I shouldn't be throwing semicolons around too often; and yet, after reading Irving, what do I find myself doing? semicolon, semicolon, SEMICOLON ; ; ; ; I'm not winking at you; those are semicolons.. now you know what I mean. Irving affects me in many ways -- the semicolons are just one example. (And yes, I know I'm probably not using them correctly -- you don't have to point that out. You really don't.)More than a week after finishing, The Cider House Rules, it's still on my mind, still sneaking into my brain at different times in the day; still a part of me. Washing my face last night, talking to myself, "Just a light touch there with the wash cloth on the cheeks there, Benny, -- just like Dr. Larch with the Ether, light touch". And trust me, it's not just that: I feel like I know the characters. And I think about them randomly, periodically, throughout the day.The novel takes place in the first half of the 20th century, in Maine. Most of this is at an orphanage hidden away in the remote town of St. Clouds; a former logging camp, now desolate, lifeless, and empty-feeling -- with its past of whores and ruffians still present in its aura. This is the perfect place for savior Dr. Larch’s orphanage, where he also performs abortions, which were illegal at the time. Larch was the only known abortion doctor in the area that didn't provide them in dangerous ways - Doc Larch performed them correctly and safely, with great respect and care for the female’s dignity and health. This is also where protagonist orphan, Homer Wells, spends his childhood and teen years; where he learns to become Dr. Larch's helper. He spent some interesting -- to say the least -- periods of time living with foster families as well, but finds that the St. Clouds orphanage is his real home. And then, true to Homer's odd life, he ends up leaving the orphanage under unique circumstances. The story follows Homer into adulthood where he lives at “Ocean View Orchards”. During this time you get the feeling that Homer’s destiny is unfolding, but into what, you don’t know; you just know that it’s not going as planned. Homer also develops a powerful yet complex and taboo love; finds meaningful work; meets life changing people that are his new family, all while being away from his true father figure, Dr. Larch. There are a lot of interweaving storylines that result in humane, moral lessons that show through beautifully -- if not at the time, then at the end of the book, or after reflection.More than anything, this book got me thinking about abortion. I thought about it hard: more in-depthly and more seriously than I ever had before. It became something other than an abstract concept to me; I felt for the women that needed them, and I felt for the boy who believed that it was murder. It humanized the issue for me, and solidified my formerly tepid belief in a woman's right to choose. It's pretty clear that Irving agrees with this (a woman's right to choose); a major part of the story is in fact, him making the pro choice point; but I could also see someone walking away from this with a pro life stance, or a more adamant belief in that stance. After all, young Homer was an orphan that liked his life and made positive contributions to the world, all of which wouldn't have happened if his mother hadn't chosen life. At the same time though, our story takes place when abortion was illegal, and you see Dr. Larch save lives, and the issue of choice itself is framed almost perfectly. The book made me realize the impact that an abortion, non-abortion, or botched abortion can have on someone's life. You have no choice but to have an opinion on it after reading this book, because you get hit with the weight of its seriousness.The Cider House Rules has all the traits of a good Irving novel: the humane, odd, and likable characters with unusual life experiences; a storyline with moral undertones; profound scenes -- some zany and humorous -- others wise and touching. Don't get me wrong, this book isn't for everyone. It doesn’t take off right away -- someone with fast paced standards may even consider the whole first half slow. If you're adamantly pro-life, you probably won't find yourself enjoying this book -- abortion is too much of an ongoing issue. And abortion isn't the only weighty theme here: betrayal, war, morality, laws-and-rules, the soul, incest, family, death, violence against women; the list goes on.Essentially, The Cider House Rules is about the many rules of life: some written, others not; some meant to be broken; some need to be created. It's about the concept of fate and how our decisions affect both our own lives and the lives of others -- whether they are from playing by the rules, or not. An exchange from the book sums this up quite well: “Every time you throw a snail off the dock,' Ray teased Homer Wells, 'you're making someone start his whole life over.' 'Maybe I'm doing him a favor,' said Homer Wells, the orphan."This may not be John Irving's best novel, but of the four I've read, it's certainly his most important.
