I <3 Books

2009

John Irving is my favourite author, followed closely by Kurt Vonnegut. Irving studied at the University of Iowa writing program under Vonnegut. It seems they became friends. The character in Last Night In Twisted River also studies at the Iowa workshop, also under Kurt Vonnegut. Vonnegut is a character in the novel, playing himself, I suppose you could say. It was a lot of fun seeing an author I admire so much pay such tribute to another author I admire. I remember when I found out that Vonnegut and Irving were close, I thought it was neat. I still do.

The book is vintage Irving (which aren't). All the usual self-referencing is there. This time though, he is much more overt. In a self-referencing way he addresses critics who obsess over his self-references, very playful, very clever.

It wasn't as touching or real as some of his other books, and I liked it the least of all the ones I've read (aside from The Water Method Man, which I never finished). It almost tried a bit too hard to be just like a John Irving novel. There were some good parts, and the characters were rich, but it wasn't as technically perfect as some of his other books. His foreshadowing was a bit too obvious and the story jumped too much.

A particular bit of excellence was the theme of looking in old age on a life lived. There is a lot of looking back in this book, and it is very tender and makes you take a look at your own life. There is so much tragedy that the characters in this book have more too look back on than most, but they still do it with a melancholy that can be familiar to anyone.

I'm happy I read the book, and I'll read his next one right away, but I think the best John Irving books have already been written.