Details Of Books Until I Find You
| Title | : | Until I Find You |
| Author | : | John Irving |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | Ballantine Books Trade Paperback Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 820 pages |
| Published | : | May 30th 2006 by Ballantine Books (first published 2005) |
| Categories | : | Fiction. Contemporary. Novels |
John Irving
Paperback | Pages: 820 pages Rating: 3.64 | 24268 Users | 1549 Reviews
Representaion During Books Until I Find You
Every major character in Until I Find You has been marked for life – not only William Burns, a church organist who is addicted to being tattooed, but also William's song, Jack, an actor who is shaped as a child by his relationships with older women. And Jack's mother, Alice – a Toronto tattoo artist – has been permanently damaged by William's rejection of her. This is a novel about the loss of innocence, on many levels.Define Books Toward Until I Find You
| Original Title: | Until I Find You |
| ISBN: | 0345479726 (ISBN13: 9780345479723) |
| Edition Language: | English |
| Characters: | Jack Burns, Emma Oastler, Michelle Maher |
Rating Of Books Until I Find You
Ratings: 3.64 From 24268 Users | 1549 ReviewsCriticism Of Books Until I Find You
One thing I like about John Irving is that even though his protagonists are male, he seriously considers the women in his stories. Women are always more than objects, even when they are not The Subject. This time, Jack Burns is the protagonist, but at first, his mother's life is front and center. Alice Stronach is so heartbroken and angry after William Burns leaves her that it distorts her personality. At times, I wasn't sure if she loved William, Jack, both, or neither. And by the way--Jack
I have very much enjoyed the other novels by John Irving I have read (Garp, Owen Meany, Widow for One Year), but I did NOT in any way enjoy "Until I Find You." All the classic Irving tropes are here (wrestling, prostitutes, New Hampshire, older women, people of small stature), but all are deployed in an absolutely forced, joyless, airless manner. The best thing I can say about this novel is that Irving's prose is typically readable. That is also the ONLY positive thing I can think to say about
What an excellent writer we have in John Irving. While this was not my favorite Irving book, it is still miles above most contemporary writers' most ambitious efforts. Anyone can read the inside of a book cover and get the "plot", but suffice it to say the plot will suck you in. What will keep you thinking about the book even when you aren't reading it, or make you want to read it every second you are able, are his characters, the symbolism, his humor, and, most adoringly, the author's "voice".
I enjoyed the first section of this book, which seems almost like a return to the Irving of 'The World According to Garp' or 'The Hotel New Hampshire', about the young Jack and his tattooist mother wandering through assorted European cities searching for his elusive father. However, I feel the book deteriorates disastrously after that - the writing style seems to go downhill and there is a lot about child abuse which I just didn't want to go on reading.
"Until I Find You" is repetitious, overwritten, overlong and untrusting of the reader. Almost no important detail, key anecdote, phrase in a foreign language, or memorable line is used just once, and few are used just twice or even three times. Even the uninspired elements get repeated again and again. (Inexplicably, however, the occasional detail -- Emma's moustache, for example -- is heavily emphasized, and then completely dropped without being resolved or mentioned again.)It's been a while
I have read 10 of John Irving's books: his first 9, and this one. Clearly, he does something that I keep going back for. Maybe it's no coincidence that I also read all of Dickens' novels in chronological order, back in my twenties. The two are very different -- Dickens is much funnier, for instance -- but they have much in common. It doesn't surprise me to read others' mention of the links between them: Of the scope, the sheer heft factor of their books, many complain. I like it. It's hard not
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