A Widow for One Year by John Irving: A Book Review

I regret to say that this is one of the books I will NEVER ever read. I will just display it on my shelf along with the other author’s works. I will just read over the quotes marked my mind as though I were traumatic for this; it took me a long time to finish it. I did not even wink a night to finish it, but I failed.

I may not be good at literary analysis, but in my humble opinion, this book has a lot of padding or stuff which undermines the real concept of the story and caused me to lose my interest and get impatient. Do I have to read the scenes which appear not have to do with the other stories? Do I have to give a hoot about the summaries of the main character’s novels? The stories are beyond me. I could just tolerate with A Sound Like Someone Trying Not To Make A Sound which gave me thrills because this real children’s tale story is the linchpin of the real story. Yada yada yada Enough said! I just fast-read them.

I understand that John Irving is known for his remarkable skills in writing ambitious novels. No doubt because I still have his three works more in my storage box of knowledge; they are so wide-thick. In fact, it had taken me a few months  before I got around to his  A Son of the Circus which, eventually, I gave 1 star , for I found it awfully annoying too. I know it is a good read though. However, I doubt it; I don’t want to knock any books around collecting dust as if they ‘re trash any more.

What I liked about J. Irving is that he is indeed honest and independent. Had books just the like of this, even his wonderful The World  According to Garp, which I gave 4 stars , been read in an ingrained conventional society in the past, it would have been expunged and expurgated. John Irving would have outwitted D.H. Lawrence’s Lady  Chatterley’s Man. But still. I will never ever read it.

Now, to read or not to read.

Rating: 1/ 5 stars ( I didn’t like it. )