In Search of . . .

‘A Prayer for Owen Meany’, ‘The Cider House Rules’.  These are favorite books for me.  Much of John Irving’s output since about 2000 seems different to me.  I keep coming back to him with the hope of finding a new novel that will please me as much as the older ones.  But alas, I haven’t found one yet.  Latest attempt: ‘The Fourth Hand’.

The writing is a little simpler than in some of his works.  Pared down and plain, very serviceable if rarely glowing.  Irving has always been a very intricate and masterful plotter.  In the earlier books, the plots were largely realistic and believable, even if they included some fantastic elements.  The later books may seem to be realistic novels along the same lines, but I don’t really think that’s the case.  The plots are still intricate, but much less realistic.  More diverse thematic elements are juxtaposed repeatedly.  In ‘The Fourth Hand’, there’s loss, sex, responsibility, journalistic integrity, parenthood, new beginnings, etc.  They’re interwoven in ways that produce jarring and thought provoking contrasts, but not believable plot lines.  It seems that Irving has moved on from traditional realism (as a vehicle for poignant thematic development) and is now content to go straight for the themes.  He throws a lot against the wall, and much of it sticks, but it’s often not a pretty or well organized picture that results.  It seems arbitrary and contrived, even when the thematic points are clear. All of the subplots float in a zero-G environment where there isn't much of a sense of up and down. Anything much can happen, and lots of unlikely things do happen.  But it doesn't matter much that they're unlikely.  In that environment there is no gravity holding us down, and few likelihoods or probabilities to make us expect or want particular outcomes.

There’s humor, some of it really funny. There are some striking passages here and there.  And the sentimental ending depicting an opportunity for a new beginning is a little cheap, but I don’t object.  Maybe that aspect is so close to my own recent life experience that I’m inevitably drawn to swallow that one without complaint.

But I miss the long-winded sagas that read like tales from a wise grandfather.  These more recent books are more condensed and at heart more modern. I’m not sure this one hangs together so well, but I’ll take just about anything that comes from Irving.

Still hoping.