John Irving is hands down one of the greatest American writers still living, and arguably in the top 10 post WW-II. Clear, concise, and revealing his distinction between novel and screenwriting is remarkable (but don't read this without having read The Cider House Rules). His devotion to the craft of writing, regardless of the genre, is up there with any great.

The main gist of this book was to explain how some of his books were made into movies with the main one being "Cider House" because he wrote the screenplay for years. It touched on all his novels and it helped me remember something about the books I had read a long time ago but the most interesting and the one given the most information was "Cider House".
He explains that his grandfather was an OB/GYN who graduated from Harvard in 1910 and wrote 3 books. One his books was published in 1942 and gave clinical details of the early days of obstetrics and gynecological surgery and our laws about abortion that go back to very early days of this country and how they have gone through numerous changes. Many of the stories in "Cider House" were based on real cases his grandfather had written about. Assuming that the information here is correct (and I would guess that it is), it was very informative but just adds more to my conflicted thoughts on the whole abortion issue; doesn't give me an easy out-just more food for thought on an issue that will probably never be settled.

Could anyone feel more self-important than Mr. Irving? There is nothing of note here. It is a sanitized, glossing-over of both novel writing and filmmaking. A reader unfamiliar with either will learn absolutely nothing. I'm still baffled as to the point of this book at all.

I'm sorry to say that the most interesting and memorable points in the 'story' are in the beginning. Once Mr. Irving abandons his remembrance of his grandfather, you'd might as well stop reading. Indeed, I'm inclined to try and find his grandfather's book, and if I do that will have been worth reading this one.

I picked up this book because I love 'The Cider House Rules', and really did not love the movie. As odd as it seems to dedicate and entire book to one book to film adaptation, I thought it might shed light on why that might be. In other words, what were they thinking? In some ways that question was answered, so I suppose that's why it felt worthy of three stars and not fewer.

This book resembled a cosy fireside chat with John Irving on the conversion of novels into screenplays. Although The Cider House Rules is the main subject under consideration, there are detours into his other novels that ended up as films, notably The World According to Garp and The Hotel New Hampshire, and the one that, try as he might, never made it to the cinema, his first novel, Setting Free the Bears.

I wondered why the eminent novelist had considered writing this memoir of his dabbling in the movie business. When I realized that this book was written on the eve of the release of the film version of The Cider House Rules, I wondered whether the author was trying to absolve himself of any responsibility for the finished product. Why? Because movies do not reflect their book versions. They are slices of the novel, where scenes and characters come and go or are replaced depending on the director, the studio and audience tastes. The Cider House Rules had four directors during its journey to being filmed, and the screenplay, written by Irving, changed radically with each one. This is to be expected, for when compressing a story, some characters and scenes will be compromised or eliminated, and others created anew to compensate for the gaps in the story. Voice-over (narration in the novel) is a frowned upon device in the movies and is used sparingly.

And yet it must have been a labour of angst for Irving to whom this book is close. He comes from a privileged medical family, and the book’s central character, Dr. Larch (played by Michael Caine in the movie), is modelled on the author’s grandfather.

One thing that became clear to me when reading this “how to make a screenplay” book, was how contrived movie scripts are. Effect, marketability, timing, and resolved endings are more important than moral and political issues that the author makes central themes in his novel version. So while Irving the author would like to make abortion and it’s representative, Dr. Larch, the focus, the movie deems a romance between the orphan, Homer Wells, and the temptress, Candy, more important.

A good read if one is interested in screenplays, and also for novelists who do not ever want their novels converted into movies.

Interesting perspective from Irving on the similarities and differences in writing a book and a screenplay. Great insight into the the industry with glimpses into Irving's personal life.

There are several ways to read this book.

Fans of John Irving's novels might be interested in his account of writing both the novel and screenplay of The Cider House Rules.

Film mavens will find what Irving has to say about the film business enlightening.

Writers will appreciate the insight into the writer's life and the process Irving uses to be interesting.

This is a book with numerous quotable passages. Well worth reading and revisiting.

Irving tells about Irving and it's enjoyment right from the start. The book is about his experience of his books being made into movies. He writes most about Cider House Rules and his grandfather who was an OB and a proponent for the pro-choice movement. Very exciting stuff. And I'm not usually a bio fan.

A must for any screenwriter