Trying to Save Piggy Sneed: 20th Anniversary Edition

by John Irving

Trying to Save Piggy Sneed contains a dozen short works by John Irving, beginning with three memoirs, including an account of Mr. Irving’s dinner with President Ronald Reagan at the White House. The longest of the memoirs, “The Imaginary Girlfriend,” is the core of this collection.

The middle section of the book is fiction. Since the publication of his first novel, Setting Free the Bears , in 1968, John Irving has written twelve more novels but only half a dozen stories that he considers “finished”: they are all published here, including “Interiors,” which won the O. Henry Award. In the third and final section are three essays of one on Günter Grass, two on Charles Dickens.

To each of the twelve pieces, Mr. Irving has contributed his Author’s Notes. These notes provide some perspective on the circumstances surrounding the writing of each piece—for example, an election-year diary of the Bush-Clinton campaigns accompanies Mr. Irving’s memoir of his dinner with President Reagan; and the notes to one of his short stories explain that the story was presented and sold to Playboy as the work of a woman.

Trying to Save Piggy Sneed is both as moving and as mischievous as readers would expect from the author of The World According to Garp, The Cider House Rules, A Prayer of Owen Meany, A Widow for One Year, and In One Person . And Mr. Irving’s concise autobiography, “The Imaginary Girlfriend,” is both a work of the utmost literary accomplishment and a paradigm for living.

Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Arcade, Yucca, and Good Books imprints, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in fiction—novels, novellas, political and medical thrillers, comedy, satire, historical fiction, romance, erotic and love stories, mystery, classic literature, folklore and mythology, literary classics including Shakespeare, Dumas, Wilde, Cather, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

Genres: Fiction, Short Stories, Essays, Literature, American, Novels, Contemporary

460 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1993

About the author

JOHN IRVING was born in Exeter, New Hampshire, in 1942. His first novel, Setting Free the Bears, was published in 1968, when he was twenty-six. He competed as a wrestler for twenty years, and coached wrestling until he was forty-seven.
Mr. Irving has been nominated for a National Book Award three times—winning once, in 1980, for his novel The World According to Garp. He received an O. Henry Award in 1981 for his short story “Interior Space.” In 2000, Mr. Irving won the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay for The Cider House Rules. In 2013, he won a Lambda Literary Award for his novel In One Person.
An international writer—his novels have been translated into more than thirty-five languages—John Irving lives in Toronto. His all-time best-selling novel, in every language, is A Prayer for Owen Meany.
Avenue of Mysteries is his fourteenth novel.

Reviews

[Snotchocheez · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm a huge fan of at least half of John Irving's fiction titles, so it pains me greatly to say I can't think of any compelling reason to partake of the Irving-salad Trying to Save Piggy Sneed, a mishmash of memoir, short stories and fawning lit crit that just doesn't do anything for me except wish I was reading one of his novels. His excruciatingly-detailed look back on his wrestling career (both as participant and as coach) entitled, perversely, "The Imaginary Girlfriend", is dull as dishwater (yeah, his love for the sport shines through, but reading something I care nothing about is a complete time-waster, despite Irving's best efforts). Ditto the insane inclusion in this collection of "The Pension Grillparzer", a short story that was already immortalized in his The World According to Garp. No reason to excerpt a chunk of Garp here (if you're sentimental for Garp, read the novel, don't read it here: it doesn't fit) The other short stories are meh at best, the other two "memoirs" serve more to name-drop than provide any insight into Irving's life, and his Dickens/Gunter Grass bookended slobber-fests are there to remind how lame this is compared with Great Expectations and The Tin Drum . Only the most die-hard Irving completists need bother with this one, really.

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a collection of short stories by Irving, both fiction and nonfiction. Two pieces in the section entitled Homage are particularly interesting, as they deal with the two authors that have probably influenced Irving most: Charles Dickens and Günter Grass.

