The Cider House Rules
Ratings82
Average rating4.1
One of my favorite books ever. There is so much love, compassion and acceptance in it. I love how the orphanage becomes a home and family for those who otherwise don't have a place in the world. Homer Wells is one of my favorite book characters ever. Writing this, I'm convincing myself I want to reread it, and soon!
Amusing.. And kind of disturbing at times (passages on curettage and the “gritty” sound a womb makes when you are cleaning it out...)
I gave this three stars after I read it; I think I was being generous. At one time I thought Irving was the greatest and surely he couldn't write a boring book, right?
Well, this book was quite boring with flat, uninteresting characters.
The point of it is for Irving to repeat “abortion should be legal, abortion should be legal, abortion should be legal.” Everything that happens in the book is in support of that.
I completely agree with this view but that won't make this a good read.
My first re-read of this book since my early twenties - I loved it then, and I love it even more now. This is the story of Dr Wilbur Larch, an abortionist who also runs an orphanage, and the life of his protege, the unadoptable Homer Wells. John Irving's beautiful writing is alchemical, taking ordinary lives and turning them into something magical and infinitely valuable. I hope I'll find the time to read this book again but regardless, I will never forget it. ‘Goodnight you princes of Maine, you kings of New England.'
Solid, though definitely not as good as A Prayer For Owen Meany. As ever, Irving turns a good phrase, develops great characters, and builds a believable world.
A FANTASTIC listen
I've always enjoyed anything from Irving I've ever read, and this was no exception.
Having never seen the movie, but knowing the general subject matter I was pleasantly surprised to find it was SO MUCH MORE than a book about abortions.
Each and every character has such a fascinating journey, and I thoroughly enjoyed hearing the history and medical side of stuff surrounding the evolution of abortions.
I couldn't get enough of Dr. Larch. I would definitely listen to the audiobook again.
Dragged through the first 100 pages and flew through the rest of the book, which finished with the “all is well after all”.
If you are not a fan of stream of consciousness or jumping around in a story, don't read it. Otherwise, it was beautiful. A gem. So different than the movie, you'll ask yourself what the hell the studio was thinking!