The Cider House Rules

Rating:
Summary: A fabulously unexceptional effort.
Review: John Irving succeeded at writing a miserably mundane work that fails at creating three dimensional characters, a dynamic between said characters, and anything beyond the revelations a typical child has on a slow day. The only saving grace of The Cider House Rules remains to be the author's notes that grace the end of the novel.

Rating:
Summary: What a treat
Review: I had no idea what the story line was when I started this book, it was quite rewarding. It made me think & feel. The characters were plausible and engaging. True to his story telling talent, he believes in closure. I love that every character is finished. I hate finishing a book & wondering 'whatever happened to that character?' Of the Irving novels I have read so far, this is the best.

Rating:
Summary: A Master Novel by A Master Storyteller
Review: I have just recently started buying books from Amazon.com and I think that the idea that the readers can review the books they buy is a perfect example of the interactivity of the Internet. Being a big John Irving fan means that I have also read all the reviews of his books. Like so many other readers I must say that although "Garp" is properly his best book my personal favorite is "Cider House Rules". I have spent my childhood as a neighbor to an apple orchard, so maybe that explains a little bit about my fascination for the book. In Denmark the question of abortion is not as controversial as it is in the States, because here it has been a legal practice for over 25 years. However I can understand that this is a much more controversial issue in the States. The most fascinating thing in "Cider House Rules" is the bizarre love triangle between Homer, Candy and Wally. The fact that Homer keeps a record of all the times he has slept with Candy through the years shows that he is deeply in love with her and at the same time that he is a bit "weird". "Cider House Rules" is the best novel I have ever read and I can hardly imagine that I will ever read a better novel then this. Not even newer novels by John Irving. I can recommend it to everybody, and just like the reader from Berlin, NJ, USA I must say, that John Irving deserves the Nobel Prize for Literature.But he is properly to populare for the egg-heads in the Swedish Academy.

Rating:
Summary: INCREDIBLE
Review: I don't understand why Irving doesn't get the awards that he deserves for writing books like Cider House and Owen Meany. No other author that I have ever read can take controversial subjects and make the reader look at them objectively. About the story- the characters are richly painted word after word throughout the whole story. Irving is a master of detail, but not to the point where the reader becomes bored. This is one of Irving's best works. It is disappointing that he only comes out with a book once every 7 years or so. Well, at least that lets us enjoy the stories that much longer!

Rating:
Summary: Excellent and classic Irving!
Review: I enjoyed this book, a true "make you think" type novel. You could really get into and care about the characters. It is one of those books that when you finish you ask yourself "what next?" You want to read a book of equal interest and talent. Mr. Irving: Your fans are waiting for another book to top your classics, i.e. Garp, Owen Meany and Cider House!

Rating:
Summary: rather boring
Review: I really don't understand why all of the other readers gave this book such high ratings. This was the first John Irving book that I have ever read, and I was extremely disappointed. I could not even finish reading it, I got halfway through, only to find myself struggling to complete each chapter. The first half of the book was interesting - I enjoyed Homer's experiences at the orphanage, but once he left, the "spark" was gone, and I found the remainder of the book to be nothing but dull and monotonous. I certainly hope this book is not exemplary of Irving's best writings. Although his writing style shows talent, the plot of this novel does not.

Rating:
Summary: IRVING IS INGENIUS
Review: The Cider House Rules is with no exceptions, no regrets, no competition, no second thoughts, no doubt about it the best book I have and will ever read in my lifetime. John Irving is the most delicate, intelligent, exciting, engrossing, and endearing author to grace the earth. This was the first book I read of his, and the last two pages made me both burst into tears and burst out laughing. Everything comes together tragically and beautifully, along with some of the best writing in years. He surely deserves a Pulitzer for this novel, surely his best. I am severely surprised it didn't get the recognition it so rightly deserves. All of the characters will never leave your mind. As for the plot itself, it just takes one dramatic and jaw-dropping turn after another. The abortion theme is the whole setup of the novel, but I think what is really Irving's focus is just to tell these people's unbelieveable and heartbreaking stories and to get them through and touch lives. He has certainly touched my life and this book will continue to haunt me and forever remind me of what real writing should be.

Rating:
Summary: Great read !
Review: Irving has an imagination second to none. He is a fantastic storyteller and he had me glued from cover to cover. He has a wacky sense of humour that will have you in stitches !!

Rating:
Summary: I liked the book, but don't quite understand it.
Review: I really enjoy John Irving books as they always are a little quirky and atypical. This book read like two however: Part one, the orphanage...Part two ... the apple orchard. The thing that disturbed me was that when Homer FINALLY comes clean with his quest for the truth in his relationship with Angel, he does an about face and prepares for the second phase of his life in another huge lie. I question how a character seeking truth so badly would consider living yet another lie. Homer and Larch were characters beautifully developed. Throughout the book Melony kept me in suspense, due to her explosive potential. Don't get me wrong: it was a very good book - but I can't believe how willingly Homer lives another lie.

Rating:
Summary: Hard to Beat
Review: John Irving lives, by his choice it seems, in the shadow of Charles 'King of the Novel' Dickens. In this epic Irving casts that shadow wider with references to Dickens' works, a Dickensian structure and a very Dickensian story - an orphan, description of particular industries of the time, society descriptions and thinly disguised condemnations. However, Irving rises above comparisons to his idol through the sheer readability of this work - never has 700 pages seemed so thin (not even when Dickens' name is on the cover). Read it, try not to enjoy it and see if you don't wish to visit Mayne.