Pro-choice essay wrapped up in a fabulous story

Whoops, my review headline is very off-putting but this is one of my favourite ever books. I always love John Irving's understated writing style as he tells overblown Dickensian tales. As in many other of his books, he wraps his message up in a compelling and entertaining read. Set about 100 years ago and written about 35 years ago, the book's central theme of women's right to choose abortions, is still a very current topic. I love the tenderness of many of the relationships between John Irving's characters, especially those between parents and children.

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Excellent

What a great book! It doesn’t really fit into any main genre. It is simply a good story, well told. The book is strong at the beginning, middle and end and is well paced throughout, developing plot and characters naturally and believably. There are some complex relationships that are interesting and the narration is excellent. Some books are hard to keep track of the characters but that is not the case here. Each character is well defined and separate. I really enjoyed this and will now read more by this talented author

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SCOTUS essential reading

it's unbelievable that we are in a world that has made the subject of this great novel, a subject it had presumed was confined to history, relevant again.

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American writing at its best

Do we all stretch the rules to suit our own agendas? The cider house rules are written and reprinted every year and every year they are ignored. The essence of this story is set round an ageing community in an orphanage, where illegal abortions can be obtained. Rules are broken every day and lives changed by the rules that are adhered to and those of society that are ‘bent’ or ignored. This story of the life of an orphan and the people who touch and influence his life is well written and you can imagine that Dickens may have been an influence in the tale. As enjoyable as Steinbeck for the storytelling but, much less descriptive in style. Excellent book.

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Beautiful

Simply a beautifully written story, read perfectly. It wants for nothing. I've listened to it twice and will again.

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Great US 1940-50s story woven around abortions

Great story, although the political mindset of the author feels like that of his 1940s Dr Larch character. Good intentions and radical in many ways, but fundamentally as bigoted as the times he grew up in.
So surprising that it was written in the rather more enlightened 1980s.

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the idea of being a hero to those who matter

at times baffling in its tendency to dwell on the meaningless, it never the less reveals that anything and anyone however small or unimportant can hold significance. A beautiful story,

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Stunning

I haven't read such a beautiful novel in a very very long time . It touched me profoundly. The reader was wonderful.

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Fantastic!

I have always loved this book but read by Jared Zeus its even better. Beautifully narrated, thank you

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everything you want a book to do

keeps you interested from start to end brilliant story. Full of individual character background story

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