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Tag Archives: John Irving

Review: Trying to Save Piggy Sneed

The Book: Trying to Save Piggy Sneed, by John Irving
The Story: This is a collection of short works by John Irving.  The first few are autobiographical and tell about his life growing up.  There are stories from his life growing up on a farm, but mostly the “memoir” section is about his life as a [...]

Review: The Fourth Hand

The Book: The Fourth Hand, by John Irving
The Story: Patrick is a news anchor for one of those shows that cover kind of stupid, fluffy news.  He is doing a story on and Indian circus when a lion chomps his hand off.  It’s on live TV and people go crazy for the footage.  It’s watched [...]

Bookish Thoughts: Bookish Quote

I’m reading The Fourth Hand by John Irving right now (review coming soon!) and just came across this and wanted to share it with you:
“But books, and sometimes movies, are more personal than that; they can be mutually appreciated, but the specific reasons for loving them cannot be satisfactorily shared.
Good noels and films are [...]

Review: The 158-Pound Marriage

The Book: The 158-Pound Marriage, by John Irving
The Story:  The narrator and his wife Utch meet in Vienna, marry and come back to New England, where the narrator works as a college professor.  He is also a writer.  They meet another couple, Severin (who I called “Steven” in my head while I was reading) and [...]