Have all of us read something by John Irving?

[catbert836]

If not, I highly recommend "A Prayer for Owen Meany" or "The World According to Garp". Awesome books.

[XanaDUer]

1. TWATG was one of my all-time fave books

I must have read it 100 times in HS.

[Skinner]

2. "A Prayer for Owen Meany"

Quite possibly the best book ever.

[Nostradammit]

6. What He Said!!!

Can't recommend that book highly enough. Just tremendous.

[derbstyron]

7. I agree

Irving is always interesting and quite often good.
But the excellence of Meany defies desciption.

[RetroLounge]

24. Damn, I just picked up a copy of this and didn't keep it.

I put it online and it sold in like, 2 days...

Next copy, I keep and read.

RL

[MuseRider]

3. Love them both

but I think GARP will always be one of my all time favorites.

[Philostopher]

4. I think I've read just about everything of his up through

'A Widow for One Year.'

I see he has another one out, I guess I should check the library and see if they've got it -- our local library system got a levy passed a couple of years ago, they've been able to return to their normal hours, and they've kept most of the 'up east liberal' authors on the shelves, so they've probably got it.

Have you read 'The Fourth Hand' yet? Is it worth reading? I was a little disappointed by 'Widow' -- it read a lot like a contractual obligation book, or like he was rushed.

On edit -- Cider House Rules was one of my favorites of his, just for the record.

[Zen Democrat]

5. "A Prayer For Owen Meany" blew me away.

I bought about 8 or 9 copies to give to friends and family. It is simply stunning.

[Don Claybrook]

8. I think I've read all of his books

...except for that Setting the Bears Free book. I, too, like Owen Meany, but Cider House Rules and The World According to Garp are somewhere way up on the list too.

[wildeyed]

9. I have read 'A Prayer for Owen Meany'

at least three times. Definitely on my all time favorites list. Also liked Cider House Rules. Not crazy about the recent one, the Widow book.

[Gato Moteado]

10. the opening line in "a prayer for owen meany"......

...is so good that after you read it you won't be able to put the book down until it's finished. irving's best, in my opinion.

[politicat]

11. Love Garp and Cider House Rules...

But I don't like T.S. Garp - I like most of the other characters, but Garp doesn't resonate with me.

I did not like The 4th Hand or Widow for One Year.

He's hit or miss with me.

Pcat

[catbert836]

12. Try "A Prayer for Owen Meany"

Like Skinner, said, its possibly the best book of all tme. I swear, once you read the first sentence, you won't be able to put it down.

[Parrcrow]

13. gotta love A Prayer for Owen Meany

I really enjoy The Hotel New Hampshire as well.

[HarrietBrown]

14. I loved Owen Meany and Cider House Rules. Haven't read some of his newer

books, but years ago after a spell of reading only women's novels (Margaret Drabble, Joyce Carol Oats, and some other favorites), something tempted me to read Irving, and I devoured every book I could right in a row. I'm grateful for this thread--I am going to go back and read Owen Meany again--been meaning to do that for years now.

[Paladin]

15. Try "A Widow For One Year"

It's right up there with "Garp" and "Owen Meany."

[skypilot]

16. Cider House Rules...

...A Prayer for Owen Meaney, Water Method Man.

Cider House Rules is one of my favorite novels ever. The movie was a big disappointment, especially since the character Melony was removed.

[demily]

17. ditto

On "The Water Method Man". Probably his best main character and his best ending.

[saltpoint]

18. That armadillo. The mannequin. The search for the lost father.

All of it.

Irving's most casual sentences just gleam. He talks about the white trees in the campus commons and describes them as "the bones of the alumni."

The book is full of sentences like that.

He's tops.

[RebelOne]

19. "The Painted House" was a good read. n/t

[JitterbugPerfume]

20. I read Garp years ago

and I really loved it, but I haven't read anything else by him .

To many books , to little time

[MaineDem]

21. "Hotel New Hampshire" and "Garp"

HNH was one weird book. A bear in Vienna! :D

[freesqueeze]

22. Widow for One Year

Wouldn't recommend it.

Garp...about 30 years ago. I remember laughing....

[teamster633]

23. His most recent novel is "Until I Find You".

It's pretty long, but if you like Irving, it's a good read.

[Iris]

25. Just read "The Fourth Hand" and found this website:

http://www.needahand.com/

[vanlassie]

26. Oooh! I think I'll re-read A Prayer for Owen Meany! nt