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The 158-Pound Marriage

john irving

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“Irving looks cunningly beyond the eye-catching gyrations of the mating dance to the morning-after implications.”— The Washington Post

The darker vision and sexual ambiguities of this sensual, ironic tale about a ménage a quatre in a New England university town foreshadow those of The World According to Garp ; but this very trim and precise novel is a marked departure from the author's generally robust, boisterous style. Though Mr. Irving's cool eye spares none of his foursome, he writes with genuine compassion for the sexual tests and illusions they perpetrate on each other; but the sexual intrigue between them demonstrates how even the kind can be ungenerous, and even the well-intentioned, destructive.

“One of the most remarkable things about John Irving's first three novels, viewed from the vantage of The World According to Garp, is that they can be read as one extended fictional enterprise. . . . The 158-Pound Marriage is as lean and concentrated as a mine shaft.”—Terrence Des Pres

“Deft, hard-hitting . . . What Irving demonstrates beautifully is that a one-to-one relationship is more demanding than a free-for-all.”— The New York Times Book Review

176 pages, Paperback

First published August 12,1974
Places
the united states of america, 

This edition

Format
176 pages, Paperback
Published
June 23, 1997 by Random House Publishing Group
ISBN
9780345417961
ASIN
0345417968
Language
English
Characters More characters

More editions

About the author

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john irving

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JOHN IRVING was born in Exeter, New Hampshire, in 1942. His first novel, Setting Free the Bears, was published in 1968, when he was twenty-six. He competed as a wrestler for twenty years, and coached wrestling until he was forty-seven.
Mr. Irving has been nominated for a National Book Award three times—winning once, in 1980, for his novel The World According to Garp. He received an O. Henry Award in 1981 for his short story “Interior Space.” In 2000, Mr. Irving won the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay for The Cider House Rules. In 2013, he won a Lambda Literary Award for his novel In One Person.
An international writer—his novels have been translated into more than thirty-five languages—John Irving lives in Toronto. His all-time best-selling novel, in every language, is A Prayer for Owen Meany.
Avenue of Mysteries is his fourteenth novel.

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Community Reviews

Rating(4 / 5.0, 100 votes)
5 stars
32(32%)
4 stars
39(39%)
3 stars
29(29%)
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0(0%)
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100 reviews All reviews
Profile Image for Kimberly .
asunoII
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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Kiinnostava aihe tämä parinvaihtotarina (vuodelta 1973, nykyään aiheesta ei ole helppo käydä aikuisten keskustelua) ja alkaa hyvin. Ensimmäinen kolmasosa on erittäin raikasta ja kaunista. Mutta sitten fokus katoaa ja pakka hajoaa niin henkilöiltä kuin teokselta. Sääli, koska tässä on oikein hyvin kirjoitettu epäluotettava kertoja, joka yrittää esittää vähemmän mustasukkaista ja riittämätöntä kuin onkaan. Harvoin seksissä on kyse vain seksistä, usein vallasta, mukaellen Oscar Wildea.

Lopulta epäluotettavuus laajenee tekniikasta tarinansisäiseksi muihinkin henkilöihin, jotka todentuntuisesti sekoilevat menemään. Lasten unohtuminen on ihana detalji. Olisin halunnut pitää tästä enemmän ja aiheesta olisi mukava lukea kirjallisesti onnistuneempi ja nykyaikaisempi mukaelma.
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TheBesty
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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Těžko se mi ke knize vracelo a na to, že je tak tenká, jsem ji četl až moc dlouho. Není to špatná kniha, ale moc mě nezaujaly ty mezimanželské pletichy mezi oběma páry. Zato část z Vídně mi přišla zajímavá a osudy Učky rozhodně poutavější, než část z Ameriky. Něco tomu chybělo a já nevím co.
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Meneguelli
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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This is my first Irving and I'm quite impressed. And this is not even considered to be one of his best works. I love the way he introduces the characters and the story. Complex charactrs and human relations, and some beautiful descriptions of love scenes I reread several times. I can't wait to read Owen Meany and Garb.
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TotalPlebian
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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I understand that John Irving probably had to write this in order to write The World According to Garp
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Ramenseller
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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Rūta_skaito knygų iššūkis. Vasaris. Raudonas viršelis arba nugarėlė.

„Žmonės per aukštai kelia meną ir nepakankamai aukštai istoriją.“

Šią knygą turiu jau kuris laikas. Šie metai tikrai yra išskirtiniai metai, nes pirmąkart realiai susipažįstu su labai žymiais rašytojais ir jų kūryba. Vis dėlto, nors ir kiek vilčių dėjau į John Irving, "Vidutinio svorio santuoka" man buvo sunkus kąsnis, kartais knygą skaitau ilgai vien todėl, kad laiko paroje yra per mažai, tačiau šiuo atveju knyga skaitėsi ne tai, kad ilgai, tačiau labai labai sunkiai.

Esu iš tų skaitytojų, kuriai patinka šeimos istorijos, tokios gyvenimiškos ir tikros, bet tikriausiai yra tam tikros normos, kurios skaitosi neskaniai, dėl ko ir geriausiai parašyta knyga, jeigu joje aprašoma moralė nesutampa su tavo vertybių skale, nebus tavo knyga ir tavo istorija. Nei vienas veikėjai man neprigijo, nei į vieno jausmus nepavyko įsijausti, nei vienas nesukėlė nei šypsenos, nei gailesčio. Vis dėlto, nors pažintis su J. Irvingu ir ne pati maloniausia, bet tikiu, kad kitos jo istorijos bus man kur kas artimesnės.
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atKatlin
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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Aš čia kažko nepagavau. Arba yra kažkokia kita priežastis kodėl šią knygą perskaičiau per du prisėdimus ir kartu jį paliko kažkokį pošlykštį poskonį.
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azsumas
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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255 pages. Donated to charity 2010 May.

Professional Reviews

"Irving looks cunningly beyond the eye-catching gyrations of the mating dance to the morning-after implications."
--The Washington Post

The darker vision and sexual ambiguities of this erotic, ironic tale about a ménage a quatre in a New England university town foreshadow those of The World According to Garp; but this very trim and precise novel is a marked departure from the author's generally robust, boisterous style. Though Mr. Irving's cool eye spares none of his foursome, he writes with genuine compassion for the sexual tests and illusions they perpetrate on each other; but the sexual intrigue between them demonstrates how even the kind can be ungenerous, and even the well-intentioned, destructive.

"One of the most remarkable things about John Irving's first three novels, viewed from the vantage of The World According to Garp, is that they can be read as one extended fictional enterprise. . . . The 158-Pound Marriage is as lean and concentrated as a mine shaft."
--Terrence Des Pres


From the Trade Paperback edition.
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Profile Image for Kimberly .
Kaylle
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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Didn’t like it as much as the other books I’ve read by Irving. At its heart it’s just a book about what happens when two couples decide to trade spouses. There are four characters in the entire book - the narrator, the narrators sturdy Viennese wife (who has an incredible backstory), and their neighbors Severin (also from Vienna, a wrestler/coach), and Faith (rich, mother is an artist). They all have children, but they are barely mentioned. The sex scenes were not particularly graphic in my opinion, some other readers mentioned being bothered by them but considering it’s a book about couple swapping I didn’t think it was so bad?
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