it, as I haven't read an Irving book in quite some time, but this... just wasn't it. At first, I enjoyed the book, but once the protagonist lands in the Philippines and the mother and daughter start being a giant part of the story, I got so incredibly bored by it and just couldn't wait for it to be over. I assume Irving was at least partially influenced by his own experiences when traveling somewhere to promote his books, but this book took such an abrupt nosedive into boredom that I truly wished he had simply told the story of their lives until they came of age and maybe that he wrote books, and that's it. All the rest felt like a massive attempt of showing that people over a certain age are still sexually desirable (which of course they are), but it felt like way too much. Like he was trying too hard to prove a point, which he really didn't have to. Usually all of Irving's books speak -highly- for themselves. There were a couple nods/Easter Eggs to some of Irving's other books, like "The Watermethod Man", and that was nice, but all in all, I just couldn't really be bothered and/or interested to finish it. I only did so, because I usually really like Irving's books and really hoped that it would get better at some point, which it unfortunately didn't.
ninasbooks57's review against another edition
I just could not get into this book. I liked some of the author’s previous books but this was so slow and without hope of improvement! The whole storyline made me really really want to read it- to like it but I couldn’t connect with any of the characters. The mother/daughter thing is just wrong. Sorry Mr Irving- this just couldn’t cut it.