I've read this more than once and can say it is my favourite J Irving novel. It has a tapestry of warmth to it.

One of my favorite books.

What I love about John Irving's novels is how they chronicle ordinary people living mostly ordinary lives, but somehow manage to come off as great, sweeping epics. I don't know how he does it - The Cider House Rules contains no epic journeys, no great battles, no romances for the ages, and no heroes. It's an ordinary story, but Irving's writing makes it seem just as incredible and important as The Odyssey.

Maybe it's the time span - the book covers a period of over 50 years, and centers on two central characters. They are Dr. Wilbur Larch, who performs illegal abortions at the St. Cloud's orphanage, which he runs; and Homer Wells, the orphan who is never adopted. Dr. Larch delivers babies who are to be left at the orphanage, and performs abortions on the women who request them. As Homer grows up, Dr. Larch teaches him to deliver babies and perform abortions, planning to make Homer his successor. Instead, Homer leaves the orphanage and goes to live and work on an apple farm.

A lot happens. Most of it isn't very happy, some is disgusting, and some of it is beautiful. Since the issue of abortion is a big part of the story, there's a lot of time devoted to arguing each side of the debate. Although Irving is pretty plainly pro-choice, there's ample evidence within the book to support a pro-life stance as well. For instance, the moment when Homer Wells decides that he won't perform abortions:

"In eight weeks, though still not quick, the fetus has a nose and a mouth; it has an expression, thought Homer Wells. And with this discovery - that a fetus, as early as eight weeks, has an expression - Homer Wells felt in the presence of what others call a soul.
...You can call it a fetus, or an embryo, or the products of conception, thought Homer Wells, but whatever you call it, it's alive. And whatever you do to it, Homer thought - and whatever you call what you do - you're killing it."

I find it very interesting that Homer Wells reaches his decision not to perform abortions by looking at a fetus. Dr. Larch, on the other hand, decides to perform abortions by looking at a mother. A young girl dies because he won't perform an abortion on her; later, he agrees to do the procedure on another underage girl and saves her.

"By the time he got back to Portland, he had worked the matter out. He was an obstetrician; he delivered babies into the world. His colleagues called it 'the Lord's work.' And he was an abortionist; he delivered mothers, too. His colleagues called this 'the Devil's work,' but it was all the Lord's work to Wilbur Larch. ...He could quite comfortably abstain from having sex for the rest of his life, but how could he ever condemn another person for having sex? He would remember, too, what he hadn't done for Mrs. Eames's daughter, and what that had cost.
He would deliver babies. He would deliver mothers, too."

It's heavy stuff. There's also a lot of really detailed, anatomical descriptions of the process of delivery and abortion, and the squeamish should be forewarned: if you can't handle the following passage, give this book a pass:
"'I have made this observation about the wall of the uterus,' Dr. Larch told the ghostly young man. 'It is a good, hard, muscular wall, and when you've scraped it clean, it responds with a gritty sound. That's how you know when you've got all of it - all the products of conception. You just listen for the gritty sound.' He scraped some more. 'Can you hear it?'"

On a lighter note, the book also contains a frankly delightful selection of dirty limericks, and to end this downer review on a funny note, I'll share one. Send the kids to bed and enjoy, folks:
"Oh pity the Duchess of Kent!
Her cunt is so dreadfully bent,
The poor wench doth stammer,
'I need a sledgehammer
To pound a man into my vent.'"

Aw yeah. Keepin' it classy.

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…

Ich konnte das Buch nicht aus der Hand legen und habe es innerhalb 3 Tage weg gesuchtet!
Warum ich Irving erst so spät in meinem Leben für mich entdecke, keine Ahnung.
Gut nur, dass ich ihn überhaupt für mich entdeckt habe!
Ich liebe die Geschichte um Homer Wells und Dr. Larch!
Der nächste Irving steht schon in den Startlöchern und ich kann es gar nicht erwarten wieder in Irvings Kosmos einzutauchen!
Verliebt...so sehr!

Maine 1920's - 1950's.

St. Cloud's Maine is a little burg with a paper mill and an orphanage. The paper mill closes down and the orphanage is all that is left. Dr. Larch runs the orphanage and feels that he is 'of use' because he helps women either bear their child and leave it at the orphanage or give them a safe abortion.

