“Last Night in Twisted River” by John IrvingMy perception of John Irving is that he’s a bit polarizing – people either love him or hate him. I happen to fall more toward the “love him” end of the spectrum, because his voice is so unique and his stories so eccentric. And if there’s one thing I can say about John Irving’s books, it’s that they tend to be memorable—he wrote two books I’ll never forget, “The World According to Garp” and “A Prayer for Owen Meany.”
When I say his books are eccentric, it’s because of the strange elements and themes that recur throughout his novels—things like bears, losing a hand, avoiding Vietnam, and violent accidents. His latest novel, “Last Night in Twisted River,” continues the pattern. At the start of the book, a 12-year-old boy accidentally kills the town constable's girlfriend after he mistakes her for a bear. Knowing their lives are in danger (the constable is a violent alcoholic who will stop at nothing for revenge), the boy and his father spend the next 50 years on the run. Along the way they are aided by their fiercely loyal friend, a colorful old woodsman named Ketchum.
My complaint with this novel is that the foreshadowing was too obvious, and some of the plot lines were so detail-heavy that I felt like his editor must have fallen asleep on the job. The plots all had sub-plots with sub-plots of their own!
However, while the book wasn’t my favorite of his works I did enjoy it because the characters are so memorable and the relationships between the three main characters are vivid and touching. And the story line itself is definitely one-of-a-kind!!
The verdict: 3 stars out of 5
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