IN ONE PERSON (John Irving)

Okay. This is an Irving novel so I need to adjust my first reaction upon putting the book down. I have to be honest in that if it were written by any other writer I probably wouldn't have made it halfway through. I completed this (I do have that guilt complex where I feel bad about not finishing books once I start, and since we only have so much time in life I am working on that... but I'm wasting said time in this side thought so I'll stop that). Anyway, the book. It is quintessential Irving style of writing. We have our usual protagonist who is your everyman and is surrounded by your cast of supporting characters who each have their quirks. They each have their own back story and you find out as much about them as if they were the star of the novel, which in a way they are. An Irving book is a layered affair that I fell in love with beginning with The Cider House Rules followed by Prayer for Owen Meany, The World According to Garp, and A Widow for One Year (I’ve started a few others but I tend to only be able to handle one Irving a year- his stories are epic tomes). I truly do love his style, but for some reason this book was disappointing. The writing was there but the story kind of sucked. There I said it. I thought it was beneath this grand storyteller. And it’s not because of the subject- I liked that he dealt head-on with transsexuals and gay and bi-sexual people, that was cool to delve into that. Maybe a little repetitive in all things penis-oriented, but the overall theme of how to live as a gay person or a person who likes to dress up in the opposite genders clothing and blend in and not get beat up or discriminated against, despite it being entertaining kind of fell short. I felt like it just lagged on. There were a few ingredients missing. We follow the life of Bill Abbott from youngster-hood to late life as he figures out who he is and what he believes to be important in life but instead of rolling along and handing out gems of sparkling philosophy it meanders and splats on the page. That being said I'm glad I read it because if I didn't it would be sitting on my conscience. After all, when you’re a fan of a writer you look forward to everything they write. Unfortunately for this one the anticipation was more fun than the book So, fans of Irving, you might as well read it; it is still a more enjoyable book than a lot of others (in my opinion). You won't be let down by the Irving-ness of it and who knows, you might even love it.