In 1954, in the cookhouse of a logging and sawmill settlement in northern New Hampshire, an anxious twelve-year-old boy mistakes the local constable's girlfriend for a bear. Both the twelve-year-old and his father become fugitives, forced to run from Coos County--to Boston, to southern Vermont, to Toronto--pursued by the implacable constable. Their lone protector is a fiercely libertarian logger, once a river driver, who befriends them.In a story spanning five decades, Last Night in Twisted River--John Irving's twelfth novel--depicts the recent half-century in the United States as "a living replica of Coos County, where lethal hatreds were generally permitted to run their course." From the novel's taut opening sentence--"The young Canadian, who could not have been more than fifteen, had hesitated too long"--to its elegiac final chapter, Last Night in Twisted River is written with the historical authenticity and emotional authority of The Cider House Rules and A Prayer for …
In 1954, in the cookhouse of a logging and sawmill settlement in northern New Hampshire, an anxious twelve-year-old boy mistakes the local constable's girlfriend for a bear. Both the twelve-year-old and his father become fugitives, forced to run from Coos County--to Boston, to southern Vermont, to Toronto--pursued by the implacable constable. Their lone protector is a fiercely libertarian logger, once a river driver, who befriends them.In a story spanning five decades, Last Night in Twisted River--John Irving's twelfth novel--depicts the recent half-century in the United States as "a living replica of Coos County, where lethal hatreds were generally permitted to run their course." From the novel's taut opening sentence--"The young Canadian, who could not have been more than fifteen, had hesitated too long"--to its elegiac final chapter, Last Night in Twisted River is written with the historical authenticity and emotional authority of The Cider House Rules and A Prayer for Owen Meany. It is also as violent and disturbing a story as John Irving's breakthrough bestseller, The World According to Garp.What further distinguishes Last Night in Twisted River is the author's unmistakable voice--the inimitable voice of an accomplished storyteller. Near the end of this moving novel, John Irving writes: "We don't always have a choice how we get to know one another. Sometimes, people fall into our lives cleanly--as if out of the sky, or as if there were a direct flight from Heaven to Earth--the same sudden way we lose people, who once seemed they would always be part of our lives."From the Hardcover edition.
Review of 'Last night in twisted river' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
This is a novel that demonstrates, both through the intent and the form of the story, the craft of writing. At a certain point while reading this, I was somewhat turned off by the deliberateness of Irving's writing -- it made me think too much of "workshop" writing, the kind that is produced in academic remove. But as Irving continued to unravel the strings of his characters' lives, I got drawn in despite myself. By the end, I loved the characters -- especially Ketchum -- as much as Irving did.
Review of 'Last night in twisted river' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
The best Irving book I've read since "A Prayer for Owen Meaney," but unfortunately not quite the same caliber as Meaney. Still, it's a good story, even if it could have ended about a hundred pages sooner.
The story follows the lives of a cook and his son, who have to leave the logging camp where the cook works after an unfortunate incident of mistaken identity. The story itself spans decades in which the two men change names and jobs (though, not occupations) almost seasonally as they move through live half-driven by fate and half-driven by motivation to stay a step or two ahead of the vindictive sheriff (and eventually ex-sheriff) who bides his time tracking them down.
The biggest problem with the last fifth of the book or so is that it becomes too self-referential and borders on the asininely political. (Hey, I dislike Bush's post-9/11 policies as much …
The best Irving book I've read since "A Prayer for Owen Meaney," but unfortunately not quite the same caliber as Meaney. Still, it's a good story, even if it could have ended about a hundred pages sooner.
The story follows the lives of a cook and his son, who have to leave the logging camp where the cook works after an unfortunate incident of mistaken identity. The story itself spans decades in which the two men change names and jobs (though, not occupations) almost seasonally as they move through live half-driven by fate and half-driven by motivation to stay a step or two ahead of the vindictive sheriff (and eventually ex-sheriff) who bides his time tracking them down.
The biggest problem with the last fifth of the book or so is that it becomes too self-referential and borders on the asininely political. (Hey, I dislike Bush's post-9/11 policies as much as the next guy, but do I REALLY need to hear about it through the musings of a fictional expatriate author living in Toronto?) Until then, the story is almost completely character and plot driven, so the disappointment comes mostly from the change of pace. One might argue that it mirrors the pace of the main character's (the cook's son's) life, given the loss and grief he suffers, but that revelation doesn't make it less boring.
Review of 'Last night in twisted river' on 'Storygraph'
5 stars
I certainly didn't read every book that came out in 2009, nor will I ever, but I doubt I'll read a book from 2009 that is as good as Last Night in Twisted River.
