English language
Published July 30, 2012 by Doubleday.
An elderly bisexual man looks back upon his life and romances, reflecting on his unfulfilled loves and broken dreams.
A very John Irving novel; returning to settings (New England, Vienna, Amsterdam), themes (unusual families, wrestling). Reminded me of a Prayer for Owen Meany.
A powerful confrontation with the realities of the 1980s AIDS epidemic, but a more positive theme of the importance of acceptance.
I used to love John Irving. I can't tell if this book just didn't grab me, or if I've just outgrown his writing style.
In enjoyed reading In One Person, by John Irving. He creates endearing male characters in this small town all-boys boarding school in Vermont, and tells a sympathetic story about people whose sexual orientation and gender assignments are not conventional or easily definable. For Billy, the protagonist, the story starts in the 1950's and continues into his old age, illustrating the many changes those decades have wrought. I would definitely recommend it.
Allright, it's pretty hard for me to write about Irving's books, because I usually love them, but I have no idea why.
In One Person is the story of William/Bill/Billy Abbott, from his 13 years old to his almost-70s. Billy Abbott is a novelist; he's bisexual; and through the book we meet his family, friends and lovers. The whole thing is kind of non-linear - well, it starts when Billy is pretty young and ends in present day, but the middle is sometimes going back and forth between the eras. And we follow Billy's life from his being a student who has "crushes on the wrong people" in a boy-only school to being a teacher in the same (now mixed) school through travelling to Europe and the AIDS epidemy.
I don't think it's a book that anyone will like (I'm not even sure it's a book that anyone could read …
Allright, it's pretty hard for me to write about Irving's books, because I usually love them, but I have no idea why.
In One Person is the story of William/Bill/Billy Abbott, from his 13 years old to his almost-70s. Billy Abbott is a novelist; he's bisexual; and through the book we meet his family, friends and lovers. The whole thing is kind of non-linear - well, it starts when Billy is pretty young and ends in present day, but the middle is sometimes going back and forth between the eras. And we follow Billy's life from his being a student who has "crushes on the wrong people" in a boy-only school to being a teacher in the same (now mixed) school through travelling to Europe and the AIDS epidemy.
I don't think it's a book that anyone will like (I'm not even sure it's a book that anyone could read - some parts are pretty explicit/graphic), but to me it was a great story with very memorable characters, and a nice reflexion about gender identity and sexual preferences. One slightly annoying thing is that, without being able to pinpoint specific instances, the story seemed a bit too coincidental to be entirely believable. But oh well. The usual "Irving tropes" (see en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Irving#Recurring_subjects :) ) are obviously present, which makes the book more endearing to me - I like the cosy feeling of "known territory".
All in all, possibly one of my favorite Irving books (my absolute favorite and the one I re-read the most being [b:The Cider House Rules|4687|The Cider House Rules|John Irving|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327962519s/4687.jpg|3875895]).