Homer Wells is one of the orphans. 4 attempts are made to adopt him. None work out so he comes back to the orphanage to stay. Larch trains him to be a midwife. Homer can deliver a baby, but does not believe in performing an abortion himself. He believes in choice,though, which is quite ironic.

Most of the action takes place in St Cloud's, but 15 years of the action takes place at the Ocean View Orchards in Heart's Haven Maine. The Worthingtons own the Orchards. Wally is their son who loves the local beauty, Candy Kendall. Candy becomes pregnant and they find their way to St Cloud's. There they meet Homer and Homer leaves the orphanage to go to work at the Orchard.

Another major character is Melony. She too is an orphan. She exacts a promise from Homer to never leave her at the orphanage alone. She cares for Homer but the feelings are not returned. He obviously breaks his promise.

The themes of this book are quite compelling. The major theme of The Cider House Rules is that individuals define their own rules by which to act and live despite societal dictates. In the case of this novel, these rules contextualize the difficult issue of abortion.

John Irving has written so many GREAT novels with well-drawn characters and thought provoking themes. The Cider House Rules is obviously one of his best.

5 stars

BRAVO BRAVO BRAVISSIMO!

Turbūt ne veltui Sidro Namų Taisykles taupiau, kaip paskutinę turimą Irvingo knygą savo lentynoje. Nes - o, vaikyti, kaip buvo gerai! Tik jums linkiu nieko nelaukti - imti, imti ir skaityti, ypač jei mėgstat šį autorių, tai Sidro Namų Taisyklės - išvis creme de la creme, na pati pati! Net romano vertėja yra sakiusi, kad jai - tai pati geriausia autoriaus knyga. Ir (kol kas) negaliu nesutikti, nors, atrodė, kad ir Garpomanijos virusą juk buvau pasigavus.

Taigi, pasikartosiu, jei mėgstat Irvingą - ir ši neabejotinai patiks, kaip ir kitose autoriaus knygose, galime pastebėti atsikartojančius motyvus, autoriaus braižą. Ypatingai tą sugebėjimą nupiešti pasaulį vaiko akimis: ne tą naivų, ne tą šabloninį neišmanėlio, nepatyrusio žmogaus vaizdinį, bet tą tokį savitą, kitokio vaiko pasaulį. Su visiškai atvirkščia, nei mums įprasta pasulėžiūra, neklišiniu mąstymu, o dar, o dar visa ta ironija - visada laiku ir visada vietoj. Na neturiu kur prikibti, net puslapių skaičius, kurį drąsiai būtų galima sumažinti, man buvo pats tas, nes tiesiog - tiesiog taip gera buvo gyventi kartu su Homeru, su Larču ir su Melonija, su visais tais šarmingais, ryškiais ir beprotiškai realistiškais Irvingo personažais.

Na o nepaisant autoriaus meistriškumo kurti tokius literatūrinius paveikslus - ne mažiau įdomi ir nepatogi buvo ir knygos tema, ar tiksliau siužetas, neatsiejamas nuo amžino klausimo - kada vaisius motinos įsčiose yra žmogus? Ir net jei jums atrodo, kad atsakymą žinote, ši istorija tikrai privers susimąstyti apie visus savo „niekada“, privers suabejoti savo įsitikinimais ir nuostatomis. Nes šis romanas - provokuoja. Ši istorija - provokuoja geraja prasme, ir čia nerasite atsakymų, nes čia nėra teisių ir klystančių veikėjų, čia yra tik žmonės, gyvi, tikri, visokie žmonės su visokiais jų gyvenimų nutikimais.

Ryški, beprotiška, šarminga, drąsi - viena geriausių šiemet skaitytų!

Šta su to pravila i ko ih propisuje? Da li svi mi živimo u skladu sa našim, ili isključivo poštujemo tuđa pravila? Zbog čega imamo sklonost ka otporu prema napisanim pravilima, dok ona nenapisana nesvesno sprovodimo u delo? I koliki je udeo inata u svemu tome?

