false 4658 25 It is 1967 and two Viennese university students want to liberate the Vienna Zoo, as was done after World War II. But their good intentions have both comic and gruesome consequences, in this first novel written by a twenty-five year old John Irving, already a master storyteller.<br><br><br><i>From the Paperback edition.</i> 3359784 1979 Setting Free the Bears total:2076|5:191|4:473|3:899|2:412|1:101| 2076 6469 2565 69 4 1 false false Mon Apr 13 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Apr 08 00:55:12 -0700 2009 Tue Apr 14 05:50:26 -0700 2009
'Setting Free the Bears' was entertaining for exactly the same reasons that I have enjoyed everything I have ever read by Irving since first picking up Owen Meany in highschool (midd...more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Mon Apr 28 10:44:59 -0700 2008 Mon Jun 30 08:54:15 -0700 2008
This is Irving's first novel and so as a first novel goes, its slow and maybe shooting a bit to high for great things in the beginning....but the middle section is really where the story and Irving's imagination shines....its magnificent and funny and sad in al...more...]]> 4 0 false false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2004 Wed Jan 21 20:16:07 -0800 2009 Wed Jan 21 20:19:10 -0800 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Wed May 23 17:30:34 -0700 2007 Wed May 23 17:38:43 -0700 2007 more...]]> 2 0 false false Sat Oct 31 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Aug 19 07:15:55 -0700 2009 Mon Aug 31 14:47:01 -0700 2009
Clearly my memory of fondness for this book was greater than the story itself. **scratches head in puzzlement**. I think the issue is the fact that I have now read so many ...more...]]> 3 0 false false Sun Mar 29 06:50:37 -0700 2009 Sun Mar 29 06:52:40 -0700 2009 1 0 false false Thu Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2001 Sat Dec 06 10:33:40 -0800 2008 Sat Dec 06 10:35:09 -0800 2008 1 3 0 false false Wed Nov 17 00:00:00 -0800 1999 Sat Apr 18 09:38:04 -0700 2009 Sat Apr 18 09:38:59 -0700 2009 2 0 false false Fri May 15 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Apr 17 07:56:28 -0700 2009 Sun May 17 06:40:23 -0700 2009 more...]]> 0 0 false false Tue May 05 13:50:23 -0700 2009 Tue May 05 13:51:00 -0700 2009 4 0 false true Mon Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Apr 20 08:05:28 -0700 2009 Tue Jun 09 04:54:40 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Mon Jan 12 08:02:20 -0800 2009 Mon Jan 12 08:09:48 -0800 2009 4 0 false false Wed Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Wed Aug 01 09:05:40 -0700 2007 Mon Aug 20 12:40:36 -0700 2007 more...]]> 0 0 false false Thu Sep 10 19:14:17 -0700 2009 Thu Sep 10 19:14:17 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Wed Nov 11 21:06:28 -0800 2009 Wed Nov 11 21:06:28 -0800 2009 4 0 false false Wed Nov 12 06:49:36 -0800 2008 Wed Nov 26 06:49:59 -0800 2008 4 0 false false Mon Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 1985 Thu Oct 11 19:23:29 -0700 2007 Thu Oct 11 19:26:38 -0700 2007
It's got most of the Iring staples - bears, motorcycles, Europe, and it tells a story in two major parts. It has the weirdness you come to expect from Irving..."surreal" isn't the ri...more...]]> 5 0 false false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2002 Mon Dec 22 08:00:05 -0800 2008 Sat Jan 03 11:33:01 -0800 2009 1 0 false false Fri Mar 20 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Feb 23 07:11:52 -0800 2009 Sun Mar 22 14:14:25 -0700 2009 2 0 false false Fri Aug 15 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Thu Aug 14 08:23:49 -0700 2008 Fri Aug 15 11:23:31 -0700 2008
I am willing to forgive him because he was my age when this was first published. I understand it was his MFA thesis and that makes it impressive. You can see h...more...]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=4658