In other parts of the world, they love John Green. Here in St. JR's, we love John Irving.

According to my dictionary, Green is of the color of growing foliage, between yellow and blue in the color wheel. While Irving on the other hand, is a genius, hard-working, persevering person who can manage time efficiently; knows how to balance important aspects of life. This has led me to conclude that Irving is a much more suitable name for a writer than Green, and has also solidified my belief that Irving is a much better novelist than Green. It just struck me that the definition of Irving is so close to Irving's nature as a writer. "knows how to balance important aspects of life" So true. John Green, taking nothing away from him, has much to learn from John Irving. The hordes of teens crying because of John Green's melodramatic deaths will benefit much more if they try reading John Irving. I think I'll feel much better about the collective future of the human race if the crazy teenage obsession towards John Green was given to John Irving instead.

Moving on, John Irving's The Cider House Rules is a thought-provoking novel that's both entertaining and affecting. As expected from Irving, the novel is filled with characters to feel for. Characters that have the weirdest backgrounds, the funniest thoughts, the craziest names. Yet they appear more real than the real characters in our lives, the characters we know. It has always been Irving's strength, his characters. Homer Wells, the protagonist, is an orphan boy whose search for identity manifests a richness of the human spirit that is unlike any I have ever read. His story is a marvel to watch as it unfolds. During the first parts of the book, I couldn't help feel that grim aura that enveloped St. Cloud's. That fog-like cloud, that mist that was ever present, that presence of loneliness, of unwantedness, of reckless abandon. That feeling that every orphan felt etched inside their bones. The feeling that every woman had whether their case was that of an abortion or of the orphan conception. I felt it. “Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show.” That Homer turned to Dickens and Bronte for guidance was fitting. His several experiences with foster homes made him realize that he belonged in St. Clouds. He learned "to be of use". So he became the assistant to Dr. Larch, the director of the orphanage and also his father figure. The relationship between Dr. Larch and Homer Wells has got to be one of the most touching examples of a father-son relationship in literature albeit not by blood. From St. Clouds he would move to Ocean View Orchard. I'm not going to get into specifics, this is not that kind of a review. You need to discover that on your own. I'm just gonna say that his journey towards finding out who he is ultimately ends in a self-discovery that touches the heart. It's a very special book.

One of the most important if not the most important point of the book has got to do with abortion. Dr. Larch did abortions in St. Cloud's and wanted Homer to follow in his foot-steps. Homer, though he thought abortion should be legalized, didn't want to perform it. He believed that fetuses have souls. “Here is the trap you are in.... And it's not my trap—I haven't trapped you. Because abortions are illegal, women who need and want them have no choice in the matter, and you—because you know how to perform them—have no choice, either. What has been violated here is your freedom of choice, and every woman's freedom of choice, too. If abortion was legal, a woman would have a choice—and so would you. You could feel free not to do it because someone else would. But the way it is, you're trapped. Women are trapped. Women are victims, and so are you.”

“These same people who tell us we must defend the lives of the unborn-they are the same people who seem not so interested in defending anyone but themselves after the accident of birth is complete! These same people who profess their love of the unborn's soul-they don't care to make much of a contribution to the poor, they don't care to offer much assistance to the unwanted or the oppressed! How do they justify such a concern for the fetus and such a lack of concern for unwanted and abused children? They condemn others for the accident of conception; they condemn the poor-as if the poor can help being poor. One way the poor could help themselves would be to be in control of the size of their families. I thought that freedom of choice was obviously democratic-was obviously American!”

“If pride is a sin ... moral pride is the greatest sin.”

I have come out of this book much more aware of my position towards abortion. Before I read this book, I would have said that I was against abortion. I didn't like the thought of killing babies, but I hadn't really reflected on the gravity of the situation. With the insights I've gotten from the book, and after my struggle with my thoughts. I have finally decided that I am against anti-abortion laws. It actually doesn't matter if you believe that it is wrong or not. What matters is that people who think otherwise should have the choice to avail it. If I have learned anything in my short life, it is never to impose my will upon others. And I believe that anti-abortion laws, is just that. Imposition of self-righteousness. I'm not forcing my belief upon you, I'm not starting a debate. I'm just stating my opinion. Nothing else. This book opened my eyes, if not removed that veil of ignorance around it. It's just saddening that abortion is still illegal in my country. Here's to hoping that it'll change soon.

