Varmaankin hieno klassikkoteos,mutta enpä ole typerämpää kirjaa lukenut pitkään aikaan.Kyllä meni aika hukkaan,ihan harmittaa.

This is my favorite Irving book, which sez a lot.

Disappointing and disjointed. This was a very confused story. I was confused, the characters were confused and seemingly the author was confused. One of the worst books I have endured.

Read this in Kiev in 1991. Even went to their zoo, which was so run down and sad. This book stuck with me.

It's certainly not Irving's best book, which makes sense since it is his first effort. The beginning is long and meandering, and mostly a way to name drop as many Austrian settings as possible. In fact, the entire Part 1 could likely have been omitted in favour of starting with the historical ramp up in Part 2.

The book does have its moments though, the climax is quite entertaining. I do wish the supporting characters, particularly women, had more depth to them.

Anyone who wants to become a writer should read this book. Then read any other John Irving novel. This is not the greatest book. If you are a John Irving fan and read this book it clearly demonstrates how when one works at their craft they can really develop and grow and become magnificent. I love absolutely everything I have read by this man... except, Setting Free The Bears.

Too crazy for me!

This was an interesting experience to go back and read John Irving’s first novel, written at age 25. The first quarter(?) of the book didn’t seem compelling and I actually thought this might be a rare dnf for me. I plugged on and really started to warm up to the story and started to see some of Irving’s “style” come out. While his later books are much better I am glad I stuck this one out. 3 1/2 rounded down.

If I didn't know who wrote this, I would not have thought it was John Irving. this first novel is almost surreal combining a story of wanting to free animals in a zoo in Vienna and the story of one of the main characters and the Nazi regime of WWII. It is amazing that this was the work of a just-developing writer. Glad I read it.

Though wackily enjoyable, This book was a bit trying at times, it losing my interest at a few places in the middle. I did enjoy the crazy characters and plot, though - Irving can really make you feel their nutty minds ticking through his words. Not his best work, but certainly good.

The first part of the book is a chaotic, picaresque, and sometimes slapstick road trip; new friends Hannes Graff and Siegfried ‘Siggy’ Javotnik set off on a restored motorbike in search of adventure and freedom, set in 1967 but with flashbacks to WW2. Stylistically it’s a cross between his contemporaries Kurt Vonnegut and Hunter S.Davies, although more grounded than the former and less spacey than the latter. On leaving Vienna they stop at the Heitzinger zoo (Schonbrunn?), which of course features later. Sig has an idea to set free the animals (maybe to mirror his own desire and family history of foreign subjugation/occupation?) but it becomes an obsession after he spends the night there and sees the abuses meted out by guard ‘O.Schrutt’ in the Small Mammals House

Part 2 (‘The Notebook’) alternates between Siggy’s overnight stay in the zoo and history of his family. The latter, about his mother, grandparents, would-be and actual father(s), is set during the war in Austria and further East (Slovenia and Yugoslavian nation states), a complicated theatre of war. Starting with Germany’s accession of Austria, and later Russian counter-invasion (military and ideological), with various partisan factions and shifting alliances. This was fascinating as I don’t know much about this region or history.

There is a falling out in the partnership, coming to head with Graffe falling for the gloriously braided Gallen Leonhard, the overturning of a dairy cart, and then a tragic crash involving beehives. As with Vonnegut the plot is almost indescribably, you just need to buckle up and place yourself in the author’s safe hands! There is also a made-up language and repeating motifs, in this case fantastic l but not SciFi, including; sneezing (orgasm), frot (the F word), custard (as a euphemism for death), motorbikes, a chicken costume (the Austrian Eagle) etc. etc.



Part 3 ‘Setting Them Free’ does include a chaotic and rather sad ending for most of the animals, and the possible end of Graff and Gallen’s relationship, although Irving doesn’t altogether tie up the loose ends (not even Graff’s self-declared ‘Loose ends’). The book title refers to a pair of rare Andean ‘Spectacled’ Bears, and our hope for their future on the run. There are deeper themes about love, freedom, the chaos & futility of war, amongst others, but this is essentially a fun romp, a road trip, coming-of-age, multi-generational family history … what the frot!

Addendum: this was Irving's first published book, which started life as a creative writing course thesis after he had studied in Vienna in the early 1960's; this all makes sense!

I started reading this book In line with my decision to start reading John Irving's novels in chronological order. The Irving I have come to know from his later novels comes through in this one, the ability to tell a story, the dry humour, however this book did not grab as much as his later works did. A three-and-a-half star read.