Ką čia parašyt... ką čia parašyt? Knyga, reikalaujanti laiko ir apmąstymų. Sunkoka istorija. Abortai, vieniša motinystė, rašytos ir nerašytos taisyklės ir supratimas, kad kasdieninio gyvenimo taisyklės negali būti detalizuotos, užrašytos ir priskirtos kažkuriai kategorijai.

Funny, engaging, smart, sentimental, and rather popular. It's main topics are: abortion (the book is quite pro-abortion and makes a very good case), orphans and their status as an alternative to an abortion (with David Copperfield and Jane Eyre characters/books playing an important and positive role here), the father-son relationship, strong characters and their visions that change things in the world, WW2 and its effects on the American society, poverty and prostitution, naming children and what it means, rules and breaking them (as the title implies), knowing or not knowing your parents, the pivotal importance of doctors and their conscience, manual labor and orchards, love and family, and so on. It is nice to see how characters like Larch, Homer, Melony, Wally, Candy, Olive, Rose, Angel, and so on determine and push each other in positive and critical ways.

Man vienlaicīgi gan patika, gan nepatika vairāk nekā es gaidīju, bet mana nepatika par konkrētām lietām nebija no tām, kas īpaši pazeminātu manu kopējo vērtējumu par grāmatu. Drīzāk tā papildināja to emociju klāstu, ko stāsts lika izjust.

Beigas bija visnotaļ jaukas, tikai man būtu paticis vairāk, ja tās pienāktu ātrāk.

I did enjoy this story but found myself bored at times; it's too long!

I had a tough time with this book. Irving is a good writer as far as his colorful descriptions go, but there was a strange lack of emotion in his character development and plot that I can't quite put my finger on. The descriptions of highly emotionally-charged topics/events (sex, abortion, a forbidden relationship, etc.) were scientific or removed from reality somehow.

Ilgai svarsčiau kiek žvaigždučių šiai knygai skirti... 4.5 būtų tinkamiausias vertinimas, bet labiau į tą gerąją pusę.
Nevertinu knygos pagal tai, ar ji atitinka mano vertybes ar ne. Vertinu pačią knygą, ir autoriaus sugebėjimą sudominti, papasakoti ir palikti kažką skaitytojo galvoje.

Ļoti lēna, nobriedusi grāmata, un nekāda LIELĀ action tur nebūs pat par spīti tam, ka 20.gadsimta sākums ir ļoti trauksmains vēstures laiks (bet kurš gan nav, ne?). Dabas ritums, ētikas un morāles dilemmas, sieviešu tiesības, ārstu tiesības un izvēles, likumi un dubultmorāle.

Plašāk blogā: http://lalksne.blogspot.com/2020/10/d...

Una vida, unos conocimientos imprescindibles para ser útil en Sant Cloud's. Un imprescindible en la literatura.
Larch y Wells pasan a li lista de personajes favoritos.
Muy recomendable y con unas reflexiones de diez.

“Pensò alle regole. […] Le vere regole della casa del sidro erano quelle di Mister Rose. E quali erano le regole a St. Cloud's? Quali erano le regole di Larch? Quali regole il dottor Larch osservava, quali violava, quali modificava e con quali criteri? Chiaramente Candy osservava certe regole, ma messe da chi? E lo sapeva, Wally, che regole fossero?“

Romanzo di formazione ricco e potente che affronta temi (ancora!) scabrosi come l’aborto (e il diritto della donna all’autodeterminazione); la famiglia e la sua disfunzionalità; la complessità delle relazioni sessuali e dell’amore; la violenza domestica; la ricerca del proprio posto nel mondo e il diritto a sbagliare cercando da soli la strada; il complicato rapporto tra la libertà e la legge e la relatività delle regole umane.

