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    A Widow for One Year
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    A Widow for One Year
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    A Widow for One Year
    Audiobook24 hours

    A Widow for One Year

    Written by John Irving

    Narrated by George Guidall

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    Ruth Cole is a complex, often self-contradictory character--a "difficult" woman.  By no means is she conventionally "nice," but she will never be forgotten.

    Ruth's story is told in three parts, each focusing on a crucial time in her life.  When we first meet her--on Long Island, in the summer of 1958--Ruth is only four.

    The second window into Ruth's life opens in the fall of 1990, when Ruth is an unmarried woman whose personal life is not nearly as successful as her literary career.  She distrusts her judgment in men, for good reason.

    A Widow for One Year closes in the autumn of 1995, when Ruth Cole is a forty-one-year-old widow and mother.  She's about to fall in love for the first time.

    Richly comic, as well as deeply disturbing A Widow for One Year is a multilayered love story of astonishing emotional force.  Both ribald and erotic, it is also a brilliant novel about the passage of time and the relentlessness of grief.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateJul 12, 2005
    ISBN9780739320921
    Unavailable
    A Widow for One Year
    Author

    John Irving

    John Irving was born in Exeter, New Hampshire, in 1942. His first novel, Setting Free the Bears, was published in 1968, when he was twenty-six. He competed as a wrestler for twenty years, and coached wrestling until he was forty-seven. He is a member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in Stillwater, Oklahoma. In 1980, Mr. Irving won a National Book Award for his novel The World According to Garp. In 2000, he won the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay for The Cider House Rules. In 2013, he won a Lambda Literary Award for his novel In One Person. Internationally renowned, his novels have been translated into almost forty languages. His all-time bestselling novel, in every language, is A Prayer for Owen Meany. A dual citizen of the United States and Canada, John Irving lives in Toronto.

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    Reviews for A Widow for One Year

