[.ca] The Cider House Rules: A Novel (ISBN 0679603352)

This book rules!:
I revisited 'The Cider House Rules' recently, just before picking up another of John Irving's earlier novels, and I again recalled before I reached page 25 what it was about Irving and this novel that made me fall in love with his writing. 'The Cider House Rules' is an epic, Dickensian story, a didactic old-fashioned tale of love and loss that speaks to both the most basic human dilemmas and contentious contemporary subjects. Irving writes with an absurdist aplomb that causes me to find myself laughing when I would never expect to, and cry soon thereafter; his character Homer Wells is a delight, winsome and true. 'The Cider House Rules' is an exquisite novel, and one of the greatest achievements in American letters. If you enjoyed books such as McCrae's "Children's Corner" or Wolfe's "A Man in Full," then you'll like this one as well.

Bad Apples:
Being familiar with three John Irving Novels, I see three common themes: sex, swearing, (and a character with a ) speech impediment. It is likely that I will not choose to find these themes in any of his other books. I must admit my enjoyment of the movie led me to read the book. The book and movie have sharp differences. The big difference is in the book, Homer and Candy have a baby together while Wally is presumed dead. People who read Irving can not have an aversion to reading about sex. In itself, it is not bad to involve sex in the plot of a novel. The discussion of sex is not problematic, it is that the sex is deviant sex. Irving includes sex with animals and keeping pubic hair as a keep-sake in the Cider House Rules. Events like this are outside the lines of good taste. It is obvious why these events were left out of the movie. The love story in the book was beyond my comprehension. Even Melony, an apparent lesbian, is disappointed with Homer. Why would he have a son with a woman while her boyfriend is away at war while settling for "sloppy seconds" for the rest of his life. How could her real husband possibly accept the story that his wife and a friend just decided to adopt a boy while he was apparently dead in the war? The only point in the story that moves well is when you think Homer will finally tell the truth. Homer fails though. There is a lot in the story that is hard to swallow. The main theme of this book seems to be abortion. Regardless of how you feel about the issue, the argument is poor. Dr. Larch, Homer's father figure, has accepted the practice. Homer has not. As a way of ending the incestious pregnancy of his son's girlfriend , Homer accepts abortion. It appears that Irving has written nothing more than pro-choice propaganda with a lot of mixed up character in the background. While Irving is a thorough and very skilled story teller, I have grown tired of his sex obsessed themes in his novels. At least romance novels don't have a political agenda. This is one case where the movie is better than the book. The movie is more of a coming of age film than propaganda.

Thought provoking overall, but unsatisfying ending:
The book is great at raising the social issues in a context that makes sense - unwanted pregnancies, ethics of abortion or abandonment of newborns, etc. It also talks about poverty, depravation of one's childhood environment, the need to understand social cues to function in society, etc. All of this it does very well. And until about 2/3 of the way through the book, although the main characters are in situations that are often not easy and don't often make the choices that the reader might have chosen for them, you understand why they did it and can empathize with how they're feeling. Melony, damaged girl-to-adult that she is, ironically emerges as one of the most sympathetic characters in her wandering, violent, vindictive bid for some kind of love and satisfaction with her life. However, the last third has me losing sypathy with the characters, Candy in particular. (...spoilers...) I cannot justify the level of lying that Candy in particular forced on Homer and Angel for 15 years until circumstances force their hand. I cannot justify how she uses uncertainty to effectively have her cake and eat it too - be married to Wally, love him, but sleep with Homer too and after a fashion love him too - for 15 years! She denies Homer any chance to have moved on with his life, found a new life for him and his son (since Homer is Angel's primary parent), which is wrong. As Wally says, she's manipulative. However, one can understand more easily why Wally puts up with her - he's a paraplegic and would have trouble getting by without help. And when the big "reveal" happens, it's a complete letdown - we don't even get a full description of Wally and Angel's reactions! And to top it off, Homer's finally acquiescing to Dr. Larch's wanting Homer to come back to St. Cloud's and pretend to be a doctor... end one form of dishonesty for an even worse one! If you can overlook my major objections, the book is still worth reading. But if the interpersonals will bother you, you might not want to get into it.

The Cider House Rules:
A captivating story about life in the 1920's-1930's told in a powerful and brilliantly written fictional novel about an orphan named Homer Wells and the St. Cloud orphanage. Dr. Wilbur Larch, who is an obstetrician on staff at St. Cloud's, is an ether addict who performs abortions at the orphanage secretly. He is known to say, "women come here to have an orphan or an abortion". The story, though simple, is thought provoking. It contains many underlying themes about human nature, social injustices and the complexities of life. Written to be shocking and graphic, Irving uses the characters to express each theme as he tells the story. One such theme is "we all break the rules"... Another theme is "the realities of life can influence you to make a practical rather than a moral decision"... and this is what happens to Homer Wells... A fascinating book! Highly recommend!

One of the best novels ever!!:
Just loved Cider House, savored every word and felt the characters were alive. So, so sad to finish it. Irving is a fabulous storyteller, makes you laugh and cry. I have read hundreds if not thousands of books and this is in my top 20.