Komotno bih mogla ceo prikaz ove knjige da koncipiram kao zbirku pitanja koja su mi nadolazila tokom čitanja. To je stvar sa Irvingom. On ne pušta svoje čitaoce da budu nezainteresovani, da zevaju ili gledaju na drugu stranu. A o preskakanju rečenica i čitanju bez koncentracije da ne govorim.

U intervjuu koji je izašao u 13. broju Laguninog časopisa Bukmarker, Irving je dao nekoliko genijalnih izjava koje su me primarno pogurale da krenem sa čitanjem njegovih gromada od knjiga. Naime, pored toga što je rekao da mu je omiljen lik iz svih njegovih knjiga upravo doktor Vilbur Larč, jedan od nosilaca „Tuđih pravila“, Irving je na pitanje ko su mu najmanje omiljeni likovi, odgovorio da, ako ih je zadržao u romanu, znači da su mu se dopali, dok je na pitanje „Šta bi čitalac Džon Irving rekao piscu Džonu Irvingu“, odgovorio „Je l može to malo kraće?“

Pored navedenog, mom dvadesetdvodnevnom čitanju njegovih (ili naših?) „Tuđih pravila“, u kom su poglavlja od po stotinjak stranica koncipirana kao otpočete i završene priče sa međusobnim poveznicama, doprineo je i Irvingov čitalački ukus i činjenica da obožava Dikensa i „Džejn Ejr“, Šarlot Bronte.

Odmah da kažem, Irving je jako, jako specifičan. Ili potpuno zavolite njegovu ekscentričnost, lucidnost, inteligenciju, sarkazam i humor, ili ga zamrzite zbog njegovog vrlo čestog rasplinjavanja, preteranog detaljisanja i potpuno neočekivanih tabu digresivnih momenata (ne znam na koji drugi način da dočaram njegovu sposobnost da u tekst unese nekakav tabu vajb koji nikakve veze nema sa samom radnjom, a opet taj isti vajb uspe da provuče kroz ceo roman krajnje neopažano).

Kad sam počela da čitam „Tuđa pravila“, prva pomisao posle nekih 30ak stranica bila mi je: „Okej, ovaj čovek piše kao kad se vozim autobusom pa mi navire gomila misli u istom trenutku koje su primarno nepovezane, ali suštinski imaju neku sponu“. E takav je on, apsolutno nepredvidiv. Vi ni u jednom trenutku ne znate šta će sledeće da se desi, koji lik je važan, koji događaj treba upamtiti.

Ni u jednom njegovom obrtu, raspletu, zapletu nema ni trunke senzacionalizma, što je potpuno i očekivano nakon njegove izjave da romane ne čita da bi bio iznenađen ili šokiran. Da, Irving piše o šokantnim temama, poput abortusa u doba kad je bio masovno zabranjivan, incesta, nasilja u porodici i slično; ali stvar je u tome što on ni o čemu ne govori na šokantan način. Nije mu cilj da sablazni svog čitaoca, niti da mu ponudi otrežnjenje. Ne, njegov cilj je da svoje čitaoce natera da razmišljaju, da se unesu u priču, da ih zanima svaki detalj ma koliko on u tom trenutku delovao morbidno ili nevažno.

Gromadom „Tuđa pravila“, Irving, poput siročeta Homera Velsa, svoje čitaoce ne pušta sve dok ne shvate šta je to sloboda izbora. Jedini izbor kad se pokrene diskusija na temu za ili protiv abortusa, ima žena. Niko drugi. Čak ni lekar koji je, prema sopstvenim uverenjima protiv, nema pravo da odbije abortus ako žena to od njega zahteva. Mogućnost izbora lekaru pripada isključivo ako je abortus legalan, pa može neko drugi to da obavi umesto njega, a sve do tog momenta, onaj doktor koji ume da odradi ovaj zahvat, ne sme odbiti. On nema izbora. I tu je kraj priče.

Druga važna stvar o kojoj Irving piše jeste rutina i potreba čoveka da se, s jedne strane, opire njenim kandžama, a s druge strane, da je hvata u čvrst zagrljaj. Činjenica da neki siročići celog svog života čitaju iste knjige, i to Dikensa i „Džejn Ejr“, da neki od njih čitavog života traže potvrdu o herojstvu u onom drugom ili da neki od njih beže od svoje prirode i svrhe koja se ogleda u njihovoj korisnosti – sve to na neki način, posredno ili neposredno, prikazuje koliko je čovek nemoćan spram rutine i koliko je zapravo moćan u odnosu na nju.