[Ivy-Mabel Fling · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some entertaining and original tales - John Irving certainly has a good imagination!! Pension Grillparzer is particularly worth reading and particularly odd!

[Robert Day · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are two versions of this book - this version contains 8 pieces of work:

Memoirs:
"Trying to Save Piggy Sneed"

Fiction
"Interior Space"
"Almost in Iowa"
"Weary Kingdom"
"Brennbar's Rant"
"Other People's Dreams"
"The Pension Grillparzer"

Homage
"The King of the Novel"

The other volume, of the same name, is longer and contains 12 pieces of work, including The Imaginary Girlfriend, which is available under separate cover:

Memoirs
"Trying to Save Piggy Sneed"
"The Imaginary Girlfriend"
"My Dinner at the Whitehouse"

Fiction
"Interior Space"
"Brennbar's Rant"
"The Pension Grillparzer"
"Other People's Dreams"
"Weary Kingdom"
"Almost in Iowa"

Homage
"The King of the Novel"
"An Introduction to A Christmas Carol"
"Gunter Grass: King of the Toy Merchants"

I only note this because I was confused myself, and thought it would be nice to try to spare other people from the same confusion.

That said, I won't be rushing out to buy the other, more comprehensive collection. I still have another memoir to look forward to (My Movie Business: A Memoir) and I feel that I'm exhibiting quite enough fanboyishness for now; after all, I am in the throes of reading this author's entire body of work (so far) in consecutive order, and, well, c'mon... that's enough for now - right?!

So, what do I think of John Irving as a short story writer? Hmm. Well, put it this way - I much prefer his long books. It seems to me that some of the tales here are kinda more like character sketches than full blown, self-contained works. I can just imagine these characters appearing in any one of his novels, but yet their impact being as passing as a pond thrown stone.

It's not that they're not entertaining - they are, it's not even that they're not well written - they most certainly are, it's just that they are... erm... short. They are like the flash of a firefly on a gloriously sunny day, when I've become more accustomed to the stately progress of a beautiful full moon through a darkened sky.

In other words - I've been spoilt by reading John Irving's novels.

There.

Having said that - I enjoyed reading 'The Pension Grillparzer' outside of the context of The World According to Garp much more than I thought I would. It's funny how perception and context affect enjoyment. When I first read it, I only knew it as a whimsical tale written by T.S. Garp in the context of a much bigger and more 'serious' novel by John Irving (this was before I really understood his early work as having comedic elements). Reading it again, gave it a weight and impact that surprised me. It was if the text had been edited and improved upon within this collection to tighten it up and make it less throwaway. Maybe it was - I don't know - but that's how it felt.

Of the other stories: 'Almost in Iowa' reminded me unpleasantly of the author's dislike of a story from the point of view of a fork because it kinda anthropomorphisises a Volvo. I found 'Weary Kingdom' to be rather sad, 'Brennbar's Rant' kinda funny, 'Other People's Dreams' intriguing and I can't remember what 'Interior Space' was about - oh, wait - it was about a walnut tree. Hmm.

It strikes me now, that I may have missed the depth and beauty of these stories by rushing through them, and I know that if I read them through and through, properly and attentitively, I would be able to glean the shining messages and morals of these tales.

Thing is though - I don't want to - I want to be entertained. I want these books to shine like rays of sunshine on a cloudy day. I want my inner world to be lit - instantly and dazzlingly. I want reward without effort. I want to eat a succulent and delicious cake without having made any effort to collect the ingredients, lovingly assemble them, diligently bake it and present it on the plate like a king on a throne, there to savour and enjoy every single morsel.

In this consumer led, madly driven world, I do John Irving's work a massive injustice by passing it off in such a brutal and cold hearted manner, and I'm sorry. I apologise from the bottom of my greedy, self satisfying heart.

I'm truly sorry.

Next!

