Lawrence.com

This is the time of year that I usually read "The Stand", so I've been sorely tempted to give up the whole experiment so that I could read that. I really, really, really want to read "The Stand". I even looked for an audio book, and my partner suggested that I check it out from the library because it wouldn't technically be the same book. Part of the attraction that I have to "The Stand" is that its a good example of what I think of as New England writing. "A Widow for One Year" is also in the New England Style.

Irving tells the story of Ruth, who we meet early in the book as a toddler, then later as a successful adult writer, who is trying to find a new novel idea and love while waiting for her absentee mother to find her. While it may be Ruth's story, only about a third the book is told from her point of view. Most of Ruth's story is told through the eyes of the people around her, especially her father, an eventual husband, and Eddie, who was her father's assistant when Eddie was a teenage and Ruth was a toddler.

Salman Rushdie was at the Lied Center several years ago, talking about writing in general, although his focus was on the Oz stories and his new book. He said something to the effect of that everyone wants to hear that all of his stories are based on his own experiences. He had a good laugh at that, but in many ways its true. If "A Widow for One Year" is based on Irving's own experience, then he must have some serious problems with writing. All but two of the major characters in "Widow" are writers or involved in the industry; all of them have some serious problems with being writers. Either they're stuck in a particular theme or have too much angst over being writers. The book, at times, reads like a freshman creative writing major's journal. In fact, Irving uses Ruth's journals to forward the story, an effect that only bogs down the story.

Ruth, even though it may be her story, is really the problem with the book. She's a flay, lifeless character. I like to think of her as the sun: all she does is hurt the people around her while remaining emotionless. She's the least dynamic of all the characters and really the only time that she's a moderately interesting character is when someone else is talking or thinking about her. I think that may just be an issue that Irving has with women, since the female characters in the other books of his that I've read have similar character deficiencies. Irving either can't write in depth female characters or has some major issues with women. I hope its the former.

I think that Irving is at his most impressive when he writes about life's gruesome events in a matter of fact manner. I've read "The World According to Garp" and "A Prayer for Owen Meany", both of which have really gruesome scenes as a turning point of the book. The gruesome points in "Widow" aren't too gruesome but are a lot more poignant. The knowledge that he typically writes in something really terrible towards the end of his books is what kept me reading "Widow", even though it isn't his most satisfying story.

Right now I'm reading "The Little Stranger" by Sarah Waters. I already have a lot to say about it, even though I'm a little over than half way through.