Questions About In One Person

by John Irving (Goodreads Author)

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Answered Questions (3)

I liked In One Person and I liked A Prayer for Owen Meany. Is it just me, or did he use the template from Owen Meany to write In One Person?

Nancy Aside from the fact that they both begin as "coming of age" stories, and cover a life span (as all lives do), I think they very different stories. Irv…moreAside from the fact that they both begin as "coming of age" stories, and cover a life span (as all lives do), I think they very different stories. Irving has an incredible talent for uncovering the history of important issues in an imaginative way. In Owen Meany he addresses the Vietnam war, religious belief (and perhaps the American obsession with sports - given that there are several spectacular deaths related to various sports!). And with In One Person, he addresses the cultural issues surrounding human sexuality (in its various expressions), and the AIDS pandemic. Irving's books are emotionally true to life - while still managing to be wildly imaginative with the events taking place. He puts his characters in situations and settings that he knows, so perhaps they often have the same feel....but the stories follow their own paths, and the characters - well they are all human (and we humans are more the same than we are different from one another), but they all reflect very individual perspectives on life and the circumstances they encounter. I find each one quite brilliantly unique.(less)

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This may be a stupid question but... About a third of the way through the novel Bill describes some pictures that Elaine sends to him from boarding school. In every picture Bill sees an anonymous woman hiding in the background. When Bill and Elaine talk about it they suggest that it is Kittredge's mom. Is she actually there, or is this just a symbol of her continuing influence in Elaine's life? ps: not finished yet

Kumari de Silva I think it is meant to be purposefully vague, because Elaine never actually cops to there being any woman in the photos- - but Billy sees the woman. *…moreI think it is meant to be purposefully vague, because Elaine never actually cops to there being any woman in the photos- - but Billy sees the woman. ******SPOILER ALERT***********

there is a parallel scene to this close to the end of the book. Billy and Elaine spend the night in the house Billy inherits from his Grandpa Harry, and Elaine sees ghosts. Billy, however, never sees any ghosts in the house. The ghosts Elaine sees are women.

As the book rounds to a close we see how many of the characters are imprints of earlier selves: Al Frost is a prototype of Kittredge. Grandpa Harry is an older version of Billy's bio dad. Billy starts working at the school much like his stepfather, Richard Abbott did in the past. The ghosts are real? Maybe, or maybe it's just a symbol of people and their continuing unseen influence.(less)

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I did not like this book. I thought the writing was much worse than any of his books. It was way too wordy, repetitive, and used too much from his other books. Sorry, but I wouldn't recommend it. I guess my question is why did it get such good reviews?