Here is a treat for John Irving addicts and a perfect introduction to his work for the uninitiated. To open this spirited collection, Ir...
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reviews
Jan 19, 2012
Simon
rated it: 
John Irving tells us at the start of this collection that his grandmother, who helped raise him, never read his work with much pleasure. I know how she feels. This book left me cold. The first part was interesting enough, where he talks about the job of being an author, how writing is a “strenuous marriage between careful observation and just as carefully imagining the truths you haven’t had the opportunity to see”. The last chapter, a homage to Charles Dickens, was also a good read, particularl
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Dec 06, 2009
Mazel
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Elles sont sept, ces nouvelles réunies pour la première fois en un volume, contrepoint à une oeuvre romanesque foisonnante.
Pour sa plus grande joie, le lecteur y retrouvera ce qu'il connaît : la satire du conformisme, l'imagination débridée, le goût du burlesque, les tabous joyeusement pourfendus - cette vitalité hors du commun qui permet à l'auteur de passer indemne par-dessus les gouffres de ses obsessions.
Mais certains y découvriront aussi, parfois, le récit à mi-voi More...
Pour sa plus grande joie, le lecteur y retrouvera ce qu'il connaît : la satire du conformisme, l'imagination débridée, le goût du burlesque, les tabous joyeusement pourfendus - cette vitalité hors du commun qui permet à l'auteur de passer indemne par-dessus les gouffres de ses obsessions.
Mais certains y découvriront aussi, parfois, le récit à mi-voi More...
May 29, 2009
Gillian
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Well, as it is quite the compilation of various pieces of writing Mr. Irving has written over the years, I feel like some of it is a little hit or miss. I found 'The Imaginary Girlfriend' interesting. There is something I almost always enjoy about reading authors I love write about writing. However, the piece that stuck with me most was the one he wrote about Dickens' 'A Christmas Carol.' It really made me think about a story I have loved since I was a little kid, and prompted me to go back
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Oct 21, 2010
Emilia
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Buddy of mine gave me this at a party last spring. I'd never read Irving and wanted to give him a shot. This book is a collection of short works, split into three sections. The first is "memoir." This section concludes with an interminable tale of every wrestling match that Irving had either competed in, presided over as an official or even heard a story about. Scores and moves and competitors names that draw out into the most specifically uninteresting writing imaginable.
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Aug 22, 2010
TBV
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John Irving's Trying to Save Piggy Sneed (TSPS) is an admixture of autobiography/memoir, literary short stories with commentary, and treatises on Charles Dickens (Irving's favorite author). Put all that together and you have a very interesting book. TSPS begins as a memoir of Irving's time at Exeter, wrestling, how he began to write, fellow writer friends, and various influences upon his life (e.g. Kurt Vonnegut). A word of warning, though. If you have no interest whatsoever in wrestling, you mi
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Sep 03, 2010
Kirin
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i've enjoyed the 3 irving books i've read immensly so i enjoyed this as well, there was a lot of wrestling in it, but because i enjoy his writing style and comments on it, i didn't really mind (if you have only read garp or never read irving, i wouldn't recommend this book at all) i didn't finish his essay on gunter grass cause i 've never read him, but other than that, it was nice to get like a behind the scenes on the author of some of my favorite (or at least most memorable) books.
Mar 15, 2010
Rhonnie
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My favorite sections of this book, since I do not agree with Irving on a political level, were the Short Stories. I loved Weary Kingdom.
His paying homage to Charles Dickens in the essays at the end was, however, lost on me. I am not a big Dickens fan, although I haven't put much effort into reading him either.
Definitely an interesting collection of works, I'm really glad I read it. I feel that maybe I would have been less patient with it were I not a big fan of John Ir More...
His paying homage to Charles Dickens in the essays at the end was, however, lost on me. I am not a big Dickens fan, although I haven't put much effort into reading him either.
Definitely an interesting collection of works, I'm really glad I read it. I feel that maybe I would have been less patient with it were I not a big fan of John Ir More...
Aug 16, 2010
Sherry
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Trying to Save Piggy Sneed is divided into three parts: memoir, short stories, and homage. In his memoir section (also published as a stand-alone entitled The Imaginary Girlfriend), Irving writes about his two biggest passions: wrestling and writing. The short story section is slightly less entertaining, as Irving himself admits that this form of writing is not his forte. I found the homage section to be the most boring, as he focuses on one writer I'm not fond of, and another I'm not familia
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Jun 24, 2010
Carrie
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I would call this collection so-so. The memoir The Invisible Girlfriend was a a tedious read. It is 80% blow by blow accounts of wrestling matches. Not being a wrestling fan, I had trouble keeping with it. The first memoir piece in the collection, which shares the book's title, Trying to Save Piggy Sneed, was a lot more enjoyable, as were the short stories and essays that followed them.
Also interesting are the author's notes that follow each piece, in which Irving reflects on the More...
Also interesting are the author's notes that follow each piece, in which Irving reflects on the More...
Jun 28, 2010
Lisa
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My score would actually be a 3.5 but it would be better if you pulled out that entire NONSENSE about wrestling and the autobiographical crap. This is otherwise a decent set of stories and literary criticism. Some of the author's notes were unnecessary, especially when they were about his non-fiction pieces. The whole thing needed context. Nothing fit together all that well into a book.