Moj prvi utisak po završetku čitanja „Tuđih pravila“ bio je „Ja ovu knjigu mrzim, ali isto toliko i obožavam“, i zato sam se zapitala – Kako je moguće imati u isto vreme dva toliko oprečna osećanja o istoj stvari? E pa, baš kao što je Homer Vels protiv ideje abortusa, ali isto tako shvata da abortuse mora da radi jer nije na njemu izbor, isto tako je moj primarni utisak ovoj knjizi bio da ne mogu da je smislim, ali sam na kraju nesvesno prihvatila da mi se uvukla pod kožu i da mi je postala bitna. Jer, jedna stvar u vezi sa njom ne dovodi se u pitanje – ovo je knjiga koja nikoga ne može ostaviti ravnodušnim.

Na kraju, moram skrenuti pažnju na jednog od meni najboljih i najtragičnijih likova, i mog apsolutnog favorita kad je ova knjiga u pitanju, a to je Meloni, devojčica (kasnije i žena) prepuna gneva, besa, borbenosti i ljubavi. I da, Homer Vels me je toliko nervirao sa svojim „Tako je“ opaskama i generalno sa svojim stavovima i odlukama, ali baš kao što Hari Poter verovatno nikome nije omiljen lik iz istoimenog serijala, sasvim je okej (čak je danas postao i trend) da nosioci radnje budu u velikoj meri odbojni široj čitalačkoj publici.

I was actually really surprised at how much I enjoyed this book. I am VERY Pro-Life and was very skeptical before about picking it up...although I love John Irving as an author. He is excellent at character development and his stories are so multifaceted that you are never disappointed. This is certainly true here in this novel. My surprisingly favorite character was Melony. She was hauntingly creepy, pathetically adorable and demanding of your attention although not a primary character. I loved how Irving intertwined her story into the theme of the book. There was a parallel running between Dr. Larch and Homer that Irving carved brilliantly. Although somewhat expected, the ending was tragic and sad. I found myself torn with my own personal feelings about the love triangle of Wally, Candy and Homer. One always wants the orphan to find his/her riches or personal happiness. This novel reminds us that sometimes even the underdog doesn't win although he plays a damn good game. All in all, this was a wonderful read. Hats off to Irving once again for a rich and delectable story...

I read this book a long time ago (more than 20 years), but today seems like a good day to review it. It was published in 1985 and starts in the 1940s.

It's a long, complicated, literary novel that tackles the issue of abortion and also racism.

"Good night, you princes of Maine, you kings of New England." That's how the elderly Dr Larch says goodnight to his collection of orphans.

Larch is an abortionist who took to the task after seeing the suffering of prostitutes forced to seek unqualified help in this area. He also accepts unwanted babies into his orphanage. He's a complex individual, addicted to the ether with which he sedates his patients.

The story follows one of the orphans, Homer, and as he grows Larch comes to see him as his successor, training him appropriately. As a young man Homer leaves the orphanage and becomes involved with a couple who run a cider orchard. The work is primarily done by black labourers who live in the Cider House and have the eponymous list of rules as their own private constitution to maintain order/civility in the difficult circumstances of their lives. Homer and later, his son, mix with the labourers and many questions about American society and various personal relationships and power dynamics are asked.

The book doesn't preach at you. It navigates the fraught waters of race and abortion in the US over several decades as Homer passes through various stages in his life. It's primarily about people, about the strange, prickly, violent, loving individuals that occupy its focus.

Like much literary fiction there are no answers given, no winners, just lives lived. People are flawed, inconsistent, hard to understand, but ultimately they're the company we get as we march through the years.

In the end, Homer resolves his feelings about Dr Larch, the orphanage, and the career Dr Larch had mapped out for him.

Irving is a skilled and sensitive writer, the book is an engaging read. The focus on found family, relationships, procreations, fathers both biological and those who step into the role, all provide a framework on which the issue of abortion, unwanted babies, and broken lives can be exhibited, inspected, and explored.


