John Irving

[Maluswold]

My favourite novel is A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving. Really I like most of his books. I mean Cider House Rules and The World According to Garp were absolutely fantastic as well. I could actually list all his books except for two and say the exact same thing. If anyone else has an opinion on his novels I would love to hear. Or if you haven't read any of his work, I would highly recommend it.

[updog]

He's one of my favorite writers too.

[James A. Ritchie]

He's one of the best.

[LMGilbert]

He is an all-time favourite. I especially like the older books, from Setting Free The Bears to Hotel New Hampshire. Prayer for Owen Meany was great too. It's fun to watch recurring themes and images cropping up all the time. My interest has waned though, after Prayer for Owen Meany and Son of the Circus.

[TwoStepCharlie]

I wish I could say I admire him but I can't quite go that far. I think he takes 5,000 words to say something which he could say in 50.

[Carly Berg]

I read and loved several of his earlier books, (A Prayer for Owen Meanie, Cider House Rules, The World According to Garp...) then somehow he fell off my radar. But now I'm in a book club and will be bringing him up for the vote on the next book. Thanks for the mention1

[TwoStepCharlie]

Of course what I just muttered about him was my traditional opinion regarding him, a sort of lukewarm reaction to his career which I've held for a long time. These days though, it's a different situation. I guess I will give him more credit since he's now one of the few competent mainstream authors left who can even write write 5,000 words capably. Regarding him in that sense (with more favourable consideration to his skills) his stuff is light-years above the dribble that competes with him for bestseller status (50Shades, DaVinci Code, Twi-light). Irving still writes legitimate novels rather than franchise schlock. So yeah, if I was stranded somewhere, trapped with only a few paperbacks ready-to-hand, I'd sure want one of his books than one of these other types. He's an intelligent guy with a huge vocabulary and he writes about stuff which is relevant-to-real-life. Credit where credit is due! In my earlier post, I was comparing him to the wide array of authors who had come before him. But really, he is the last of that fine tradition. Is John Updike still alive? Then I'd cite him as well.

[Carly Berg]

As mentioned, I loved The World According to Garp, Hotel New Hamphire, Cider House Rules, and A Prayer for Owen Meany. I just read his newest novel, Avenue of Mysteries, and wasn't as crazy about it. It goes back and forth between the present and decades ago in the main character's life and has so much religious symbolism that it feels way overdone to me. Unlike his earlier novels, it seems to meander quite a bit. I now have a stack of his other books that I haven't read so I'll probably post more updates.