Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #41085 in Books
• Published on: 1986-07-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 731 pages

From the Publisher
reviews
'Funnier than Garp…it's an irresistibly readable yarn spun by a master's voice' Time Out

'John Irving has been compared with kurt Vonnegut and J.D.Salinger but is arguably more inventive than either. Wry, laconic, he sketches his characters with an economy that springs from a feeling for words and mastery over his craft. This superbly original book is one to be read and remembered' The Times

'The Cider House Rules is difficult to define and impossible not to admire' Daily Telegraph

'Like the rest of Irving's fiction, it is often disconcerting, but always exciting and provoking' Observer

From the Back Cover
Set among the apple orchards of rural Maine, it is a perverse world in which Homer Wells' odyssey begins. As the oldest unadopted offspring at St Cloud's orphanage, he learns about the skills which, one way or another, help young and not-so-young women, from Wilbur Larch, the orphanage's founder, a man of rare compassion with an addiction to ether.

Dr Larch loves all his orphans, especially Homer Wells. It is Homer's story we follow, from his early apprenticeship in the orphanage, to his adult life running a cider-making factory and his strange relationship with the wife of his closest friend.

About the Author
John Irving
John Irving was born in Exeter, New Hampshire, in 1942, and he once admitted that he was a 'grim' child. Although he excelled in English at school and knew by the time he graduated that he wanted to write novels, it was not until he met a young Southern novelist named John Yount, at the University of New Hampshire, that he received encouragement. 'It was so simple,' he remembers. 'Yount was the first person to point out that anything I did except writing was going to be vaguely unsatisfying.'

In 1963, Irving enrolled at the Institute of European Studies in Vienna, and he later worked as a university lecturer. His first novel, Setting Free the Bears, about a plot to release all the animals from the Vienna Zoo, was followed by The Water-Method Man, a comic tale of a man with a urinary complaint, and The 158-Pound Marriage, which exposes the complications of spouse-swapping. Irving achieved international recognition with The World According to Garp, which he hoped would 'cause a few smiles among the tough-minded and break a few softer hearts'.

The Hotel New Hampshire is a startlingly original family saga, and The Cider House Rules is the story of Doctor Wilbur Larch - saint, obstetrician, founder of an orphanage, ether addict and abortionist - and of his favourite orphan, Homer Wells, who is never adopted. A Prayer for Owen Meany features the most unforgettable character Irving has yet created. A Son of the Circus is an extraordinary evocation of modern day India. John Irving's latest and most ambitious novel is A Widow for One Year.

A collection of John Irving's shorter writing, Trying to Save Piggy Sneed, was published in 1993. Irving has also written the screenplays for The Cider House Rules and A Son of the Circus, and wrote about his experiences in the world of movies in his memoir My Movie Business.

Irving has had a life-long passion for wrestling, and he plays a wrestling referee in the film of The World According to Garp. In his memoir, The Imaginary Girlfriend, John Irving writes about his life as a wrestler, a novelist and as a wrestling coach. He now writes full-time, has three children and lives in Vermont and Toronto.

Customer Reviews

A good novel
The Cider House Rules is a good example of John Irving at his best - it's a long, rich, complex and always fulfilling novel. Those who are familiar with Irving's other books will recognise the basic premise - it follows the life of an American man in unconventional circumstances - but his books are too complex and quirky to be formulaic.

Homer Wells, the protagonist, is a well developed central character, and he is supported by a cast of vivid and eccentric supporting acts. Irving describes all of his characters, however minor, in great detail - occasionally almost too much. As in all Irving books (that I have read) an important role is played by a dominating, overpoweringly strong female character who influences Homer in his early life. This character is present in everything I have read by him thus far. At least this incarnation is more likeable than some of the others I have encountered.

Wells grows up in an orphanage run by the saintly Dr Larch. An important theme of the story is abortion - Larch performs them illegally but safely, after seeing the horrific consequences of 'back street' abortions. Irving clearly conducted a great deal of gynaecological research, and the process of abortion is described in graphic detail. Therefore anyone who finds this topic upsetting should steer clear of the novel.

One of the best things about this novel - as with all Irving's work - is that it's never clear what is going to happen. Like real life, it is a journey and a surprise. There is no clear end point for the reader to reach, therefore it remains surprising and fresh throughout.

My only real criticisms would be the very long chapters - which make it hard to pick up and put down - and a tendancy towards a little too much detail at times, especially with regards to non-central characters.

Overall though it's a very well written story and has more humour than a lot of Irving's books. Not as good as 'A Prayer for Owen Meany', but probably the best of the rest.

Cider House Rules: brilliant read
While Cider House Rules sometimes gets lost in its densely woven plots, rarely have I read such a beautifully presented story with such interesting, elaborate and well developed characters.

Irving resents us three main characters: Dr Larch, a saintly doctor in a Maine orphanage; Homer Wells, an orphan and Larch's assistant whom the novel focuses on; and Melony a brutal orphan quite different from Homer, but who influences his life utterly. This is the story of being an orphan, first in the orphanage from which Homer is never adopted and then his life working on a cider farm.

Much of his development is set in a context of sexual attitudes and his sexual understanding. Working with Larch and being Melony's `man', Homer (and the reader) is exposed to a youth of graphic gynaecological detail and a frank and basal use of sex. We then see him change as he falls in love in an impossible situation, which defines the rest of his life.

Much is made of the abortion issues in Cider House Rules, but in all they serve to reflect the themes of the plots - breaking the rules. The subject is treated carefully and allows many insights, through the complex nature of abortion morals, into the characters you, increasingly, cannot help loving in the novel.

This is a light hearted, endearing, and heart breaking book. The breadth and depth of the characters and plot leaves the reader wanting more, although the book can lull (particularly struggling at the beginning). Rarely have I felt so close to a book's protagonists. Irving does a superb job as a story teller - highly recommended.

Gripping, enthralling, challenging...
I loved this book; the 'cast' contains a number of memorable characters who are well-drawn and likeable. The book deals with love, morality and culture and is a fascinating and challenging read. The author includes notes which suggest he has done a reasonable amount of research into the medical and apple-growing procedures which are discussed.
This book challenged my own sense of morality and ethics, particularly around the area of abortion.
It is also very funny! Definitely a must-read.
I guess any Irving book will always be compared with Owen Meaney and Garp; to my mind, this is the best I've read.