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3.15 AVERAGE
3.15 AVERAGE
funny
lighthearted
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
This felt like the most contrived of John Irving's books. I found the action not compelling and quite confusing -- it felt to me like an ill-conceived vehicle for a series of flashbacks that might have been more interesting if the story focused on them instead of interspersing them with Juan Diego's fuzzy trip to the Philippines. The classic Irving themes are there, but they felt like callbacks to earlier books, complete with descriptions of Juan Diego's body of work, including "the one about the circus" and "the one about the orphan abortion doctor." The tantalizing sense of autobiography just out of the realm of probability was there, which is something I like about Irving's work, but this one didn't quite work for me.
I think this is one of Irving's best books ever. Laugh out loud funny, timely and touching. I just LOVED it.
I have read a lot of John Irving books, so I did not feel surprised or disappointed by this book the way others seem to feel. As a former Catholic, I empathized with Juan Diego and Lupe in their struggle with the church, its teachings, its rules and its actions. And the inconsistency thereof. John Irvings treatment of society's outcasts, on the other hand, is consistent. His use of language forces us at once to remember and accept without judgement the special nature of the characters. Even in the last moments of the book, Juan Diego is reflected upon as a dump reader and circus kid. I also loves how he borrows the Mexican literary tradition of magical realism and transplants is across the globe to create a more compelling and mysterious story.
Early on, I thought about quitting this book. However, it's been a long time since I didn't finish a book, and I normally love John Irving, so I pressed on and finished. I wish I'd gone with my first instinct to give up on this one.
The story follows the life of Juan Diego, alternating between his childhood growing up in Mexico with his sister as "dump kids" and his present day struggles as an aging man on a trip to the Philippines. I loved the parts of the story about his childhood; I could have done without the present day story altogether. As for the leading women in Juan Diego's life, I loved his spunky sister Lupe but could have again done without the Miriam/Dorothy duo he meets on his present day trip.
John Irving does bring his typical colorful cast of characters and sometimes hilariously ridiculous situations to this book. Perhaps if you're more into deep "meaning of life" novels than simply entertaining good reads, this would be the book for you.
The story follows the life of Juan Diego, alternating between his childhood growing up in Mexico with his sister as "dump kids" and his present day struggles as an aging man on a trip to the Philippines. I loved the parts of the story about his childhood; I could have done without the present day story altogether. As for the leading women in Juan Diego's life, I loved his spunky sister Lupe but could have again done without the Miriam/Dorothy duo he meets on his present day trip.
John Irving does bring his typical colorful cast of characters and sometimes hilariously ridiculous situations to this book. Perhaps if you're more into deep "meaning of life" novels than simply entertaining good reads, this would be the book for you.
John Irving must have read The Power and the Glory recently. Of course the characters are twisted in a way only he could manage and there are his usual tangents to nowhere, but it was a compelling read.
A typical John Irving book. If you generally like his books you'll probably like this one. I generally find his stories too contrived and absurd and loose patience as I did with this one. I gave up after 100ish pages.
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
challenging
hopeful
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
Irving interweaves two stories: one of the protagonist’s early life in the garbage dump outside Oaxaca, the second his adult life as a well-known author. I found the story of his childhood to be interesting and would have kept reading if there was more of it, but I couldn’t relate to the grown-up protagonist, who let two strangers run his life and had both mother and daughter wanting to sleep with him. I abandoned the book at that point.