The Cider House Rules
Ratings115
Average rating4.1
My first re-read of this book since my early twenties - I loved it then, and I love it even more now. This is the story of Dr Wilbur Larch, an abortionist who also runs an orphanage, and the life of his protege, the unadoptable Homer Wells. John Irving's beautiful writing is alchemical, taking ordinary lives and turning them into something magical and infinitely valuable. I hope I'll find the time to read this book again but regardless, I will never forget it. ‘Goodnight you princes of Maine, you kings of New England.'
I gave this three stars after I read it; I think I was being generous. At one time I thought Irving was the greatest and surely he couldn't write a boring book, right?
Well, this book was quite boring with flat, uninteresting characters.
The point of it is for Irving to repeat “abortion should be legal, abortion should be legal, abortion should be legal.” Everything that happens in the book is in support of that.
I completely agree with this view but that won't make this a good read.
If you are not a fan of stream of consciousness or jumping around in a story, don't read it. Otherwise, it was beautiful. A gem. So different than the movie, you'll ask yourself what the hell the studio was thinking!
Dragged through the first 100 pages and flew through the rest of the book, which finished with the “all is well after all”.
Solid, though definitely not as good as A Prayer For Owen Meany. As ever, Irving turns a good phrase, develops great characters, and builds a believable world.
A FANTASTIC listen
I've always enjoyed anything from Irving I've ever read, and this was no exception.
Having never seen the movie, but knowing the general subject matter I was pleasantly surprised to find it was SO MUCH MORE than a book about abortions.
Each and every character has such a fascinating journey, and I thoroughly enjoyed hearing the history and medical side of stuff surrounding the evolution of abortions.
I couldn't get enough of Dr. Larch. I would definitely listen to the audiobook again.
Russo. King. Rash. Updike. Doctorow. Irving. I'm beginning to notice a similarity amongst east coast writers (mostly from New England) who are usually male and born in the 1930s, 40s, and 50s. They like narratives. They like description. They like slow build up. And all of these likes show how much they love being wordy. I wonder how many of these authors grew up on Dickens? The more I read of these authors, the more I'm convinced that I'm not a fan of the style. The problem for me is that most of these writers write really good stories. In order to find the story, however, one has to dig through a considerable amount of wordage. It's not the wordage that bothers me (I enjoy Tolstoy after all) so much as the style of wordage: descriptive narratives do not turn me on. At all.
So now I have to decide—do I always let my personal dislike for the style taint my opinion of the book? Should I grant a little leniency to the era that brought us such great stories? Perhaps a little, but I doubt any of these authors will ever see five stars from me. (So take that you prize-winning multi-millionaires who were published before I was born!) So, wordiness aside (wordiness that includes too frequent mentions of “pubic hair,” “vuval pads,” and that unforgettable “pony's penis” shudder), The Cider House Rules is a good story. It had its moments of beauty. Many of the characters were interesting and memorable, though there were certainly a fair share of two-dimensional stock characters (again with the Dickens). The plot was structured well, but heavy-handed at times. I liked the story, but I would've liked a condensed version better—sacrilege, I know.
I've heard many good things about several of Irving's stories, so I'll certainly give him another go one of these days. I hope to find a similarly good story, but without so much padding. It's a long shot, but it doesn't hurt to hope.
Amusing.. And kind of disturbing at times (passages on curettage and the “gritty” sound a womb makes when you are cleaning it out...)
One of my favorite books ever. There is so much love, compassion and acceptance in it. I love how the orphanage becomes a home and family for those who otherwise don't have a place in the world. Homer Wells is one of my favorite book characters ever. Writing this, I'm convincing myself I want to reread it, and soon!