After a somewhat excruciating reading experience, I finally finished aaa|A Widow for One Year|0345424719|aaa By John Irving. A few years ago I read “The Cider House Rules” and was looking forward to reading another novel by the same author.

‘Widow’ was an interesting read. I am torn as to whether or not I actually enjoyed it. The book focuses on the themes of Family, Love, age and aging, and Death. These themes were all fully developed throughout the novel and I really felt as if all the different plots were brought to a satisfying conclusion.

While reading some of the reviews of ‘Widow’ on Amazon I noticed that many readers enjoyed the first half of the novel and found the second half lacking. My take is just the oposite. I was completely put off by the overly sexual nature of the beginning of the book. Now, I don’t consider myself a prude… and I can appreciate the use of sexual relationships as a means to drive the plot… but I think that Irving went a little overboard. The second half of the novel focused more one the lives and struggles of the characters than on their libidos.

Over all, the book was deep, complicated and full of characters who aren’t sure who they are or what they want. Although I seriously considered returning it to the library after the first couple chapters I was intrigued enough to finish. I think I’m glad I did.

[A side note] When I was half way though I saw the author on The Today Show with Katie Couric… He was promoting a new children’s book that is based on a children’s book written by a character in ‘Widow’. I thought it was a bit ironic that my reading this book and his appearance on TV coincided. Weird.