[S.E. Bourne · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Just accept as a fact that everyone of any emotional importance to you is related to everyone else of any emotional importance to you; these relationships need not extend to blood, of course, but the people who change your life emotionally - all those people, from different places, from different times, spanning many wholly unrelated coincidences - are nonetheless 'related'. We associate people with each other for emotional not for factual reasons - people who've never met each other, who don't even know each other exists; people, even, who have forgotten us.” -John Irving

A great Irving passage / observation. Strange how someone you barely knew can be woven into your telling of your life story and they will never know it, never care, never understand the why, you, yourself might not even understand the why.

[Emilia · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

After being bogged down in that story for months, I kicked the shit out of my complete-ist nature and skipped on to the next story. It was the middle section, "Fiction," that made the book fun again. After each story is an author's reflection, almost every one of which begins "I wasn't going to include [insert title here] in this collection, but . . . " This gave me another perfect opportunity to teach myself that not every printed word I come across is as deserving of my attention as all of the others. The short stories themselves, though, were quite enjoyable.

The final section contains "Homage." Starting with a long diatribe about why the author likes Dickens and why other people don't. I've never read Dickens, but I'm pretty sure he's one of the most popular writers of the past millennium. I'm guessing there are a fair number of people who *also* like Dickens, though at this point in the book Irving's intellectual snobbery is no longer up for debate. The second piece in this section is a pleasant reflection on A Christmas Carol, and that's about where I decided to set this book back on my shelf. Rather than give it the opportunity to alienate me again with a story about some German author I've never heard of, I'm giving it (and me) the gift of parting ways while we're still friends.

[Brent · Rating 4 out of 5]

For Irving completists like me. Some memoir, some short stories, some works praising Dickens and Gunter Grass. The stories range from good (Almost In Iowa) to terrific (The Pension Grillparzer). The memoirs are mostly interesting, with a very, very detailed account of his love of wrestling and his wrestling career (The Imaginary Girlfriend), his politics (My Dinner at the White House), and the wonderful title memoir detailing why he became a writer. The last third of the book praising Charles Dickens and Gunter Grass is there if you want it, I found myself skimming through most of it, although I may finally actually read 'A Christmas Carol.' Definitely time to re-read 'A Widow for One Year.'

[Paula Dembeck · Rating 2 out of 5]

Irving has put together a selection of fiction and non-fiction in this collection of short stories and essays from his literary career. He has divided the volume into three parts: Memoirs, Fiction and Homage. Each piece is followed by a section in which Irving comments on the piece, placing it in an historical context, providing insightful and often funny comments on how the story began as well other interesting personal thoughts.

Irving begins the "Memoir" section, with the piece that graces the title and it is my favorite in the entire collection. It is the story of Piggy Sneed, a retarded pig farmer who collected garbage in Irving’s home town. Irving and his adolescent friends often taunted Piggy who lived in close proximity to his animals, fed his pigs the garbage he collected and always smelled badly. The boys constantly harassed him, called him names and made fun of him. In contrast to their behavior, Irving’s grandmother always treated Piggy with the respect she felt was due anyone trying their best to make their way in the world in spite of their circumstances. She always greeted him by name, spoke to him respectfully and paid her bills on time. When Irving and his friends grew older and joined the Volunteer Fire Department, they were called one evening to Piggy’s burning barn. When they arrived the fire was so advanced they were told to stay back and let the flames burn themselves out. While they waited for the fire to die down, Irving stumbled on his creative voice, regaling his friends with an imaginary story about how Piggy had escaped the blaze and was already on his way to Florida. The discovery of his ability to merge actual facts with imaginary truth and create an entertaining ongoing story line, helped direct Irving to choosing writing as his life career. In the “after piece”, Irving identifies his grandmother Helen Bates Winslow, as a woman he greatly respected who supported that choice but disapproved of both the subject and the language of his first novel and refused to read any of his later work.

