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Loading... The Fourth Handby John Irving
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will love Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book.  r1hard | Nov 22, 2009 |  This is the first Irving book I've liked since "Hotel New Hampshire." (  ) Mdshrk1 | Aug 15, 2008 | I really loved this book however, there was a point in which it started droning. It reads well and quick and can be finished in a few days. John Irving's characters are very interesting and sometimes complex(as they should be) and his writing seems to show and tell at the same time. In other words, it seems as if the whole story is exposition or summary yet it still conveys incredible detail and the reader is always right in the scene. I recommend although, it is my first book by Irving. (  ) fender1901 | Jul 19, 2008 | This book started with a touch of quirky humor but over time changed into a serious love story. I liked how Patrick learns about true love and compassion as he tries to win Doris' heart. I also found the insight into television news coverage informative. (  ) krin5292 | Apr 22, 2008 | The second-worst book John Irving ever wrote. Which is still, of course, very readable and better than most books out there. farleycar | Mar 23, 2008 |  no reviews | add a review
Amazon.com Amazon.com's Best of 2001 (ISBN 0345463153, Mass Market Paperback)Like anything newsworthy, miracles of medicine and technology inevitably make their way out of the headlines and become the stuff of fiction. In recent years readers have been absorbed by media accounts of a transplanted hand, an experiment that ultimately ended in amputation. Medical ethicists reason that a hand, unlike a heart or a liver--essential organs conveniently housed out of sight--is in full view and one of a pair, arguably dispensable. In his 10th novel, however, John Irving undertakes to imagine just such a transplant, which involves a donor, a recipient, a surgeon, a particular Green Bay Packer fan, and the remarkable left hand that brings them together.Television reporter Patrick Wallingford becomes a story himself when he loses his hand to a caged lion while in India covering a circus. The moment is captured live on film, and Patrick (who wears a "perpetual but dismaying smile--the look of someone who knows he's met you before but can't recall the exact occasion") is henceforth known as the lion guy. Before long, plans are made to equip Patrick with a new hand. Doctor Nicholas M. Zajac, superstar surgeon, indefatigable dog-poop scooper, runner, and part-time father, is poised to perform the operation. But the donor--or rather the widow of the donor--has a few stipulations. Doris Clausen wants to meet the one-handed reporter before the procedure, and insists on visitation rights afterward. Irving weaves these characters and a panoply of others together in a smart, funny, readable narrative. Often farcical, The Fourth Hand is ultimately something more: a tender chronicle of the redemptive power of love. --Victoria Jenkins (retrieved from Amazon Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:58:16 -0400) The first test round has been closed. Visit the Open Shelves Classification group for details. |
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Wikipedia in English (1)
Ich glaube, einige meiner Vorgänger haben die Ironie nicht verstanden, mit der John Irving seine Bücher schreibt.
Nicht jedes Wort, was seine Romanhelden von sich geben, muss der Meinung des Autors entsprechen. Vielmehr setzt sich Irving durch geschickt eingesetzte Ironie und Provokation mit Themen auseinander, die alle betreffen. Und dann ist das Thema des Buches natürlich nicht das aufsammeln von Hundekot, auch wenn es in dem Buch eine große Rolle spielt.
Ich denke, wer einfach nur eine Story lesen will, die so vor sich hinplätschert und sich von selbst erklärt, solte die Finger von John Irving lassen. Denn er fordert vielmehr die Phantasie der Leser und die Auseinandersetzung mit seinen Themen. Und das ist ihm mit diesem Buch wirklich geglückt, deswegen ganz klar 5 Sterne!