I finally finished The Cider House Rules this morning; I've been working on it since mid-August. Usually if I take that long to read a book it's because the book isn't very good, I've gotten bored with it, or the writing is hard to comprehend. None of those things are true of The Cider House Rules. Instead I found the book to be wonderfully written with rich and complex characters (not to mention a moving and controversial storyline). I think the main reason I took so long to finish it (aside from the usual business of work and school and whatever else), was its grand scale. It's a fairly hefty book that follows one character throughout most of his life, from birth until middle age.The book centers around St. Cloud's, an orphanage in Maine where the resident obstetrician, Dr. Larch, not only delivers babies but performs abortions as well. Homer Wells, the book's protagonist, is an orphan born at the establishment. Despite three attempts at being adopted, he somehow always ends up back at St. Cloud's, and considers the place to be his true home. Larch, deciding that Homer should be "of use" if he is to stay at the orphanage, begins training Homer in obstetrical procedure. By the time Homer is in his late teens, he is a skilled obstetrician. I won't detail the rest of the events in the book, but the story follows Homer until middle age, when he eventually replaces Dr. Larch at the orphanage. The book has a definite pro-choice slant, however, I didn't feel as though it had a strong political agenda. That's what I love about good fiction: it tells the story of a few people's unique experiences in life, no matter what those experiences might be. Homer's unique experience, among other things, had to do with the moral problem of abortion. So agree or disagree with the issue as you will; it doesn't change that the book itself was moving and beautiful. I would even venture to say that it was less about abortion and more about one man's journey through life to find out what his purpose is. In some ways I feel that although reading is a solitary act, it has prepared me to be a worldly person. When we take controversial issues like abortion and put them in a novel; when we read about characters who seem as foreign to us as a martian and yet could live in our same city; when we look through the eyes of someone else as if they were our own, what we are essentially doing is humanizing something. All too often we read about things from an objective, divorced point of view. It's supposed to help us make decisions. It's supposed to help us be rational. But dehumanizing something is how people have made some of the most inhumane and gruesome decisions in history. Fiction is an excellent way to make people not only consider an issue from both sides, but to feel for both sides as well; to create acceptance. To me, that kind of writing is more powerful than anything else will ever be. And that's what I feel like I've found in The Cider House Rules. Is it trying to change anyone's mind? Not necessarily. But through its humanity it just might.
What do You think about The Cider House Rules (2000)?
Christopher wrote: "I didn't realize that it would be for this book that everyone would unite against me! I thought for sure it was going to be because I hated If on a Winter's Night a Traveler."Now that one I only gave 3 stars, but my memory tells me it should be lower than that since I remember very little. I do remember not being as impressed as I think I should have been.And Michael Caine has never been in a movie adaptation of that one. I don't think.
—Christopher
I love John Irving but stayed away from this work for years because of the "abortion" issue. I didn't want to be preached to, (in principle I am against abortion) and I foolishly underestimated Irving's ability to create a complete work, one in which "abortion" was a small part. This is one of his finest works and I recommend it without reservation. Irving forces the reader to view the world from many angles and does it with his usual excellence in creating characters with depth and a plot that keeps you engaged page after page.
—Suzanne
I've always struggled with Irving and Cider House Rules is no exception. It's not that Irving is a poor writer, no one can argue that. His characters are always fully-fleshed and alive on the page and each sentence drips with so much detail that you think you're going to get splinters when Homer and Melony are messing around in the abandoned millworker's dorm. I just think that most of the time when I put the book down I feel like I've read the equivalent of cotton candy: really pretty but not much substance as far as plot is concerned. Another aspect of Irving's writing is his tendency to deliver sentences in blanket pronunciations (i.e.- "An orphan is a child, forever; an orphan detests change; an orphan hates to move; an orphan loves routine"). Far too often they seem like shallow blanket judgments used to convey a character trait but which instead seem to make Irving's characters seem like cardboard cutouts.What Cider House Rules does provide is a very even-handed look at the pro-choice vs. "pro-life" debate. Told from the point of view of Dr. Wilbur Larch, who came into his own while working in Boston's South End, abortion seems like a necessary option to those who would seek one from any potential provider, no matter how unqualified or injurious. In Larch's view it's far better that women get an abortion from a trained and caring provider than a backroom butcher with no compassion for the patient. Contrasting this view is the book's hero, Homer Wells, an orphan who has never experienced the results of a botched abortion and, from his perspective as an orphan, tends to view aborted fetuses as playmates that just never were. Through Homer and Larch's conflict regarding abortion, Irving manages to shine an insightful light on a subject which has pulled hard at America's edges for as long as the nation has been extant.All in all, I think I enjoyed Cider House Rules. Sure, there were definitely moments when I wondered whether Irving was as lost in the story as Dr. Larch was lost in an ether dream, but the moment I closed the book for the final time it took hold of my imagination and left me thinking for quite a while after. By any measure that should be a sign of a good read.Finally, I feel the need to mention the following quote which grabbed me early in the novel:"Dr. Larch pointed out that Melony had taken Jane Eyre with her; he accepted this as a hopeful sign- wherever Melony went, she would not be without guidance, she would not be without love, without faith; she had a good book with her. If only she'll keep reading it, and reading it, Larch thought."
—Chloe