Another important point of the book has to do with rules. The name of the novel, The Cider House Rules, concurs to the idea that rules play a very important role in this novel. Actually, it has more to do with breaking the rules. “We got our own rules.” The words of Mr. Rose, the boss of the apple-picking crew, when Homer asks him why the men don’t follow the rules posted in the cider house. Mr. Rose’s words underscore a major theme of the novel: when the rules don’t make sense, people have to make their own rules. Homer learns this lesson when he begins to perform abortions. Although the procedure is illegal, he feels he must “break the rules” to do what is right. In the end, he chose to be the Hero of his own life. He chose to make his own rules.

As I end, let me leave you with an excerpt that I think greatly encapsulates the message of the book:

“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, ..., because you often feel like interfering -you want to be the one who makes the plans.”

4.5
I found the first 200 pages of this book to be just okay. They flew by fairly quickly and I was more or less enjoying it, but I can't say I cared too much either. It took me a little while to adjust to the writing style too, in particular the way it seemed to jump from one thing to another with little warning. At some point I realised I'd gotten used to this, and had found some sort of firm footing as I read.

What's interesting for me about this is that there were many times when I didn't really care about what was happening, I wasn't that interested in Homer or his life or Candy, who I had wildly mixed feelings about, but I still liked the book. I was mulling over that as I finished the final pages, when a line ended up summing up perfectly what I felt:

('Here in St. Cloud's,' Wilber Larch had written, 'we learn to love the difficult.')

Something that was slightly annoying for me is that the blurb on my copy of the book refers to Homer's, 'strange relationship with the wife of his closest friend.' Which meant that the entire time Wally is missing, I knew he had to be alive and would return and marry Candy! An odd decision to give that away.

Dr. Larch is the only character I liked for the entirety of the book, described in the same blurb as, 'a man of rare compassion and with an addiction to ether.'

One of my favourite of Larch's observations is this one, regarding croquet:

'From a watercolor of some strange lawn games, he had once imagined that striking a wooden ball with a wooden mallet as hard as he could would be rewarding, but he wanted time to practice this art alone and unobserved.'

I feel that way about many things-- I wouldn't mind trying it, but certainly not in front of many people, especially if those people already know what to do!

Overall a book I did enjoy. I want to read more by John Irving, especially 'The World According to Garp', since I loved the movie. I will also try to find the movie version of 'The Cider House Rules', since I have heard it is good.

One of the greatest Bildungsromane ever written. No need to summarise the plot, whoever hasn’t read the book will have seen the film or the play. Fantastic writing and story. “Good night you princes of Maine, you Kings of New England”!

I've always struggled with Irving and Cider House Rules is no exception. It's not that Irving is a poor writer, no one can argue that. His characters are always fully-fleshed and alive on the page and each sentence drips with so much detail that you think you're going to get splinters when Homer and Melony are messing around in the abandoned millworker's dorm. I just think that most of the time when I put the book down I feel like I've read the equivalent of cotton candy: really pretty but not much substance as far as plot is concerned.

Another aspect of Irving's writing is his tendency to deliver sentences in blanket pronunciations (i.e.- "An orphan is a child, forever; an orphan detests change; an orphan hates to move; an orphan loves routine"). Far too often they seem like shallow blanket judgments used to convey a character trait but which instead seem to make Irving's characters seem like cardboard cutouts.

What Cider House Rules does provide is a very even-handed look at the pro-choice vs. "pro-life" debate. Told from the point of view of Dr. Wilbur Larch, who came into his own while working in Boston's South End, abortion seems like a necessary option to those who would seek one from any potential provider, no matter how unqualified or injurious. In Larch's view it's far better that women get an abortion from a trained and caring provider than a backroom butcher with no compassion for the patient.

Contrasting this view is the book's hero, Homer Wells, an orphan who has never experienced the results of a botched abortion and, from his perspective as an orphan, tends to view aborted fetuses as playmates that just never were. Through Homer and Larch's conflict regarding abortion, Irving manages to shine an insightful light on a subject which has pulled hard at America's edges for as long as the nation has been extant.