The second memoir titled “The Imaginary Girlfriend” I had already read as a “stand alone” volume, one which I did not really enjoy. Although it describes Irving’s early life, it is immersed in his obsession with wrestling, providing the reader with endless details of matches won, wrestling holds that were or were not successful, injuries he suffered and coaches he admired. I found it quite uninteresting, but it clarifies for those interested in Irving's life story how and why he developed his second passion in life, his first being his writing.

“My Dinner at the Whitehouse” is a story I did not find noteworthy, consisting largely of a rant against Republicans, a comical criticism of Dan Quayle and a mean poke at George Bush who became ill at a state dinner in Japan and vomited, a fact widely reported in the media.

The next section titled "Fiction" contains six short stories.
In “Interior Space” a urologist, an architect, a walnut tree, a naughty youth named Harlan Booth with the clap and Margaret, a girl out for revenge are all included in a strange story that I did enjoy. Irving also said it was one of his favorites, pointing it out as a great example of a story that started out in one place but ended up in another. Irving says this is what happens when a writer allows his muse to lead his writing.

“Brennbar’s Rant” is an angry little story, told from the point of view of a woman about her husband, published in the December 1974 issue of Playboy magazine and attributed to a fictional writer named Edith Winter. It was written by Irving in response to a challenge that he could not write a story from a woman’s point of view, a challenge he accepted, proving his point with this piece. It describes a man misbehaving at a dinner party, a story about political correctness which also includes Irving’s opinion on popularity. However it is a story I found altogether easily forgettable.

“The Pension Grillparzer” is the short story that was originally published as a part of Irving’s celebrated novel “The World According to Garp”. Here Irving lets his imagination run rampant as he tells the tale of a travelling family who meet a host of interesting people in a rundown rooming house. Like much of Irving’s work it includes a bear, the wonderful Duna who rides a unicycle. In the end note, Irving explains why the story was broken up and told in two parts in the novel.

“Other People’s Dreams" was a story which initially drove Irving to distraction. He couldn’t get it right and was constantly changing the title and the opening scene. He kept shoving the manuscript back into a drawer until several years later when he restructured it and made the ending its beginning, which finally made the story work. Irving also shares how, looking back on his writing from previous years, he sees so much now that he never realized before.

“Weary Kingdom” is a look back at a story he wrote when he was only twenty-five, a story he submitted for publication although he harbored misgivings about whether it was good enough to appear on the printed page. Despite his concerns, it was accepted for the Spring/Summer 1968 edition of The Boston Review and it gave him confidence to continue with his writing. Looking back, what he likes about the story is how he was able to create a minor character in the third person, a skill he identifies as fundamental to successful story telling. The story centers on Mina Barrett, a matron in a girls’ dormitory who has lived a life of endless but comfortable routine until she forms a relationship with an adolescent student known for misbehaving. Irving humorously notes that on reading this piece now on the cusp of his fifties, Mina comes across as someone very, very old, yet she is only fifty five in his story. But he wrote this when he was a very young man, when fifty-five seemed very old. This strikes him as humorous now that he is older and fifty-five does not seem as old as he once imagined!!

“Almost in Iowa” describes a long car journey in which a nameless driver imagines a relationship with his car to fend off the boring long miles of the trip. It ends with someone vandalizing the car as it sits parked outside his motel room overnight. This story did not strike a chord with me as in any way remarkable.

In the section titled "Homage" there are three selections. In the first “The King of the Novel, Irving explains why he is such a fan of Charles Dickens and how that novel influenced his writing. He points out that Dickens' writing is emotional rather than analytical which is why some readers enjoy his work, while others do not. Irving believes Dickens tries to move the reader emotionally rather than intellectually and by that means influence the reader socially. He finds Dickens so skillful at describing things, that he believes the reader will never again look at something in the future that Dickens has described and see it in the same way as he has in the past.

