The cider house rules .

[ComeWhineWithMe]

I am enjoying it and about halfway through .
I am finding as a usually very fast reader though I can't with this book I have to take it very slowly but that is probably my mushy pg brain.

Just wondered what other opinions were on the book .

I love, love, love this book!

John Irving is my god.

I read it first when I was 14, and have reread it about once a year since then. Possibly the strongest pro-choice novel ever. I love how Irving takes what could be an unsympathetic character (ether-addict, abortionist) and makes him admirable.

I'm going to go and find it and start reading it again.

Why does noone else want to discuss this brilliant book? Shame on you all.

i read this book years ago and bloody loved it.

it got me quite into john irving (tho i just CANT get through his last ginormous book about the tatooed lady)

I love this book too! MUCH prefer it to the film btw (though enjoyed that as well). My favourite Irving books though are Owen Meany
(HATED the film) and Widow for One Year.

Oooh, Owen Meany! Probably my favourite book of all time. I have many copies: one for best, a spare, one to lend to people, and a special American edition I found in the Scope shop. Am I weird?

I love John Irving with a passion. Owen Meany and Hotel New Hampshire are definitely 2 of the greatest novels ever written.

Has been years since I read the Cider House Rules though.

Nothing wrong with taking your time over a book, especially one with such great characters.

Love love love Owen meany
and the cider house rules and Hotel new hampshire
oh and Garp
Love them all really...apart from his most recent.

Pills...that's the one...i cannot (despite much trying) get through that one either

I love John Irving too !

Have read and loved Cider House Rules, Owen Meany, Garp (I think, is this the one with the telephone on the cover - not sure why I remember that detail, set in a college ?) and The Fourth Hand. Must read more - which one should I read next ?

Big John Irving fan here but I'm also struggling with his latest

Oh thankyou for all replies . Cider house rules is the first book of his I have read I am falling in love with it I must admit and am looking forward to reading his others too.

....I love John Irving, too.

Well, to qualify that, I usually do. I find that I either become totally immersed in the book (Cider House Rules, Garp, Son of the Circus) or I simply cannot engage (Hotel New Hampshire, Owen Meany)

..not sure why this should be. There you are though...

retired goth - I have the same thing, love them or cannot get on with them. It seems to common with his books, but different people get on (or not) with different books, so it's not always predictable.

Having said that it's not always predictable I'm going to recommend Widow for One Year to wheelybug as I loved most of the books she listed.

Thanks Jammy - will put it on my ever growing 'to read' list and keep an eye out for it.

I got it as a present for my brother one Christmas. He said it wasn't his favourite book, but he finished it and was crying at the end.

...I second Widow of One Year. It isn't, I think, one of his more highly regarded books but it's one that worked for me.

...as did the wholly untypical 'Imaginary Girlfriend' slim autobiographical volume thingy.

The part about explaining the picture hooks to Ruth still haunts me!

I would really recommend Hotel New hampshire though. A cracking (if somewhat twisted) family saga which contains all the Irving essentials: bears, wrestling, Austria.

Who can ask for more!

I didn't get on with Hotel New Hampshire. But yes, it has got all the classic Irving traits

Another John Irving fan here, especially Widow and Hotel New Hampshire. I love the way the plot is always so twisting and whirling. The only one I have trouble with is Garp, which I come back to every now and then and read a bit more. I think the problem is Garp himself, who gets on my nerves. ( oh, its only a book?)
Havnt read Cider House Rules, so this thread has just reminded me to get it NOW.

Just discovered John Irving... don't know how I didn't before.

Loved Owen Meany and Hotel New Hampshire.
Where to next?

John Irving is one of my favourite authors too, but I'm not overly keen on Cider House Rules. My favourites are Owen Meany and Until I Find You, which both make me cry (not something I do often!). A Son of the Circus is funny, and I enjoyed Garp and Hotel New Hampshire too. I was disappointed with Widow for One Year and the Fourth Hand. Both very readable, but didn't touch the same chord for me.

I LOVE John Irving. Owen Meany was serialised on Radio 4 last week. I first read it when I was about 18 so it was wonderful to experience it again. Agree with most of you - latest books aren't his best. When asked what is my all time favourite book I always state Owen Meany. Mind you, I did read it a very long time ago so maybe I should find a new favourite. Recently enjoyed The Memory-Keepers Daughter.

one of my faves

Interesting, Nooka. I have re-read Cider House Rules 4 or 5 times, but wouldn't go back to read the others again (Hotel New Hampshire, Garp, Owen Meany, Water-Method Man). I think Cider House Rules is a perfect book in so many ways. The others are just too damned weird/twisted whereas the Cider House Rules' characters seem to have emotional lives that are easier (for me) to understand/identify with.

I've loved all the John Irving books I've read (Cider House Rules, Until I find you, Son of the Circus, Garp, Hotel New Hampshire, Owen Meany). My absolute favourite has to be Owen Meany- I'd recommend it to anyone who hasn't read it yet.
I have the Fourth Hand on order from Waterstones so am looking forward to getting stuck into that