In Cider House rules John Irving manages what few author's can. He truly weaves a story. The threads of the paths of the individual characters come together to create a complete fabric while remaining believable. The characters are well developed moving the reader to compassion or dislike depending on one's view. The development of the lead character, Homer Wells is compelling and held my interest during the entire book, which is fairly long one. But it does not overshadow the other characters. Many of the characters are noble but they all have deep flaws. Irving even managed to make me laugh out loud in the midst of several intense even depressing events in the lives of his characters. A word of warning, the book deals with abortion,a central theme in the book, in a graphic manner. The movie, an award winner in it's own right only remotely follows the book. So if you have seen the movie don't judge the book by it. I would recommend the book to those who like stories deep with individual struggle and human interaction.