false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165447937m/4659.jpg 4659 45 John Irving's <I>A Widow For One Year</I> is the epic story of a family, dysfunctional at best, unable to cope with tragedy--or with each other. The unabridged audiobook, narrated by George Guidall (<I>The Cat Who Sang for the Birds</I>, <I>The Inner Sanctum</I>, <I>The Legacy</I>) draws the listener in with a crisp, methodical vocal presentation. Guidall portrays each character with a convincingly distinct voice, accurately impersonating the characters' intonations and verbal habits. The interaction between characters is both conversational and believable.<p> We first meet Ruth Cole in the summer of 1958 when she walks in on her mother having sex with 16-year-old Eddie O'Hare, the assistant to Ruth's alcoholic father. The death of Ruth's older brothers (years before she was born) turns her mother, Marion, into a zombie who is unable to love her surviving daughter. Ted Cole is a semisuccessful writer and illustrator of disturbingly creepy children's novels. His womanizing habits prove he's "as deceitful as a damaged condom," but he remains the only stable figure in Ruth's life. The tempestuous tale fast-forwards to the year 1990 when Ruth's soaring writing career is faring far better than her lackluster love life. The final segment of the novel ends in 1995 when 41-year-old Ruth is ready to fall in love for the first time.<p> This profoundly absorbing story expresses the depths of misery and the healing power of love. Irving writes as a true storyteller, and Guidall executes the narrative with vigor and enthusiasm. (Running time: 24.5 hours, 14 cassettes) <I>--Gina Kaysen</I> 3359767 book 1985 A Widow for One Year total:12494|5:2503|4:4644|3:3920|2:1152|1:275| 12494 45430 14587 795 2 5 false false Tue Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Tue Feb 05 12:30:23 -0800 2008 Sun Apr 20 21:24:17 -0700 2008 The World According to Garp and The Cider House Rules, but have not been at all impressed with this and The 158-Pound Marriage.

I can...more...]]> 5 5 false false Sun Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Sat Dec 15 12:36:54 -0800 2007 Sat Dec 15 12:37:05 -0800 2007 One of the inte...more...]]> 3 3 false false Thu Jul 03 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Thu May 29 15:07:39 -0700 2008 Thu Jul 03 10:51:41 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 2 false false Sun Mar 09 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sat Mar 01 05:39:46 -0800 2008 Sun Mar 09 06:34:17 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 1 false true Fri Jul 18 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Thu Jul 10 14:37:11 -0700 2008 Fri Jul 18 19:02:46 -0700 2008 more...]]> 2 3 false true Thu Jun 12 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed May 28 15:43:18 -0700 2008 Thu Jun 12 13:54:50 -0700 2008
I am glad, however, that I continued reading because it got much better tow...more...]]> 5 1 false false Fri Feb 08 08:19:21 -0800 2008 Fri Feb 08 18:16:46 -0800 2008 more...]]> 3 2 false false Thu Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2004 Fri Sep 07 06:12:27 -0700 2007 Fri Sep 07 06:25:50 -0700 2007 more...]]> 5 1 false false Tue Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2005 Sun Sep 02 12:06:59 -0700 2007 Sun Sep 02 12:08:35 -0700 2007
I was looking at th...more...]]> 2 2 false false Fri Jun 29 07:53:51 -0700 2007 Sun Dec 07 12:43:41 -0800 2008 more...]]> 4 1 false false Sun Aug 03 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Fri Jul 25 17:37:20 -0700 2008 Sun Aug 03 10:54:47 -0700 2008
A major theme of this novel is grief, grief for those we've lost to death, grief for our bad past choices, grief for loss of connection wit...more...]]> 4 1 false false Thu Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Tue Jul 24 09:41:09 -0700 2007 Tue Jul 24 09:44:33 -0700 2007 more...]]> 2 1 true true Tue Mar 18 13:27:54 -0700 2008 Tue Jul 01 11:37:14 -0700 2008
A Widow for One Year deals mostly with love and the consequences of relationships and loss and other such 'big ideas.' While an affair between a woman at least 20 year...more...]]> 2 3 false false Thu Nov 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Thu Nov 01 07:42:58 -0700 2007 Fri Nov 16 13:29:57 -0800 2007 more...]]> 3 1 false false Sat Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2005 Tue Mar 31 11:51:36 -0700 2009 Tue Mar 31 11:52:23 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Mon Dec 08 20:19:59 -0800 2008 Mon Dec 08 20:34:29 -0800 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Mon Oct 19 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Oct 26 06:56:29 -0700 2009 Mon Oct 26 06:57:53 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Mon Sep 28 12:33:55 -0700 2009 Mon Sep 28 12:35:08 -0700 2009 A Widow for One Year is probably my favorite book by John Irving. As the author of a series of satires, [...:], I always love a book that can make me laugh. This one did not disappoint me. Mr. Irving's comedic wit is superb!

It is a very poignant tale of a very dysfunctional fami...more...]]> 3 0 false false Wed Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Aug 13 11:47:31 -0700 2009 Thu Aug 13 12:00:10 -0700 2009
It's understandable that the movie ve...more...]]> 4 0 false false Sat Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Aug 10 21:15:53 -0700 2009 Mon Aug 10 21:33:07 -0700 2009 more...]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=4659