Helpful Score: 3
This book took some time to really capture my attention. Irving always writes such powerful characters, and this was no exception, but the story seemed to lag a bit. All well written, but it took a bit of time for me to see where he was going with it.
It has a wonderful ending, one of the better endings, but it will take some fortitude to get to that place. Worth the trip, though.
It has a wonderful ending, one of the better endings, but it will take some fortitude to get to that place. Worth the trip, though.
Helpful Score: 3
Backleaf:
"Every major character in 'Until I Find You' has been marked for life--not only William Burns, a church organist who is addicted to being tattooed, but also William's son, Jack, an actor who is shaped as a child by his relationships with older women. And Jack's mother, Alice--a Toronto tattoo artist--has been permanently damaged by William's rejection of her. This is a novel about the loss of innocence, on many levels."
Quirky Irving as usual. Took a long time to get into this one, but glad I stayed with it until the end. Much more satisfying than I'd expected.
"Every major character in 'Until I Find You' has been marked for life--not only William Burns, a church organist who is addicted to being tattooed, but also William's son, Jack, an actor who is shaped as a child by his relationships with older women. And Jack's mother, Alice--a Toronto tattoo artist--has been permanently damaged by William's rejection of her. This is a novel about the loss of innocence, on many levels."
Quirky Irving as usual. Took a long time to get into this one, but glad I stayed with it until the end. Much more satisfying than I'd expected.
Helpful Score: 3
I am a solid John Irving fan, but I had a really tough time getting caught up with the characters in this novel. The story is interesting, but it was not my cup of tea. Having said that, however, John Irving is such an extraordinary writer, the book is worth a look see.
Helpful Score: 1
It was about 400 pages too long, and I definitely could have done without the child pornography that dominated the first third of the book. However, the last half of the book was infinitely more satisfying than the first half.
Helpful Score: 1
This is a fantastic and wonderful novel! It is so good!
A novel about how the people in your life shape who you will become.
This is the story of Jack Burns, wrestler, actor, lover, character extraordinaire. The book follows Jack from early childhood through middle age. It follows him on his journey to find himself. He can't, of course, until he finds his roots. This is something I've read once a year since I got it the year it was released. John Irving is a master of creating characters and building worlds around them. I would also recommend A Prayer for Owen Meany, The World According to Garp, and The Hotel New Hampshire... to name a few.
John Irving is one of my favorite authors. This is a good book, although it took me quite a while to get into it - but once I did, I couldn't put it down.
Irving's longest book and it is completely worth it. The story is extremely intricate and you get to know each character intimately. If you need something to lose yourself in, this book will do it!
If you like John Irving you will undoubtedly like this book. As usual, he deals with subjects that are a bit 'over the edge' for many tastes - transvestite prostitutes, tatoo parlor sub-culture, mental illness, and REALLY disfunctional families. If you can deal with that, he's a great writer, you can see it in every sentence. However, this one could probably have used more stringent editing. It is LONG and SLOW. If it was tightened up I would have given it a higher ranking, that's why it only gets three stars from me.
John Irving is one of the best American authors today, but this book left me cold. Still, you might like it.
I did not like the main character in this book at all, but I perservered to the end, and it was a long book! I am glad that I finished it though. He became more likeable towards the end.
Really weird book. Not bad, just weird.
I like John Irving and have read most of his books but this one is too sexy for my age.
Every major character in UNTIL I FIND YOU has been marked for life--not only William Burns, a church organist who is addicted to being tattooed, but also William's son, Jack, an actor who is shaped as a child by his relationships with older women. And Jack's mother, Alice--a Toronto tattoo artist--has been permanently damaged by William's rejection of her. This is anovel about the loss of innocence, on many levels.
John Irving writes "In this way, in increments both measurable and not, our childhood is stolen from us- not always in one momentous event but often in a series of small robberies, which add up to the same loss."
Vintage John Irving.
