false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165447930m/4656.jpg 4656 38 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.<p> 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, <I>The Fourth Hand</I> is ultimately something more: a tender chronicle of the redemptive power of love. <I>--Victoria Jenkins</I> 1137643 book 1985 The Fourth Hand total:5816|5:439|4:1545|3:2426|2:1088|1:318| 5816 18147 6774 312 4656 0345463153 9780345463159 5455 279 3.12 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165447930m/4656.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4656.The_Fourth_Hand 4 1 false Sun Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Fri May 18 08:14:23 -0700 2007 Fri May 18 08:15:12 -0700 2007 more...]]> 1031633 0676973922 9780676973921 12 1 3.12 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1180369358m/1031633.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1031633.The_Fourth_Hand 2 1 false Wed Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2006 Tue Dec 04 12:51:16 -0800 2007 Tue Dec 04 12:52:03 -0800 2007
...more...]]> 4656 0345463153 9780345463159 5455 279 3.12 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165447930m/4656.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4656.The_Fourth_Hand 4 0 false Tue Nov 17 13:43:28 -0800 2009 Tue Nov 17 15:27:39 -0800 2009
The Fourth Hand is quite funny, especially in the...more...]]> 112310 0552771090 9780552771092 33 3 3.12 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171656661m/112310.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/112310.The_Fourth_Hand 1 1 false Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2001 Tue Apr 01 05:13:12 -0700 2008 Thu Apr 10 05:20:24 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4656 0345463153 9780345463159 5455 279 3.12 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165447930m/4656.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4656.The_Fourth_Hand 3 0 false Tue Sep 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Oct 16 08:03:23 -0700 2009 Fri Oct 16 08:31:01 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4656 0345463153 9780345463159 5455 279 3.12 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165447930m/4656.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4656.The_Fourth_Hand 4 1 false Mon Apr 13 15:39:05 -0700 2009 Tue Apr 14 19:10:14 -0700 2009
The Plot: In India, an American journalist accidentally has his left hand is eaten by a lion. Sounds ...more...]]> 4656 0345463153 9780345463159 5455 279 3.12 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165447930m/4656.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4656.The_Fourth_Hand 4 1 false Tue Mar 25 07:01:11 -0700 2008 Mon Jul 28 13:55:46 -0700 2008 4656 0345463153 9780345463159 5455 279 3.12 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165447930m/4656.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4656.The_Fourth_Hand 3 0 false Fri Oct 02 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Oct 03 20:13:05 -0700 2009 Sat Oct 03 20:17:02 -0700 2009 1 more...]]> 781500 0747554323 9780747554325 204 14 3.12 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1178294943m/781500.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/781500.The_Fourth_Hand 5 1 false Fri May 30 08:31:21 -0700 2008 Fri May 30 08:31:44 -0700 2008 4656 0345463153 9780345463159 5455 279 3.12 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165447930m/4656.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4656.The_Fourth_Hand 1 1 false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2004 Mon Aug 11 11:02:27 -0700 2008 Mon Aug 11 11:03:04 -0700 2008 4656 0345463153 9780345463159 5455 279 3.12 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165447930m/4656.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4656.The_Fourth_Hand 2 0 false Sun Jun 14 14:25:38 -0700 2009 Sun Jun 14 14:32:32 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4656 0345463153 9780345463159 5455 279 3.12 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165447930m/4656.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4656.The_Fourth_Hand 3 0 false Thu Oct 16 05:33:58 -0700 2008 Sat Oct 18 01:43:47 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4656 0345463153 9780345463159 5455 279 3.12 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165447930m/4656.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4656.The_Fourth_Hand 2 0 false Mon Jul 28 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Tue Jul 22 10:11:20 -0700 2008 Mon Jul 28 05:24:19 -0700 2008
Plot:
The ultimate ladies man newsreporter (Mr. Righty) loses his left hand in a freak circus accident. Then, after her husband...more...]]> 3089478 0345450221 1 1 3.12 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3089478.The_Fourth_Hand 3 0 false Wed Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat May 31 11:14:02 -0700 2008 Tue Apr 07 13:20:31 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4656 0345463153 9780345463159 5455 279 3.12 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165447930m/4656.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4656.The_Fourth_Hand 4 0 false Sun Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2001 Sun Nov 25 20:31:02 -0800 2007 Sun Nov 25 20:35:20 -0800 2007
Narrator: Jason Culp
Publisher: Random House AudioBooks, 2001
Length: 11 hours 15 min.

This was the first John Irving book I listened to on audio. I had read most of his previous books on paper, and I really like him. This was an excellen...more...]]> 4656 0345463153 9780345463159 5455 279 3.12 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165447930m/4656.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4656.The_Fourth_Hand 3 0 false Thu Nov 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Mon Nov 05 05:57:19 -0800 2007 Mon Nov 12 03:20:47 -0800 2007
T...more...]]> 4656 0345463153 9780345463159 5455 279 3.12 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165447930m/4656.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4656.The_Fourth_Hand 3 0 false Wed Dec 17 12:26:59 -0800 2008 Wed Dec 17 12:30:03 -0800 2008 This is a comedy and a romance....interesting combination.The subject matter, losing a hand, was a little much for me...and the love interest was too weird....Doris, a Packers fan, wanting to have a baby so much she screws the guy who gets...more...]]> 4656 0345463153 9780345463159 5455 279 3.12 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165447930m/4656.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4656.The_Fourth_Hand 2 0 false Fri Jul 31 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Jul 27 16:45:22 -0700 2009 Sat Aug 01 17:55:53 -0700 2009 A Prayer for Owen Meany, The Hotel New Hampshire, and The World According to Garp over and over again, but I definitely wouldn't re-read The Fourth Hand. I did enjoy the ...more...]]> 4656 0345463153 9780345463159 5455 279 3.12 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165447930m/4656.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4656.The_Fourth_Hand 4 0 false Sun Aug 02 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Aug 03 11:21:12 -0700 2009 Mon Aug 03 11:21:12 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4656 0345463153 9780345463159 5455 279 3.12 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165447930m/4656.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4656.The_Fourth_Hand 4 0 false Sun Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Fri Jul 27 09:56:08 -0700 2007 Fri Jul 27 09:56:08 -0700 2007 "Wallingford began by holding Mrs. Clausen's neck in the crook of his right arm; with his right hand, he held fast to one of her breasts. She started by scissoring the stump of his lef...more...]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=4656