In an introduction to “A Christmas Carol” Irving provides an in depth descriptive analysis of the novel, an essay which was used as an introduction to the Bantam Classic Edition (1968) of the book. Irving loves this classic, a tale of greed and redemption that teaches us a simple fact: that a man can change. It is clear that Irving’s great admiration for Dickens has not faded over time and Irving credits Dickens as the man who made him want to be a writer.

The concluding piece on “Gunter Grass: King of the Toy Merchants” is a homage to a writer Irving admires and is based on his friendship with the German author.

This collection of memoirs, essays and short stories does not present anything new as everything here has been printed in some form before. However, the end notes are interesting and provide some thought provoking remarks and context for the pieces. I sensed with this volume, an interim period between projects when Irving wanted to publish to maintain interest among his readers and supplement his income. A writer’s life is not easy and there is often a long period between projects, so it is difficult to criticize a man for trying to earn his livelihood. However, I would rather read Irving’s novels which I enjoy, as there was not much here that really grabbed my attention.

[Brandy Bacala · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm sorry to say I did not love this book. I thought reading the memoir of such a creative and talented fiction author would be at least somewhat entertaining. Instead I got a blow by blow recap of every wrestling match John Irving has ever been in... or refereed...or that his sons were in...or that some guy he met in college but can't remember his name was in. This continues to a point of absurdity, and I'm not even sure hardcore wrestling fans could stay interested. If you pick up this book I highly recommend you skip the memoir section entirely.

The short stories segment is considerably better, and you can easily see that John Irving is a strictly FICTION author. The stories were intriguing with dynamic characters and beautiful symbolism, but just as you begin to get sucked in, you're slapped in the face with an abrupt ending. Almost all of the short stories had me wondering where they would have gone if he had expanded it into a full length novel. It's obvious that Irving is a master of the novel and his stories need that time to develop and come full circle. His short stories are entertaining, but I wouldn't recommend them to someone reading Irving for the first time.

Finally this book included some critical analysis of Irving's favorite authors, and I'm sorry to say I gave up trying to finish Piggy Sneed. It's fine that he like Charles Dickens, but I was honestly too bored and disappointed to read another word of it. Shame on Mr. Irving for tricking his loyal fans into thinking this book would in any way compare to his novels. Next time I'll know better.

[Wilme ("Vilmie") Steenekamp · Rating 4 out of 5]

Learning to write rewievs on Goodreads, in my second language. This time I cannot but address it very subjectively. I usually absolutely love John Irving's style of characterbuilding, his wit, way of describing and dialogue. Because these are short stories, there just is less time for all of this (but he does it anyway🙂).

I did not connect with all the stories 100%, that's to be expected. My favourite is Interior Spaces, but I also liked what he wrote about Dickens and Claudio's nose (Claudio is a piano-playing dog, but the story is actually about a fabulous, but coughing person Irving had met on an aeroplane 😏).

I did also really enjoy the author's notes on each short story a lot as well - gives one some more insights about the man, what motivates him and the people around him.

But, a confession- I listened to this book on Audible and I also just love hearing the male voice of the fabulous narrator, Joe Barret, saying things in my ear! 😄

[Samia Ahmed · Rating 3 out of 5]

Now I know where Garp comes from! This is an essential book to know Irving and his life. True, there is a bit too much on the wrestling bits.

The short stories are nice. I knew Grillsparzer from before and in this book I really loved - 'Interior Space' and 'Other People's Dreams'. Interior Space is a germ of a short story- many lives, many stories and he beautifully crafted everything in. I want to read it again, I think.

Did not read into the last bits of the book- where its about Irving's homage to other authors.

[Darcy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was almost finished with this book of short stories and essays and then... decided not to finish. I liked elements of this collection of tales and disliked others. So ultimately ambivalent. Worth reading... not worth finishing. Haha!

[Cndy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love John Irving. This book is a memoir about wrestling, his short stories, Dickens and a German author who I should’ve remembered but didn’t. Sorry. Needless to say I downloaded Dickens numerous stories to Nook for $2.99. It made an impact. Though I don’t think I’ll be wrestling anytime soon.

