Once you start it, you won't be able to switch it off!
How does it compare to similar audio books?
Excellent
How does it compare to audio works by the same author?
Excellent
Advantages:
All the usual trademarks of an Irving novel
Disadvantages:
If you aren't used to him you may find it a little odd
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
You find yourself in a bookshop- well, I do anyway! And as you peruse the shelves, passing the time of day (being careful to avoid looking at the erotica section, you never know what you will see!), you don't half come across some weird and wacky book titles.
In my opinion there are one or two titles that haven't been used that should have been. My favourite is:
'Dieting with Prunes and Syrup of Figs - The 'S' Plan Diet'.
But I digress as ever. There is one author whose titles are very striking and, once you get to know his style, there are certain things that you look for and cherish- not that there is any similarity or formula style about the books. They are all very different, believe me!
I first encountered John Irving when I saw the films of 'The Hotel New Hampshire' and 'The World According to Garp'. These films were wacky and just about wacky enough to get me interested in reading the novel.
I have read just about anything that has been written by Irving (apart from 'The Fourth hand' but that is being reserved by my local library - use your libraries more, they are an invaluable source of reading material!). The only book I found disappointing was 'A Son of The Circus'- I just couldn't get into the tale of doctors on the subcontinent, dwarves and murder.
Anyway, back to the review. 'A Widow for One Year' opens, as do many books nowadays, with sex. The one thing about Irving is that he doesn't make it passionate and steamy, he always tends to add a comic slant to it, in this case by the use of a lampshade to cover embarrassment.
The central characters are Ted Cole, a writer and illustrator; Marion, his wife, Eddie O'Hare, his driver and her lover; and Ruth Cole, a 4 year old. I will not go into the complexities of the plot because that would be unfair, save to say that the characterisation and plotline are unstinting in their realism, and that the Irving trademarks (amputation, police, dogs, authors and prostitutes) are there yet again.
The book starts in the 1950s and stops in the 1990s. That is very much Irving's style, he writes not just about a short space of time, but he makes each and every novel an epic panorama of somebody's lifetime- that is why his books are so 'unputdownable' in my view.
Read the book, but only if you are over 16, then read it again, again and again!
Neil July 2002
John Irving - 'A Widow for One Year' (Black Swan) £7.99
ISBN 055299796
Evaluate this review
How helpful would this review be to someone making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
