Sharyl reviewed Until I find you by John Irving
Review of 'Until I find you' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
One thing I like about John Irving is that even though his protagonists are male, he seriously considers the women in his stories. Women are always more than objects, even when they are not The Subject.
This time, Jack Burns is the protagonist, but at first, his mother's life is front and center. Alice Stronach is so heartbroken and angry after William Burns leaves her that it distorts her personality. At times, I wasn't sure if she loved William, Jack, both, or neither. And by the way--Jack bears an uncanny resemblance to William.
Jack is only four years old at the beginning of this novel, so it goes without saying that what he thinks he remembers and knows about his parents is inaccurate. And this will be the meat of the plot: eventually, Jack seeks out people from his past and uncovers the facts about what really happened all those …
One thing I like about John Irving is that even though his protagonists are male, he seriously considers the women in his stories. Women are always more than objects, even when they are not The Subject.
This time, Jack Burns is the protagonist, but at first, his mother's life is front and center. Alice Stronach is so heartbroken and angry after William Burns leaves her that it distorts her personality. At times, I wasn't sure if she loved William, Jack, both, or neither. And by the way--Jack bears an uncanny resemblance to William.
Jack is only four years old at the beginning of this novel, so it goes without saying that what he thinks he remembers and knows about his parents is inaccurate. And this will be the meat of the plot: eventually, Jack seeks out people from his past and uncovers the facts about what really happened all those years ago between his parents.
When Alice and William stop communicating, the story follows Jack's life through school and then his career as an actor and movie star. Bad things happen along the way, and several adults in his life do things that are not even close to being okay. At first, when Alice sends Jack off to boarding school, it seems that Jack is being deprived of parental attention, love, and supervision. Here, Irving is reminding us that a woman's life can be irrevocably changed by an unplanned pregnancy. If she decides to go on with her life the same way a man could, other people might judge her...
Jack's strange childhood notwithstanding, he manages to grow up to be a decent person at heart. He certainly has emotional problems, and does not always show the best character. He knows this. One of the few long-lasting relationships in his life is the one he has with his therapist. His most important relationship is with Emma, the daughter of his mother's lover. Jack and Emma's friendship is both sibling-like and--rather sexual. (They'd both disagree with that assessment, though.) There is also an important girlfriend, Claudia, but Jack is too emotionally damaged for that to last. Each relationship is developed in detail, as part of Jack's story.
In his late thirties, Jake is alone and lost; he has no sense of who he is and where he belongs. Some parts of Jack's narrative do go on a bit long. His journey of self-discovery involves traveling to several countries and at times it felt like I was reading Frommer's Scandinavia. But then, this would not be a proper John Irving novel without subplots and extra information.
And then, just when Jack finds who he needs to find--the story ends. Honestly, I would have enjoyed reading a bit more more at this point, perhaps an epilogue. But then, I suppose I don't actually need more information!
I'd recommend this to John Irving fans. For many people, it might be too long-winded, but I enjoyed it very much.