[Helen · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing collection.

[a · Rating 5 out of 5]

formerly chuck's

[Marc · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve never read a John Irving novel. It’s possible it took me almost two years to read this book. I don’t remember exactly when I started it…

There is a bookshelf of unread books next to where the cats get fed. Frequently, I must sit and guard mealtime lest the cat with the humongous appetite muscle off the other two cats and eat their food, as well. Sometimes, no matter how many books I already have underway, as I guard the food bowls, I just grab a book off the unread shelf and start reading. As I do with most books I’m unfamiliar with, I assumed this was a novel. I also assumed I would not like Irving. We’ve had this book for decades—my wife brought it into the marriage when we bound our collections in sickness and health. And, so, off and on, through pandemic times, I have read bits and pieces in stops and starts. I considered abandoning it several times simply because I was expecting a novel and, instead, got something akin to a highlights reel of short pieces (essays, short stories, introductions he wrote for other books). Even the title was one that defied my expectations (until I picked the book up, I believe my brain had so firmly catalogued the title as Peggy Sneed that it wasn’t until I started reading that I realized I didn’t even have this correct). So, Peggy got a sex change, nutritional balance was restored amongst the three cats, and I found myself introduced to Mr. Irving (whose cover-sized head on the back of the dust jacket is a bit creepy).

Mostly, I found myself charmed and surprised by him. He seems a more balanced and down-to-earth person than I anticipated and his writing seems more adventurous and odder than I was willing to advance him any credit. “The Pension Grillparzer” alone made this a worthwhile read and made me want to read The World According to Garp in which this story features. His appreciation for Charles Dickens and Günter Grass is deep and well-argued, and he manages to make even the longest of tangents relevant and entertaining (as he does with an anecdote about a story where he meets Thomas Mann’s daughter on a plane and eventually is gifted an audio recording of her playing a duet on the piano with one of her dogs). After each piece selected for this collection, Irving has written a few pages either critiquing his own work or providing insight as to how the piece came to be. These were valuable and almost felt like a justification for the book’s existence.

He seems to have a realistic view of his so-called “place” within the literary world and where his strengths lay; which, self-admittedly, is with the novel. And so, while this was a nice intro and it’s no fault of the book itself, I find myself exactly as I was before:
I’ve never read a John Irving novel.

[Jeff · Rating 2 out of 5]

I came across this collection a few months ago. After reading it I think it is safe to say that this is a collection best suited for those who would call themselves super fans of the author's work. And, although I do not know if I ever realized it, I might well be one of these people. I, at least, have to say that his collection of eighties books from The Hotel New Hampshire, Garp, The Cider House Rules, and everybody's favorite A Prayer for Owen Meany, is, it itself a grouping that is more than any author has a right to hope for. It is truly a run of incredible writing.

This collection is not, and is not designed to be, that. Collecting a few short stories, written reviews, and other oddities there is no flow to this. No theme. Just some odds and ends. Of course John Irving's odds and ends are gold for most writers.

The collection begins with the title essay in which the author recollects a figure from his childhood, namely a local garbage collector who, with his limit d mental faculties, was menaced and harassed by the local youth, including ashamedly now, if not then, the young John Irving. He admits he might have fictionalized a bit of the story but is adamant that a great memory of his is how his grandmother, a regal, upright woman, always treated Piggy as if he was as welcome in her presence a daughter as deserving of her respect and attention as any member of the community.