All in all, I think I enjoyed Cider House Rules. Sure, there were definitely moments when I wondered whether Irving was as lost in the story as Dr. Larch was lost in an ether dream, but the moment I closed the book for the final time it took hold of my imagination and left me thinking for quite a while after. By any measure that should be a sign of a good read.

Finally, I feel the need to mention the following quote which grabbed me early in the novel:
"Dr. Larch pointed out that Melony had taken Jane Eyre with her; he accepted this as a hopeful sign- wherever Melony went, she would not be without guidance, she would not be without love, without faith; she had a good book with her. If only she'll keep reading it, and reading it, Larch thought."

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.

⚫️ “Čia, Sent Klaude, visuomenės nėra - nėra galimybės rinktis, lyginti, kas geriau ar blogiau, kuri bemaž visada būna bet kokioje visuomenėje. Čia viskas paprasčiau, nes tai, ką turi pasirinkti, arba akivaizdu, arba išvis nepriklauso nuo tavo valios. Tačiau kaip tik dėl to, kad čia beveik nėra pasirinkimo laisvės, našlaičiai taip veržiasi į visuomenę - bet kokią"

⚫️ "Sent Klaude to, kas augdavo, ir netgi kas gimdavo, niekam nereikėjo - gimimo vyksmas dažnai būdavo nutraukiamas. O dabar Homeras buvo užsiėmęs visa ko auginimu. Jam patiko gyventi Vandenyno Vaizdo soduose, nes čia viskas buvo panaudojama, viskas reikalinga."

this may be my favourite john irving book. i like his deceivingly lighthearted style, and the deadpan humour he gives his characters. the cider house rules in particular seems more real than the others, the orphanage and apple orchards seem more tangible, the emotions less idiosyncratic and the characters more human.

the direct issue here is abortion. the medical procedures to, the right to, the choice to...it's enough to make me want to cross my legs to prevent any traffic in or out.

the less direct issue is the idea of rules. the title refers to a list of regulations posted in the cider house (where they make cider) of an apple orchard. general things like keeping the place clean, no operating heavy machinery when intoxicated, etc. it later turns out that most of the labourers can't read, rendering the rules useless.

likewise, the protagonist homer welles (played by tobey maguire in the movie) has a crush on his best friend's fiancee, the director of the orphanage is pro-abortion despite its illegal status, homer's dilemma whether to follow the director's dream for him to become a obstetrician (and fellow abortionist), the town's underlying racism, homer's white son's attraction to a female labourer, all these (and more that would clearly give the game away if i were to list them) dance around societal rules that are much less clearly defined.

it's all very wittily written, disguising the very disquieting, severe themes. i wonder why they decided to make a movie out of it. i'm all for seeing tobey maguire play charmingly awkward characters, but the movie falls far short of the complex web of events and relationships of the book. why bother if that's the case?

I really can't stand John Irving's style of writing. This was a six hundred page novel that should have been three hundred. Also, I found it to be a little heavy-handed. He admits that it is deliberately didactic, but I think he pushes it the the point that it starts working against him. Any character opposing his ideals is put up as a two-dimensional straw man that he villainizes and knocks down, which doesn't help convince anyone of his views. I was surprised to learn that he wrote the screenplay for the film, which I thought was excellent. If he had employed half the discretion or subtley in the novel that he did in the film it would be a great book. As it is I found it tedious and self-indulgent.

The experience of reading a John Irving novel is not only a masterful adventure, but also a thorough analysis of poignant subject matter. Irving delivers yet another stunning piece that explores the most innocent and darkest part of the human psyche. A young boy grows up in an orphanage, in the care of a local obstetrician. Homer Wells learns the wonders of all things medical and the nuances of human life. As Homer grows, so do his views, as life presents many intriguing experiences on both sides of the law. A jaw-dropping piece that keeps the reader engaged until the final page turn.

When Homer Wells was born at an orphanage in St. Cloud’s, Maine, he had no idea how much him life would change. While Homer went in and out of some potential placements, he never stuck and was returned to the protection of Dr. Wilbur Larch, the orphanage’s physician and director. Soon, Homer and Dr. Larch create a connection and forge a friendship like no other. Homer learns a great deal about Dr. Larch’s profession as an obstetrician and soon becomes a medical assistant to help women give birth who want to hand over their newborns. There is also the option to abort, a procedure that is still highly controversial and completely illegal. Whatever the choice, Dr. Larch and Homer work to help women and educate them as best they can.