    3.5/5

    1,950 ratings55 reviews

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    • 5/5
      My favorite Irving book.
    • 2/5
      Didn't care for it and wouldn't recommend it. It was a disciplined slog to finally reach the last sentence which had the singular benefit of indicating that my long, literary trek was over. Reading this, it occurred to me that Mr. Irving may be suffering from the curse of popularity which incapacitates editors to utter things like: "John? What the hell is this?" For whatever reasons, the book seemed self-aggrandizing to a fault, while the irrational and prolific use of italics and exclamation points eludes explanation altogether. Not my cup of tea I guess.Undaunted, however, I am now in possession of Mr. Irving's latest offering "Avenue of Mysteries." We'll see.
    • 5/5
      This was my first John Irving novel, and whilst I strongly suspect he's another Marmite kind of author in the realm of Jonathan Franzen (at least for this book), personally I've found a new favourite author. It's no doubt terribly maudlin of me, but I just can't resist a dysfunctional family saga. A Widow for One Year begins with a couple in The Hamptons whose teenage boys had been killed in an accident five years earlier, and as the novel unfolds and time moves on it examines the ripple effect of that tragedy on the couple, their young daughter and some other key players who come into contact with the family.Despite the backdrop of the family tragedy, this is not a depressive book. There is a lot of black comedy woven throughout the book, with strong characters and an intricate plot. Perhaps at times it wandered a little bit, so for that I'm dropping half a star, but in all a read I enjoyed very much.4.5 stars - a rollicking good read.
    • 2/5
      Weak. Very weak.
    • 4/5
      laughed out loud. Crazy, sad, funny.
    • 4/5
      Recommended.
    • 3/5
      This book started with such promise, really loved the first section with Eddie and Marion but then when Ruth grew up I found the whole thing dull and boring and really couldn't wait for it to be over. By no means one of my favourite Irving books. I wish I had loved it but I couldn't.
    • 2/5
      A WIDOW is way overlong and repetitive in plot, settings. and characters.Oddly for the author of GARP, the characters and plot barely evolve and thereare no real surprises except for the police husband.The ending is ridiculous.
    • 3/5
      This is not the same as The World According to Garp or Cider House Rules. Those were both great books. This is definitely a John Irving book, very unforgettable well developed characters. The story however, just lays flat ... a very linear plot with nothing to resolve. Just a semi-interesting story about a family who also happen to all be writers.
    • 4/5
      I first read a John Irving book many years ago when my brother told me I must read 'Garp'. This is the third book of his I've read and it really is quite something. As always, his characters are real people doing believable stuff- and yet there's kind of a heightened colour and brightness to every page- you're completely caught up in the tale.The first third is perhaps the strongest (I see that that section was made into a movie - "The Floor in the Door.") 16 year old Eddie O'Hare, an aspiring writer, goes to spend the summer as a kind of assistant to children's author Ted Cole. He finds a dysfunctional household; the death in a car crash of both the couple's teen sons a few years ago has left the beautiful wife emotionally traumatized. The 4 year old daughter they subsequently had has NOT replaced the boys. The house is hung with photos of them; Ted loses himself in endless affairs and squash games, Eddie falls in love with the beresaved Marian. And then she leaves the family, with no forwarding address...In section 2, we revisit the daughter, Ruth, now in her 30s and a successful author herself. And then again, a few years on, in the final part.It's terribly clever writing as themes are re-introduced (like a piece of music) and ...although the brothels of Amsterdam (and the squash games!) go on a tad, it sure was a good read!
    • 5/5
      One of his best. Great characters driving the plot. Even though the plot might have been unbelievable in places, the characters made you believe. Hard to explain, but the book just made me feel good. Ruth was a wonderful, strong, likable, complex character that you had to root for!
    • 3/5
      Hmm...there were a lot of praiseworthy elements, but in the end the story just didn't really grab me. There were too many things that I found mildly implausible (especially about grown-up Ruth's fans and life). The writing was good, but not amazing, though I did really like the chapter titles. The tone shifts from genuinely funny to suspenseful to Lifetime Movie-sappy in different sections. There was a bit too much focus on the intricacies of Long Island and squash for me, as I'm not particularly interested in either.
    • 4/5
