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, … logger, once a river driver, who befriends them. In a story spanning five decades, Last Night in Twisted River 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.” What further distinguishes Last Night in Twisted River is the author’s unmistakable voice—the inimitable voice of an accomplished storyteller.
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I really like the honesty of John Irving’s characters. I will probably botch the quote, but in one of Irving’s stories, a publisher runs all his books past the cleaning lady who comments on an author that she thought the story was terrible because characters were crazy and unpredictable – just like in real life. As such, she couldn’t put the …
Another great read from John Irving. Full of great characters as only he knows how to write about. I found it semi-autobiographical as he intertwines this past novels with the main character. 4 stars only because I enjoyed some of his other novels better, but way better than most other novels. Irving is an American treasure.
Wonderful Characters, but a very limited plot line. 900 pages is a great deal of time to put into this book if all you get is characters going in circles…….but so very well written.
If you know Irving’s work, most of a review would be unnecessary. In this one, he gets a bit in over his head and ends up overdoing the same character descriptions. Still, the weird characters, and the twisted things that happen to them, are oddly easy to relate to ordinary people and life. More editing would have helped.
Weird, first and last book I will read by this author
Not always the easiest subject matter but an original “slice of life” most Americans will never experience or see.
This is one of my favorite books by Irving, because it has all his elements perfectly put together including sexual deviation and some pretty shocking character behaviors. It was wonderfully twisted and as much fun as any John Irving novel out there. I have visited Twisted River and yes, I too left.
John Irving is one of my favorite authors. His characters are dense and interesting and he creates stories that are comple and human. This one won’t disappoint!
People haven’t given this book the chance it deserves. It gets better and better. Such a wonderful scary interesting long tale of a family that put themselves in crazy situations and yet they find their way out. John Ivring creates such wonderful characters in great detail that one must give each book the time it deserves and you will be rewarded …
Irving’s stories always border on just barely too weird to believe, but the characters and their internal dialogue shouldn’t be missed. He shoots for too much too often but he redeems every story with enough bewitching prose to make your suspension of belief worthwhile.
I think I have read virtually all of John Irving’s books over the years and I would recommend this book as well as the others. His characters and stories are always entertaining, sometimes hilarious. If he takes them off into unusual, unpredictable or uncomfortable situations, it is never at the expense of their humanity. His characters charm …
Liked the story, very original. After reading everything he’s ever written, however, thus was the last one of his novels that I enjoyed.
Irving’s books are all very different from each other and other authors.
As a dedicated fan of Irving, I wholeheartedly recommend this novel as one of his best yet.
If you’re a John Irving fan, this is an excellent bit of escapism!
I have read this one twice and enjoyed it both times. I was a fan of the character of Cookie and enjoyed reading the ups and downs of his life and his son’s life.
An average read at best.
Typical Irving style…loved every page. It is supposed to be partly biographical which made it all the more interesting!
In a lesser effort than his earlier works. Irving seems too be trying to out-Irving himself. This tome is so slow-moving at the start, I’d probably have given up on it had I not read and loved so many of John Irving’s books.
A typical John Irving Loooooooong novel. The characters are strong and individualistic covering many decades of growth and change. I found the name changes for each character a little difficult to follow….took a little effort to keep track. The setting, lifestyle and occupations were unfamiliar to me so I found that of great …