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The book started really very well. I liked the first part, I had also a lot of laugh-out-loud moments and I was curious to see what would happen next. I was totally in the story and also liked the characters, they were all so particular and eccentric. But going on with the reading I get bored by the story and, above all, by the characters. These never changed, they always said the same things and behaved the same way. It is as if they didn't have a development: they were the same from the beginning of the book till the end, at least 30 years later. Also, from the second part of the story every event and every behaviour of the characters was predictable. I already could foresee what would happen and what they would have done. Maybe the only character that had a small change in her personality and that surprised me was Melony. I arrived at the end of the book that I had enough of the characters and their lives.

Hey! I just plucked my first John Irving with The Cider House Rules!



Something strange happened midway through reading The Cider House Rules, my first John Irving book.* I found myself completely immersed in its world.

What’s strange is that for the first couple hundred pages, I didn’t particularly believe in this early 20th century Dickensian fable about orphans, surrogate families, an ether-addicted abortionist and the arbitrariness of some rules. But Irving’s storytelling skills eventually won me over. His prose is persuasive.

Homer Wells is raised in an orphanage in the isolated town of St. Cloud’s, Maine. Although he’s been placed with families four separate times, something has always gone wrong with his adoptions, and so he continually ends up back at the orphanage, where he eventually assists Dr. Wilbur Larch in his unusual obi/gyn practice.

Women come to St. Cloud’s to either give their children up for adoption or have the doctor terminate their pregnancies. When Homer is old enough to understand the latter, he decides to stop helping with those procedures. And when Wally Worthington and Candy Kendall, a glamorous young couple who’ve come to terminate their own unexpected pregnancy, tell Homer about the apple orchards back home near the ocean, he leaves with them, planning to stay just for a week or so to learn about orchards for the orphanage.

The book essentially recounts Homer’s coming-of-age. Out in the big bad world, he realizes that evil and temptation exist, and that moral choices aren’t so black and white. Having grown up in an old-fashioned world, presided over by Larch and Nurses Edna (who’s secretly in love with Larch) and Angela, he’s been insulated. Choices seem so much easier in the books that he used to read to the orphans: Dickens’s Great Expectations and David Copperfield (for the boys), and Jane Eyre for the girls.

In a sense, Homer sets out to realize his own great expectations, working in the orchards that Wally’s mother runs, falling in love with Candy and forging a lasting friendship with Wally. Meanwhile, Dr. Larch, who’s addicted to inhaling ether, is getting older; the board of the orphanage is looking to replace him. Will Homer eventually return?

Anyone who’s only seen the film version will be surprised by a plotline about another major character, Melony, an orphan who initiates Homer into sex and feels betrayed by his departure. She’s determined to track him down, but her motivations remain vague. Revenge? Jealousy? Again: because Irving is such a smooth and skilled writer, the Melony sections are always readable and provide a bit of tension in a plot that can sometimes feel loose.

A few other quibbles: Homer’s decision to leave with Candy and Wally feels odd, especially since he’s just met them. Often the book’s humour works, but just as often it feels contrived. And I felt cheated at the end when some big secrets are revealed – things we’ve anticipated for half the book – and we don’t get to see the characters’ responses.

But I came to love Irving’s people. I loved seeing them interact with each other, pick up experience, get older, reflect on their earlier selves. They’ll teach you about the female reproductive system or how many bushels of apples it takes to create a vat of cider. They’ll make you consider how something as simple as a Ferris Wheel might seem mysterious and magical, or how it might feel to ride a bicycle if you’ve never ridden one before.

I also liked the book’s central allegory about blindly following rules. At times the theme felt a bit didactic, but at others times it felt beautifully integrated into the story.

The author has great empathy for his characters. And he knows how to create an entire fictional world. The details might not seem true in today’s busy, cynical world, but they do in the world of the book. And that’s enough for me.

I’m looking forward to entering another one of Irving’s fictional worlds soon.

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* I almost finished Irving’s In One Person for a book club, but still had 60 pages to go before the group met. (I should go back and finish it.) And since Cider House, I’ve also read his breakthrough book The World According to Garp