Indimenticabili le citazioni da Dickens e Emily Brontë, indimenticabili i personaggi come Wilbur Larch, le amorevoli infermiere Edna e Angela, la rude orfana Melony, la splendida coppia Wally e Candy, il loro frutteto dove si trova la casa del sidro e naturalmente l’orfanotrofio di St.Clouds dove con dedizione e incondizionato amore si accudisce, si cura, si opera. (E tutti i piccoli orfani…”Principi del Maine, re della Nuova Inghilterra”.)

“…il lavoro del Signore e il lavoro del Diavolo, lo chiamavano, tanto per metter in chiaro, fra loro, quale operazione venisse eseguita di volta in volta. Wilbur Larch accettò quel linguaggio – era utile infatti – ma entrambe le infermiere erano d’accordo con Larch: era tutto lavoro del Signore, quello ch’essi eseguivano.”

Homer Wells, che seguiamo dall’infanzia alla maturità, legge e rilegge David Copperfield come fosse la sua Bibbia e il suo viatico. Il suo percorso di vita e consapevolezza sarà il filo conduttore di una storia intensa e affascinante che contiene molte altre storie.

“Lei vuole che Homer faccia il medico, Wilbur," disse Nurse Edna, "ma la vita è la sua." "Si aspetta forse che faccia anche lo scrittore?" interloquì Nurse Angela. "E che non si sposi mai?" chiese Nurse Edna, perigliosamente. M'aspetto che si renda utile, pensò Wilbur Larch stancamente. […] Ma quello che Wilbur Larch si aspettava dal suo giovane apprendista era soltanto quello che credeva di avergli insegnato.“

(Peccato per la traduzione italiana che avrebbe bisogno di una seria rinfrescata.)

3 stars for The Cider House Rules.

When I compare this to A Prayer for Owen Meany, I didn’t enjoy it as much, but it is a solid and enjoyable story with memorable characters. It was about 150 pages too long though. Some parts of the plot dragged for me.

A theme of The Cider House Rules is abortion and the choices surrounding that issue. John Irving shows both sides - nothing is cut and dry.

That nothing in life is “cut and dry” is the bigger message that Irving made. The actual “Cider House Rules” are a list of written rules posted in an apple orchard cider mill. The problem is none of the workers can read them although the rules are updated and reposted new every year. Irving’s big point here is that life isn’t a set of written down rules. Sometimes obligations trump personal feelings like when Homer Wells follows in Dr Larch’s footsteps at St. Cloud’s and continued Larch’s legacy despite Homer’s personal moral objection to performing abortion.

This was an interesting read and I’m thankful to have started my reading year with The Cider House Rules.

This is also my first book for my Classic BINGO challenge!

I’m off to a great start so far in my 2023 reading journey. 6 books (albeit 4 Shakespeare plays) completed so far and I’m enjoying reading again.

Rating: 5* of five

My very favorite John Irving book is a $1.99 Kindle Daily Deal today. So very worth the tiny cost.

Nu prot tas Ērvings rakstīt, ne tur ko pielikt, ne atņemt. Kaut kad ļoti sen biju redzējusi filmu, tāpēc tāds vispārējs priekšstats par sižetu bija - kaut te nu laikam gadījums, kad filma ļoti atšķiras, Melonijas tajā nav vispār (un tagad man grūti to iztēloties, jo perosnīgi man likās, ka viņa ir perfekts jaņ Homēra iņ, un stāsts bez viņas nevar būt pilnīgs). Pārsteidzoši, ka katrs tēls kopumā patiesībā bija nepatīkams (trakais narkomāns Lārčs ar Dieva sindromu, stumdamais un grūstāmais Homērs, aptrakusī maita Melonija, pilnīgi neizlēmīgā Kendija utt.), bet saliekot viņus kopā sanāk stāsts, kurā labrātīgi dzīvot kādu laiku, izlaist to cauri dvēlsi un gūt kādu nekādu atziņu. Jāatzīmē, ka man raisījās vairāk pārdomas ne par abortiem kā tādiem , bet par brīvo gribu kopumā.