The Cider House Rules

What can I say about this beautiful book?

Only that I wanted to stroke its pages...

Only that it brought a lump in my throat that is always there whenever I think of it.

Більше місяця боролась з книгою. Я щиро намагалась зрозуміти, чому майже насильно змушувала себе її читати. Адже історія зрозуміла, мова автора не складна (а місцями дуже красиво тонка), але просто не йшло, «запихувала» в себе текст.

Думаю зіграло свою роль:
1. Всі персонажі ну от ніякі. Я розумію, що автор навряд намагався пробудити хоч до когось симпатію, але й негативних емоцій не було. Для мене майже всі були тугими й емоційно незрілими і на всіх я дивилась через призму фейс-палму.

2. Такий спектр проблем: аборти, расизм, сирітство та всиновлення, наркоманія, зрада, інцест, релігія. і це не весь перелік. Але, як на мене, жодну так і не розкрили в повному обсязі. Так, всюди привідкрили двері, закинули думок на переосмислення, але хотілось щоб все це еволюціонувало з героями і приходило до якогось логічного кінця.

3. Всі вульгарні і бридкі описи та моменти для мене були якоюсь неприродною частиною тексту. Хотілось сказати «ну і от шоб шо це було?».

4. Тут можна сміливо викинути сторінок 200 (історії незрозумілого призначення і описи), нічого б не змінилось.

От я правда не розумію захват і високі оцінки…

~ Za surovost nema izgovora, ali - u jednom sirotištu možda imamo obavezu da ljubav uskraćujemo, jer ako ne uspemo da uskratimo ljubav u sirotištu, stvorićemo sirotište iz koga nijedno siroče neće želeti da ode. Stvorićemo Homera Velsa - istinsko siroče, zato što će njegov jedini dom zauvek biti u Sent Klaudsu. Neka mi bog (ili ko god već) oprosti. Ja sam stvorio siroče; zove se Homer Vels i pripadaće Sent Klaudsu zauvek. ~

~ U jednom ranijem unosu u dosije o Homeru Velsu - u unosu koji je doktor Larč izbrisao, pošto je ton bio neprimeren, ili bar neobičan za istoriju - doktor Larč je zapisao - Ništa i nikoga ne volim koliko Homera Velsa. Tačka. ~

~ Odrasli ne traže znamenja u poznatom, primetio je doktor Vilbur Larč u Kratkoj istoriji Sent Klaudsa, ali jedno siroče večito traži znamenja. ~

~ Ali neka pravila su samo pravila. Prosto moraš oprezno da ih prekršiš. ~

You know how when you're young and maybe more idealistic you say that you will never do something because it's wrong, immoral, sickening, etc, then you grow up and find yourself doing that very thing?

This is a book about that.

It's also a book about orphans and abortion and how some babies are destined to be one or the other. Delivering the baby or delivering the mother, Dr. Larch calls it, and also, the Lord's work and the Devil's work. There are some beautiful passages about why legalizing abortion is necessary and I love John Irving for it.

'Those who plead for the lives of the unborn should consider the lives of the living. Mr Roosevelt - you, of all people! - you should know that the unborn are not as wretched or as in need of our assistance as the born! Please take pity on the born!'

And Dr. Larch, with his rules and his heart, is the star of this book; he is often in the background, but his (silent) longing for Homer to come back home is always present. Maybe now I understand how my parents feel.

Suddenly, it was clear to him - where he was going. He was only what he always was: an orphan who'd never been adopted. He had managed to steal some time away from the orphanage, but St Cloud's had the only legitimate claim to him. In his forties, a man should know where he belongs.

And then there is Homer's heart and Wally's heart who both harbor complicated, painful loves (when is love ever uncomplicated and painless anyway). You don't even understand how painful Wally's love is until you read this passage, which is a life lesson to Angel Wells, as well as me.

'And the thing about being in love, Wally said to Angel, 'is that you can't force anyone. It's natural to want someone you love to do what you want, or what you think would be good for them, but you have to let everything happen to them. You can't interfere with people you love any more than you're supposed to interfere with people you don't even know. And that's hard,' he added, 'because you often feel like interfering - you want to be the one who makes the plans.'
'It's hard to want to protect someone else, and not be able to,' Angel pointed out.
'You can't protect people, kiddo,' Wally said. 'All you can do is love them.'

Final thoughts: Maybe if I have a son someday I can call him Angel. And this is my favorite John Irving novel (so far).

He was of use, he was in love - and was loved - and he was expecting a child. What more is there?

I think it's probably the best book about kindness I have read. It's about people so truly kind, so very gentle (not to be confused with humble), that you amazingly feel like a better person yourself. It kinda gives you hope in humanity.