" The Imaginary Girlfriend " is a longish piece which serves as a memoir of his life. At over one hundred pages one does learn a great deal. His struggles in school academically, his love of the great books, ( which caused him to need five years to complete high school at his prep academy ) his experiences at the Iowa writer's workshop, travels abroad, but mostly about his great love of wrestling. We are not speaking Hulk Hogan. We are talking about Olympic style, athletic wrestling. Describing himself, in his beloved high school coach's words as " not hat talented but that doesn't have to be the end of it " he describes how along with writing his career in high school and college wrestling might be the only other talent of his he maximized. The relationships he describes with fellow wrestlers, coaches, are all clearly of a great importance to him. He is in the National Wrestlers Hall,of Fame, one gets the sense if means as much to him as any academic award.

Irving shares a piece he wrote in the eighties called " My Dinner at the White House " in which he was invited to a dinner at the Reagan White House and despite his candid ambivalence to the political Reagan he does attend as writes a funny piece about it.

The short stories presented show why, in his own words, thy are not amongst his best writing. The form, perhaps, does not suit him as it does other notable writers.

" Interior Space " is a witty story about a young Doctor who along with his wife move into a new home. When purchasing the home from an older German man he makes them promise not to cut down his beloved Black Walnut tree, claiming his neighbor has designs on it. Eventually the tree does become a. Issue between he and his new neighbor, the old owner shows up at his hospital, and life, as always is full of needless conflict. A side story is the Doctor treats many of the local college students when they get a social disease, he insists the boys or girls advise their potentially afflicted partners and when they don't makes the uncomfortable calls themselves.

In " The Pension Grillpazer " we read what Irving describes as the full story that the character Gary is writing ( and we see pieces of) in " The World According to Garp." If you have read the book the story is of interest, if you have not I'm not sure it will be.

" Brenbarr's Rant " is a piece that might be viewed a bit shakily in today's climate. In it we meet a cantankerous man at a dinner party going on about the prejudice he faced growing up. When he is told that as a Midwestern, affluent, white man that is a a silly comparison to those who really suffered he remarks on suffering with incredible acne, painful pimples, pustules, and boils and then makes the comparison that it is like growing up with intelligence in a sea of stupidity. Not sure about this one.

Also not strong are " Other People's Dreams " and " Weary Kingdom. " in the first story we meet a man who, after his wife leaves him, finds that he has the Dream thoughts of whatever person whose bed he is sleeping in. This proves uncomfortable when he sleeps in the bed he formally shared with his wife, then moves to his son's (who his Mother has taken ) room, and later when he visits his elderly Mother. In the latter we are introduced to Minna, a matronly woman in her fifties who acts as housemother and kitchen manager at an all girls school in Cambridge. She lives a quiet settled life that is shaken a bit when she is granted the right to hire a helper. The helper ends up being a bit more than Minna and the school can handle.

A more solid piece ends the fiction section. Called " Almost in Iowa " we follow a man who has left a dinner party in Vermont and started driving west. His wife is at that dinner party, the same wife we discover has had an affair. We learn that the man is fleeing, his life, his wife, and he has no real destination. The most interesting part of the story is that the man's car, an ancient sixties era Volvo is a non speaking character. While the car does not converse the man speaks to the car. Cajoling it about the weather, the distance, the travel, the car doing its job transporting him until he comes out of a hotel one morning in Ohio and discovers the car has been vandalized and left looking like a sad drunk coming in after sunrise. This does not improve the man's overall viewpoint of life.

The last three pieces are literary review and as such only to be of interest to series readers and those who enjoy such scholarly thought pieces. The first piece titled " The King of the Novel " is a long disposition on Irving's favorite writer, Charles Dickens. Paying special attention to Great Expectations he makes a very coherent case for the mastery of Dickens work. This is followed by a shorter piece about Dickens " A Christmas Carol."

The last piece is one in which he pays homage to the German writer Gunter Grass. I must say I have never read his work and have only really heard a great deal about " The Tin Drum " but if one is to be influenced by the passion of the reviewer one would have to pick up a Grass book after reading this piece.

