Großartig geschriebene und gesprochene Sprache

Nachdem mir schon die deutsche Übersetzung dieses Irving- Romans sehr gut gefallen hat, habe ich dieses Hörbuch als erstes englischsprachiges gekauft und bin restlos begeistert, nicht nur von der lebendigen Sprache, sondern auch von der sehr einfühlsamen und variationsreichen Interpretation von George Guidall. Schade, dass er keine weiteren Irving- Romane bislang gesprochen hat

A Lecture in Writing Fiction as Fiction

English is not my native language and I fear I have not grasped all the finer details in this classical comedy. I will probably try the German translation at a later time. I felt much safer hearing Owen Meany in English than with this story that seems to be more carefully constructed. Something that cannot be appreciated as much with my level of the English language.
As a story, I enjoyed the first part much more than the second. The first part was more tense, more coherent, deeper going and with more sparks flying between the characters. The second part opened up a bit more, and didn't go as deep. Irving introduced several new characters, even the "old" ones had their chance of showing a new side of them (though they missed that opportunity). The characters in the first part felt a bit more realistic, as in "photo-realistic" the characters of the second part felt a bit more reduced to a few main traits. Eddie for his affection towards elderly women, Hannah for her promiscuity (for lack of a better word), etc. I was a bit disappointed about Eddie not getting a bit more balance. I had to laugh about Ted's remark on him "never getting over ...", still, he was a character with much potential in the first part and it's kind of disappointing to see him come out without developing that - or rather, developing it in one, pitiful direction only. Ruth was on the more introverted side and calmer, but very sharp. It is of course all plausible, just that my expectation had been different. In my point of view the second part was not less interesting, though for me, it was for different reasons that I was interested in. What I found intriguing was all the talk about writing itself. I think it is a bit strange that I got hooked so much on the meta-writing part. I am still a bit uneasy on whether Irving was sincere with me or if I rather got the runaround from him. The second part of this book was more a textbook than a novel for me. But, I figure that all lectures must be much more interesting if they came in a form like that. I enjoyed the dispute between imagination and experience with respect to "getting the details" right and the resulting irony of Ruth experiencing a humiliating situation of an ambiguous kind, that was well crafted.

In summary, it's a very good book. I enjoyed it a lot and can strongly recommend it. Although, as I said, I would rather recommend a translation if you're not native English-speaking. I also watched the movie which is brilliant in its own way and can also be strongly recommended.

terribly boring - even after 2 hours of listening

Würden Sie es noch mit einem anderen Hörbuch von John Irving und/oder George Guidall versuchen?

no

Was werden Sie wohl als nächstes hören?

Something classical - not just sex, sex and more sex

Wen hätten Sie anstatt George Guidall als Erzähler vorgeschlagen?

I don't know any other male reader

Sie mochten dieses Buch nicht ... Haben Sie vielleicht irgendwelche rettenden Maßnahmen dafür?

no

Was wäre für andere Hörer sonst noch hilfreich zu wissen, um das Hörbuch richtig einschätzen zu können?

The humour of SOME Country - but which?

Einfach Irving

Der Mann ist schlicht genial. A WIDDOW FOR ONE YEAR ist mein Lieblingsbuch - und das ist auch, ungekürzt, dieses Hörbuch. Excellent gesprochen und fesselnd bis zur letzten Minute, voller witziger Einfälle und "aha"-Momente. Eben einfach Irving.

Exzellent

Dieses hervorragende Buch wird exzellent gelesen. Ich werde es sicher noch häufiger hören. Eigentlich hat es mehr als 5 Sterne verdient.

Brilliant

A typical Irving novel - great story, lots of humor and insight and plot twists. Not only very entertaining but filled with memorable characters and a good story line. I can only recommend it.