The book portrays the world that is definitely not a very good place: it's cruel, it's lonesome, it's messy, bloody, and unjust, and you have no right to choose, and you have very few opportunities, and everyone is either an orphan or a deeply unlucky man, but in this stupid, unfair world kind, self-effacing people like Dr Larch and Homer Wells somehow manage to bring glory. The most honorable thing about their self-sacrifice is that it feels completely natural. Seems like they're just doing their duty, and they stay where they are simply because they belong there (this feeling of belonging in the book is outstanding.) This is a book about those incredible people who serve the mankind, without remorse or resentment, with dignity and love, lots of love.

And no, despite this noble message, it's not like the Bible: there are some pretty gruesome details and extremely naturalistic descriptions which could make a lady faint, but it's witty and extremely readable, and rereadable, and giveable to all your friends.

Highly recommended.

Bellissimo romanzo che conoscevo da tempo .
Ma, la voglia di leggerlo mi è venuta dopo averlo sentito
nominare nel libro di Valerie Perrine ", Cambiare l'acqua ai fiori ".
La protagonista legge e rilegge questo libro per oltre 25 anni.
Le regole della casa del sidro è un libro ambientato nel Maine.
Inizia nei primi anni 20 del 1900 e corre sino ai primi anni 60.
Tutto inizia a Saint Cloud'S,un ospedale con annesso orfanotrofio per chi partorisce e non intende tenere il bambino.
Oppure per chi è incinta e non vuole avere il bambino, per fare questo c'è il dottor Larch.
Poi la storia si sposta insieme al giovane Homer, uno dei tanti orfani del S.Cloud's, che conosciuti Wally e Candy, va via con loro, diventando un raccoglitore di mele.
Pare una trama semplice e banale,vi garantisco che non lo è affatto.

Homer, is an orphan boy who comes to "freedom" through a young couple. Candy, his best friend's girlfriend, sparks unknown feelings in Homer and the orphanage where he lived, says goodbye to children, and in the end, her doctor. The world, the people - this is God's work, but the devil does not rest and this can be seen in every corner of the world. Even in those who don't even live in the world. It's a very good book, interesting, but tedious and so you lose interest at some point.

I knew going in that a central theme of “Cider House Rules” is abortion. What I wasn’t expecting was how utterly non-didactic the novel is: Irving doesn’t want to convince you to think of this issue in any one way. He wants to show you what different people with different experiences and baggage think about it, so that in turn, you can refine the way you look at this very complicated issue. Regardless of your stance, you will learn something about how the other side feels. This is what a great novel does: it opens your mind and your heart, it creates compassion for something you never thought of and it makes you look at the world in a slightly different way.

This was my first John Irving novel and I now completely understand why he is sometimes referred to as the American Dickens. His characters are ordinary people who have extraordinary lives. And in this book, the characters have the same sort of wonderfully quirky names that I would expect from good old Charlie! The story of every one of them is so lovingly drawn that you feel as close to them as if they were members of your family by the end of the book. They are all lovably flawed, sometimes foolish and sometimes selfless but always viscerally human. Irving somehow makes them feel more real than some actual people I know.

Dr. Wilbur Larch delivers babies, but he also delivers mothers: having seen desperate young women die because of the lack of legally available medical assistance, he is the pro-choice character who will not hesitate to defy the law to save women. Homer Wells is an orphan of the St. Clouds orphanage where Dr. Larch works. He was never adopted, and as he grew up, was progressively groomed by the doctor to be his successor. But one day he realizes that, as an unwanted child who never knew his mother, he would have ended up as one more scraped foetus had abortion been legal. He is, understandably, pro-life and refuses to perform abortions, even if he believes they should be legal. One day, a young couple comes to St. Clouds to terminate an unwanted pregnancy, and as they leave to go back to their little coastal town, Homer decides to go with them to see what else there is in the world besides his small orphanage and finds himself working in an apple orchard. In this orchard, he will learn many things about love, life, friendship and that sometimes doing bad things for good reasons is not a crime.

Of course, there is so much more to it that I can reasonably summarize in a Goodreads review. The prose is rich, almost musical in its cadence and a bittersweet humour brightens what could have been a very gloomy setting. I know some readers might get exasperated by the whole “In other parts of the world, XYZ; here in St. Clouds…” but I absolutely loved it. It gave the book this old-fashioned storytelling vibe that made me feel warm and cosy in a way only the very best stories can accomplish. I’ve come to think of this novel as that warm, spicy mug of mulled wine I like to sit with on cold fall evenings: it’s comforting and seems to warm me up from the inside out. While abortion is an important topic in this story, it’s a mistake to think that this is all the book is about. “The Cider House Rules” is about family – in every possible meaning of the word – choices, the living by and breaking of rules, inclusion, growing up… Just like a very good classic, you will find new things to think about every time you pick it up.

It’s a beautifully written and deeply moving novel that I recommend to everyone. The movie is sweet but I feel like it fails to capture the depth of the characters and the multiple layers of meaning of their story (not to mention that the last third of the story is butchered). If you’ve only ever seen the film and enjoyed it, give the book a chance.