[Abir · Rating 4 out of 5]

Récit autobiographique d'une sincérité rare.
John Irving ne se ménage pas dans cette histoire tiré de ses jeunes années où il a longtemps malmené avec sa bande de copains, le marginal de sa petite ville.
De cette histoire tragique, Irving tire le meilleur ; sa vocation d'écrivain.

[Ruby · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun mix of non-fiction and short stories. The last section was really dry, but overall a good glimpse into Irving's life and writing.

[SHALINI AGGARWAL · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loads of insight into some classics. Worth a gander.

[Holly · Rating 1 out of 5]

Just not worth it. Hard to get into, disjointed collection of short stories and memoir essays.

[Safi Khanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

really perfectly funny
man i love short stories!
i wish i had read great expectations before reading the last one though

[Nick · Rating 2 out of 5]

Worth a read if you’re a fan of Irving (I am).

[Danny · Rating 3 out of 5]

ook in zijn korte verhalen kan John het niet laten: circus en beren...

[Robert · Rating 5 out of 5]

An interesting and engaging mix of fiction and non-fiction.

[Hannah Rae · Rating 2 out of 5]

This started out strong, but ultimately... it was insanely boring. Well-written, but sooooooo very boring.

[Loren Sanders · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh not my fave

[Easha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Average rating: 2.75

My first Irving experience and...it was a mixed bag. A couple of stories were great, but most of them were disappointing. A positive that came out of this, though, is that it really made me want to read more of Irving's books; I loved his style of writing, but some of the subjects here were simply boring. Despite this, I enjoyed the book overall. It felt like a literary version of a sketch book: a book of short, beautifully written works of art.

Below are some short comments about each individual story.

Trying to Save Piggy Sneed ****

Disturbing; haunting; sad.

Interior Space ***

Although the odd, confusing premise managed to draw me in, the ending was an anti-climax. Despite this, it was interesting and laced with traces of humour.

Almost in Iowa ****

A sorrowful, bumpy ride through the North-Eastern states of the USA. My favourite story in the book.

Weary Kingdom *

Aptly named; it was a Weary Read.

Brennbar's Rant ***

Descriptive; beautifully written; interesting conversation.

Other People's Dreams ***

Funny, in the sense that it was strange.

The Pension Grillparzer **

Very odd and not particularly fantastic. I really wanted to like this one. In fact, I'm sad to say it was slightly annoying!

The King of the Novel **

This was not so much a short story as it was an extended essay about Charles Dickens. Although interesting, I may have enjoyed it more if I had read Great Expectations!

[Richard Thompson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book for die hard John Irving fans, but since I count myself in their ranks, I enjoyed it. It is a collection of shorter works, interspersed with Irving's commentary on them. It's interesting to see what he has to say about his own writing. I didn't always agree with what he had to say, but that's fine. His notes always gave me a deeper insight into his work, even where my opinions may differ from his.

By Irving's own confession, he is more a novelist than a short story writer. I agree. Short stories work best for me as tiny perfect sparkling gems like Chekhov wrote. Irving's strengths are more evident on a larger canvas. But still these stories are very good, and I enjoyed all of them. If I had to pick a favorite, it would be the one about the Pension Grillparzer which of course comes from The World According to Garp, where it serves a separate purpose as part of the larger story.

But my favorite part of the book is the essay on Dickens. I share Irving's great admiration for Dickens, though again, mostly not for the same reasons that Irving admires him, but all of Irving's points are well taken and I loved how two of the things that Irving most likes about Dickens - his unbridled sentimentality and his improbable plots are also characteristics that I have always enjoyed in Irving's own writing.

Anyone who shares my opinion that John Irving is one of the great treasures of contemporary American literature should read this book.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Getting to know John Irving

This book is a wonderful introduction to what makes Irving the writer and person he is. All short pieces, both fiction and non-fiction, there is enough variety here to fully represent the man. Each piece is followed by "author's notes," in which Mr. Irving explains, basically, "where he was coming from" when he wrote them. Very enjoyable reading.