I gave this one the good old College Try, but Irving couldn't hold my attention. He writes well and is even funny at some points, but the humor at times was childishly raunchy and not to my taste. Though I could have gotten past that and enjoyed the story if 5 different plot/timelines for the same character weren't all happening at the same time. Overall, the disjointed plot is what made me lose interest. I couldn't get a foothold on the story long enough to become invested.
I can see how his style is appealing to a certain type of reader, but I prefer my plotting more linear.

Like many of Irving's novels, this one requires patience. Irving is a decidedly unhurried writer. The reward for patience with him is, for me, meeting characters who are interesting and as real to life as Dickens', a prose style that is as smooth as it is leisurely, and the joy of seeing the various narrative strands come together in the end. And a special sense of accomplishment when finished, like running a marathon you'd occasionally considered quitting, but then glad you persevered.

This is my first book by John Irving. Took me almost 3 weeks to finish. I almost DNF'ed this, but somehow I was compelled to flip through the pages until I was done.

The length of the book helped with the development of the characters. I like how they're fleshed-out through backstories and how these characters soon collided with each other.

I like this book, but I doubt I'll read more of his works. Maybe I could change my mind someday.

It's a couple of years i read my first irving ever, and it's one of the few books which made me laugh out loud...hilarious situations, incredible characters, highly recommended....

This book is culturally fascinating apart from the good plot. “In our hearts... there must abide some pity for those people who have always felt themselves to be separate from even their most familiar surroundings, those people who either are foreigners or who suffer a singular point of view that makes them feel as if they’re foreigners - even in their native lands. In our hearts... there also abides a certain suspicion that such people need to feel set apart from their society. But people who initiate loneliness are no less lonely than those who are suddenly surprised by loneliness, nor are they undeserving of our pity.”

My favorite John Irving - I'm having a bit of hard time to single out what makes this one a notch above the rest (and above a huge number of others), but I'm certain that the intriguing setting of India and (this time) perfect blend of joy of telling a story and strange but likeable characters are keys to the whole.

I would describe this book as a glorious mess. 3 stars because John Irving's prose is always masterful. That kept me reading, although the book is very long. But the dizzying array of characters and the complicated and convoluted plot would have made me give out on it long before the end with any other writer. And- I hope this isn't a spoiler- it seems that Irving himself gave out on it, for the ending seemed slapdash and hurried.

1.5 stars. Ugh what a mess of a book. Rambling, bizarre, boring. Seriously who edited this? What business does John Irving have writing about India anyway? I'm a little upset that this exists next to Owen Meany and Hotel New Hampshire.

Otra vez el señor Irving me ha encandilado!!
Cada vez me gusta más este escritor. Y eso que esta historia es un verdadero delirio, de verdad! Al principio no salía de mi asombro. Me parecía increíble que fuese cierto lo que estaba leyendo. Yo, que tiendo a obsesionarme un poco con el tema de la credibilidad (cualquier cosa que no entre dentro de una cierta lógica interna me expulsa de inmediato de la historia), estaba completamente enganchado antes de pasar de la página 100. Ya estaba dentro y no había manera de escapar!
Unas cuantas tramas se encuentran al borde de lo absurdo pero Irving lo cuenta todo tan bien, y hay tanto humor y tantos personajes entrañables en este libro que es imposible no caer rendido. Y toda esta "locura" en un Bombay realmente fascinante!
No sabéis la alegría que me produce tener aún unos cuantos libros de John Irving sin leer.

I am a big fan of Irving, but I found this one disappointing.

Okay, I’ll admit it: Indian tales just don’t have the same appeal to me as those set in the U.S. or Europe. I’m hardly a xenophobe, but there’s just more of a “connection” when reading about familiar places, names, customs, etc. And so, when I glanced at the summary of this book during that phase when I first consider whether I even want to read a book or not, my first instinct was to pass on it (or at least put it as far down on my queue as possible, given that I couldn’t completely discount a John Irving book altogether!).

Thanks to a strong recommendation of a friend, though, I decided to take a chance and read it sooner, rather than later. After all, I did really like Aravind Adiga’s novels set in India, so… why not? Maybe this could be just as entertaining!

It was… if not even more.

The plot itself was a unique sort of murder mystery wrapped into a larger plot involving one man’s sad sense of displacement no matter where he went, with side plots involving ties to the circus, ties to prostitutes and transsexuals, medical issues, religious issues, cultural issues, a radically different set of twins, and on and on. There was even a significant part of the plot that revolved around a giant dildo (which, during my reading consideration phase, I must admit was probably the one part of the summary that almost had me writing the book off as too bizarre for me). There were parts that had me literally laughing out loud, parts that had me completely surprised, and parts that had me intrigued enough to start googling different subjects of Indian culture (hijras, for example).

In short: it was entertaining in many ways, on many levels.

So, if there’s one helpful comment I can make about this book, it’s that there’s no one sentence or summary that could sum up this book for everyone. No matter what summary you read, there will likely be something to throw you off, or leave you scratching your head wondering why you would want to read a book like this. But, stifle that feeling, and start reading, because there’s something for everyone in this novel, and you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

Niet uitgelezen, ondanks dat ik Irving anders wel goed vind. Dit boek lijkt me zo'n goede reden om boeken van mannelijke auteurs voor altijd af te zweren, dus als je veel van die literaire pareltjes niet wil missen, zou ik niet aan een zoon van het circus beginnen. Amen. Spoiler: ik houd het niet vol want ik begin zo aan Murakami.