2021: It was a plot-driven, multigenerational epic that I wanted from Irving, but included characters with whom I really did not align.

This was for sure my least favorite Irving novel so far, but that's not as surprising, considering the only other three I've read are the Garp / Owen Meany / Cider House trifecta. Definitely start there (and maybe say there...) If there hadn't been such New England / Long Island / Amsterdam nostalgia for me, I might have given up on this book.

Ted is literally an insufferable character, I wanted him to go away from the moment I met him. Eddie is so soft, and does not pair well with Marion or Ruth in my opinion. Ruth was okay, but I did not agree with her outsized responses to most things. Hannah was a mess, Allan was kind of mean, Harry came out of nowhere, basically I didn't gel with any of them! And all of the characters in this book are valued based on how good they are at sex. I certainly don't judge the people I interact with in this world on their abilities in bed, unless I'm actually in bed with them.

I will say, Irving is reliably pro-abortion, and he seemed decently pro-prostitutes in this novel (he did reinforce many stereotypes, but also made several of the women into well rounded characters. I just wish he didn't kill any of them off!) Another favorite element of Irving's that I love is that he leaves no stone unturned; he answered all of my questions, and even more that I didn't even know I had. He even included the full text of the first chapter of the book that Ruth writes, just so the reader can enjoy every single word written and leave without any questions.