Irving, John (1942-…), is an American novelist who has gained enormous popularity with readers and acclaim from critics. A skillful storyteller, Irving emphasizes eccentric characters, lively episodes and adventures, and a sentimental vision of humanity.
John Winslow Irving was born on March 2, 1942, in Exeter, New Hampshire. He studied at the University of Vienna, Austria, in 1963 and 1964, and Vienna became an important backdrop to several of his novels. Irving secured his reputation with his fourth novel, The World According to Garp (1978). The book deals with a well-meaning writer who pits the virtues of love and family against a series of bizarre catastrophes and modern sexual confusions.
Irving’s first novel was Setting Free the Bears (1968), a story about two young men on a motorcycle trip through Austria. The Water-Method Man (1972) concerns a college graduate student trying to handle a complicated sex life while translating a Norse epic for his doctoral dissertation. The 158-Pound Marriage (1974) is a kind of moral fable about marital infidelity.
The Hotel New Hampshire (1981) tells about a family seeking sanctuary in their hotel from a series of personal crises. The Cider House Rules (1985) is set in Maine and focuses on the issue of abortion. A Prayer for Owen Meany (1989) is a story about an odd little hero who claims to be “God’s instrument” in the world. A Son of the Circus (1994) is a sprawling novel set in India. A Widow for One Year (1998) explores several love stories in one family over four decades. A portion of the novel was published in 2004 as a children’s book called A Sound Like Someone Trying Not to Make a Sound.
The Fourth Hand (2001) is a comic novel about a television anchorman who receives a transplant of a new hand. Until I Find You (2005) describes a man’s lifelong search for his runaway father. Last Night in Twisted River (2009) tells how a tragic mistake sets a man and his son on 50 years of wandering. In One Person (2012) covers 50 years in the life of a man struggling to find his sexual identity. In Avenue of Mysteries (2015), an aging writer relives his childhood in Mexico in dreams and memories as he fulfills a childhood promise on a trip to the Philippines. The Last Chairlift (2022) is a ghost story and the story of a man seeking to learn more about his family.
Irving’s short stories were collected in Trying to Save Piggy Sneed (1993). In My Movie Business: A Memoir (1999), Irving discusses the adaptation of his novels into motion pictures.