Jul 06, 2008
Aj
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a collection of memoirs and short stories by one of my favorite authors! the best part of this book is the author's notes after each story that explains when it was written, how it was written, what JI was thinking about, etc. As a literary nerd and an Irving-phile, this is like a dream come true! the latter third of the book are commentaries on other authors' works by irving (typically comprised of introductions irving has written or introductions he has given for the authors' for books reading
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Sep 13, 2010
Charlene
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Interesting collection of short stories and memoirs from one of my favorite authors. I learned about a couple of German authors, Gunter Grass and Thomas Mann, whose books Mr. Irving recommended I have added to my "to-read" list. I also learned that Mr. Irving is an avid wrestling fan and former wrestler himself, for whatever that's worth!
Nov 08, 2009
Mike
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This is really three books -- 1)a set of autobiograpical memoirs, 2)a set of short stories, and 3) Irving's analysis of Charles Dickens and Gunter Grass. The first two parts get five-stars, the third section is, of course, a little drier given the subject matter.
The short stories are all very interesting and very diverse. My particular favorite is "The Pension Grillparzer", which I liked much more the second time I read it. A good friend assured me that I'd like it if I ga More...
The short stories are all very interesting and very diverse. My particular favorite is "The Pension Grillparzer", which I liked much more the second time I read it. A good friend assured me that I'd like it if I ga More...
Aug 31, 2011
Jolene
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This book is a collection of memoirs, short stories, and reviews. The Memoirs were hilarious. The short stories were okay, I usually don't like short stories much. The reviews were about Great Expectations and Charles Dickens as a writer, interesting. Worth reading for the memoirs.
Aug 25, 2008
Jonathan
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I was looking for a long novel, similar to Owen Meany or Garp, and thanks to my utter distaste for research, all I got was a book of self-promoting memoirs and sub-par short stories. Lines such as "My good friend Kurt Vonnegut" stick out in my head and threaten to change my opinion on Irving's other masterpieces. He criticizes other writers and praises himself for seemingly no reason other than to tell his own story. The only redeeming quality this book has to offer is the "Aut
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May 28, 2008
Remi
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Very good collection of John Irving's short stories, and a great way to learn more about my favorite author as well as his influences. The 1st 3rd of the book is short vignettes of his life. This is probably the best part of the book. The 2nd 3rd is short stories he wrote (sometimes as practice, sometimes as challenges to prove he can write about some point of view). I enjoyed these but it is definitely not as good as his longer work. The last 3rd of his book are homages, or intros to his fa
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Jan 28, 2012
Gav451
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This was better than the 158 pound marriage. Probably because the stories never overstayed their welcome. The essay on Dickens was interesting and made me want to read some dickens which one hopes was the purpose of it.
Although not an unpleasant read the book did leave me slightly cold however. There were few moments where I reflected on what I had read. The short story format does suit the train to wark but that is also damning the book with feint praise.
Good book, but it di More...
Although not an unpleasant read the book did leave me slightly cold however. There were few moments where I reflected on what I had read. The short story format does suit the train to wark but that is also damning the book with feint praise.
Good book, but it di More...
Jul 28, 2011
A couple of stories sort of caught up with me later (Almost in Iowa, Other people's dreams and The Pension Grillparzer), the rest I found to be a tad on the dull side, and the ranting on Dickens sounded like a rather poor essay even at A level standards.
Mar 28, 2011
Cody
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Mixed bag but I love the essay about meeting Thomas Mann's daughter on a plane. I also want to know if Irving has read OUR MUTUAL FRIEND yet.
Sep 26, 2011
Abby
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A really important work if you are a fan of John Irving. An interesting mix of memoir and a writer making sense of his own work. I really enjoyed learning more about his passion for wrestling which factors into a number of his books.
Apr 18, 2010
Glenda
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A great look into the mind of one of today's great novelists. This book is a collection of short fiction, essays and memoirs. Irving includes tributes to Dickens and Gunter Grass which I find very interesting.
Apr 18, 2009
Terry
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I love this collection. Brenbar's Rant is fantastic, if you read nothing else this year, you are either a member of the Bush family or a moron. Eitherway read this book!
Jun 10, 2009
Joanne
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It's not his fault that I LOVE his books and am less then entertained by his life. Wrestling. Because of this book I now know how to treat a cauliflower ear.
Dec 30, 2009
Irene
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It's a collection of John Irving's memoirs and short stories.
I enjoyed reading about how he came to be a writer, and his experiences with books, critics, and other writers. It also sheds some light on why prep schools, Vienna, and wrestling play such a large part in many of his novels. (He went to prep school, he spent time in Vienna, and he's an avid wrestler.) Wrestling, actually, has been such a large part of his life that much of his memoirs read like a Who's Who History of Amat More...
I enjoyed reading about how he came to be a writer, and his experiences with books, critics, and other writers. It also sheds some light on why prep schools, Vienna, and wrestling play such a large part in many of his novels. (He went to prep school, he spent time in Vienna, and he's an avid wrestler.) Wrestling, actually, has been such a large part of his life that much of his memoirs read like a Who's Who History of Amat More...
Jul 28, 2011
Allison
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this is a very interesting collection -- a novella and other (true) stories, mostly about one of Irving's favorite subjects: wrestling
Jan 05, 2009
Adina
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this was a cool book a la "the last action hero"-movie. he was writing about writing, but not in an annoying way.
Nov 02, 2010
Hirosasazaki
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The tittle story gave me giggle. Amazing Irving! Also, essay on Dickens was worthy to read if you are Irving fan.
Jan 08, 2009
Rita
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John Irving has the guts to publish his bad first stories and tell us how he got better. I love this man.
Dec 14, 2011
Roxanne
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The best of these shorts is The Pension Grillpanzer, which is very funny. The rest are worth reading.
Oct 21, 2009
Gossymotto
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Picked this one up at the Library and started reading it only to realize I had read it a few years back. It was enjoyable enough to get me to read a few more of Irving's books.