As the years pass, Homer enters adulthood, now a well-educated man who tries to continue the greatness that Dr. Larch instilled in him. Homer makes his own friendships and begins educating others about the wonders of female repruduction, which makes for some fiery conversations. A young man brings his fiancée in to see Dr. Larch for an abortion, which creates a new and exciting time for Homer to educate. What follows is not only a medical consultation, but the forging of a major friendship. Homer finds life-long friends who love and challenge him.

After leaving the orphanage and finding his own way, Homer discovers life working in rural Maine. He continues his educating about reproductive options and, at times, medical procedures on women who require his assistance. Homer finds new ways to touch the lives of those around him and makes life choices that could permanently change the future of those who cross his path. When the Second World War arrives in the lives of Americans, major changes occur and Homer must decide how to handle news that is both shocking and disturbing to him. Setting aside his past, Homer Wells must follow the rules that serve him best and provide a future in his best interest. Irving delivers a stunning story that, while long, left me eager for more. I cannot wait to see where things will take me next.

There are few authors who take me on such a significant adventure akin to John Irving. The stories are rich in their crafting and leave me hungry for more. Irving does not hold back, penning massive novels that are full of action and touching moments. The narrative meanders and delivers a wonderful adventure, though it will take a patient reader to be able to follow all the nuances that occur. As things gain momentum, there is a slow reveal that keeps the reader wondering what awaits them. Well-plotted characters provide flavouring and a stunning depth that adds to Irving’s storytelling, many of whom will impact the reader in ways they could not imagine. The plot points develop and leave the reader feeling fully immersed in the story, providing surprises for all to enjoy. There is something about Irving’s writing that keeps me eager to learn more, though the length and depth of the reading experience will surely cause some to shy away. This is surely social commentary on women and reproductive rights during the middle decades of the 20th century, as well as the scandalous treatment of women who become pregnant out of wedlock. There is something for everyone in this piece, given the time and patience. Brilliant in its delivery and impactful in all the topics addressed, the reader ought to be ready for all John Irving has to say.

Kudos, Mr. Irving, for such a gripping story. I am not surprised by all the accolades it has received!

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http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/

Incredible book. You can watch my review here - http://youtu.be/NINrIZE1Dco

This is a pretty hefty novel, but so worth it!
It covers an expanse of characters' history - the main one being Homer, a young boy brought up in an orphanage his entire life. The orphanage is connected to a hospital where secret abortions are performed.
Homer becomes assistant to Dr. Larch and learns the trade, before having a moral struggle, and chooses to leave the orphanage to live with a couple who have recently visited.
He moves to their farm, where they grow apples to make cider and Homer's life changes for ever.
I love this novel, it is one of my favourites and put Irving's books at the top of my list.
Anyone who has an interest in American history and in depth character studies - go for it, you won't be disappointed!

Goodnight you princes of Maine, you kings of New England.

По-перше, мені здається, потрібно бути досить сміливим автором, щоб у 1985 році писати про право жінок на аборт, гомосексуальність, наркотичну залежність та кілька інших гострих тем. Те, як сміливо це зробив Джон Ірвінг, мене вразило!

Цікавинка з біографії автора: його батьки розлучилися ще до його народження, тому Ірвінг ніколи не бачив свого біологічного батька. Той був пілотом у ВПС США під час Другої світової війни, був збитий у небі над Бірмою, але вижив. Утім, він так і не повернувся до сім’ї. Сам Джон дізнався про військове минуле батька лише у 1981 році.

По-друге, я обожнюю романи-епопеї, бо вони охоплюють різні аспекти життя та емоцій героїв. А герої тут дуже колоритні — кожному автор приділив належну увагу. Хоча книга спочатку читалася досить важко, я ніби боролася з течією, намагаючись зрозуміти, чому персонажі приймали ті чи інші рішення. Але фінал залишив глибокий відбиток у серці, і за це я сміливо ставлю 5!

P.S. Прочитано двічі, український переклад — чудовий!