      Overall I enjoyed A Widow for One Year, but it wasn't my favorite John Irving. It tended more towards the absurd than some others I've read by him, and the plot was winded around without much direction for a long time. I actually got a little bored with it in the middle and didn't feel like I cared that much about the characters. However, by the end, everything came together and I felt that it was a good book in the end.
    • 3/5
      I was not as excited about this story as the other Irving novels I have read. I like the way he traces his characters' lives over decades of time, but they weren't as fascinating this time.
    • 4/5
      Inhaltsangabe:John Irving beschreibt in diesem Roman eine Geschichte mit vielen kleinen Geschichten. Und dabei erscheint es einem so, als ob sie tatsächlich passiert sind. Der Stil ist unverwechselbar und so lebensecht. Ich habe es genossen, diesen Roman zu lesen, um Ruth Cole, die einen langen Weg gehen mußte, um zu ihrer wahren Identitität und wahren Liebe zu finden. Dabei beginnt es eigentlich ganz harmlos, im Jahre 1958, als Ruth vier Jahre alt ist.Ruth Cole wächst als Tochter des Kinderbuchautors Ted Cole in den Hamptons auf Long Island auf. Als sie vier Jahre alt ist, verläßt die Mutter Marion Cole die Familie. Eigentlich war Ruth nicht wirklich geplant, aber sie sollte die zwei toten Söhne Thomas und Timothy ersetzen, was jedoch nicht wirklich funktionierte. Marion begrub sich immer mehr und mehr in der Trauer um ihre zwei verlorenen Söhne bis zum Jahr 1958, als sie Eddie O’Hare kennen lernt. Der damals 16jährige sollte als Assistent für Ted Cole arbeiten, aber der Autor hatte von Anfang an geplant, das Eddie und Marion eine Affäre haben. Eddie sah damals auch den toten Söhnen sehr ähnlich und Marion konnte ihr Herz für ihn öffnen, ehe sie von der Bildfläche verschwand.Ted Cole, ein Schwerenöter und Schürzenjäger sondergleichen, zieht Ruth allein groß und aus ihr wird eine erfolgreiche Schriftstellerin. Aber sie kann nie über eine liebende Mutter schreiben, denn sie hat ihre Mutter in all den Jahren nicht gesehen oder ein Lebenszeichen gehört. Sie hat keine Bindung zu Marion, obwohl sie sich in vielen Situation die Anwesendheit ihrer Mutter gewünscht hat. Nach vielen gescheiterten kurzen Beziehung hat sie nun einen Mann gefunden, der sie wirklich liebt. Dennoch zögert sie aus unfindlichen Gründen, ihn zu heiraten. Und Hannah, ihre beste Freundin, hintergeht sie, indem sie mit Ted Cole eine Affäre beginnt.In all den Wirren lernt Ruth Eddie nach 32 Jahren erneut kennen. Und sie baut zu ihm eine besondere Beziehung auf, denn es ist allen schnell klar, das er Marion noch immer sehr liebt. Für sie wird Eddie das einzige wirkliche Bindeglied zu ihrer Mutter, die sie sehr vermißt aber auch mit viel Wut und Enttäuschung an sie denkt. Viele Wege und Krisen begleiten ihr Leben, dennoch erlangt sie eines Tages das Ziel ihrer Träume. Wird ihre Mutter sie auch dieses Mal wieder mit ihrer Abwesendheit enttäuschen?Mein Fazit:Es ist für mich sehr ungewöhnlich, das ich eine Rezi mit der Bewertung des Buches beginne, aber bei diesem Buch kann man einfach nicht anders. Es birgt soviel trockenen Humor, das man einfach glauben muss, das es tatsächlich passiert ist, als ob es ein Tagebuch wäre. Und der Autor läßt so viele kleine Anekdoten und Geschichten einfließen, das die Heldin einem immer sympathischer wird, das die Menschen allgemein einem wirklich erscheinen, nicht bloß erfunden. Ich kann diese Geschichte um Ruth Cole, eigentlich dreht es sich immer um Marion Cole, nur wärmstens empfehlen. Es hat Tiefgang, Witz, Charme und eine gehörige Portion Menschlichkeit!!!Anmerkung: Die Rezension stammt aus Januar 2005.Veröffentlicht am 01.11.14!
    • 5/5
      Jahre, nachdem ich das Buch gelesen habe, habe ich nun das Hörbuch gehört. Und ich bin sehr froh darum! Das Buch hatte mir nämlich nicht besonders gefallen. Das von Rufus Beck genial gelesene Hörbuch allerdings hat mir gezeigt, dass es doch ein „echter Irving“ ist, in dem Figuren, Motive und Handlungsstränge schlussendlich ein harmonisches Ganzes ergeben. Man kann dem Buch auf jeden Fall den Vorwurf machen, dass es zu konstruiert und künstlich ist. Die Personen entwickeln sich kaum, lediglich Ruth macht eine gewisse Veränderung durch. Natürlich ist es unrealistisch, dass Personen so statisch sind, jahrzehntelang an einer alten Liebe festhängen. V.a. die Nebenfiguren sind nicht unbedingt nur gut gelungen. Hannah ist beispielsweise eine recht simple Figur, was ich sehr schade finde. Und trotzdem – die Geschichte selbst ist eine runde Sache. Viele, viele Handlungsstränge, Parallelmotive und Geschichten passen zusammen und ergeben ein komplettes Bild. Und auch die Botschaft, die ich mitnehme, gefällt mir: Wir können Trennungen und Verluste ganz unterschiedlich bewältigen. Das Leben macht das, was es am besten kann: Es geht weiter. Und trotz unserer Trauer, die immer ein Teil von uns sein wird, wird es möglich sein, wieder ins Leben zu gehen, vielleicht auch wieder zu lieben: Sei es nach einem oder nach 37 Jahren.
    • 3/5
      John Irving ist wahrscheinlich den meisten ein Begriff als Autor der Vorlage zu den Filmen Hotel New Hampshire und Gottes Werk und Teufels Beitrag. Ich hab von ihm vor Jahren mal "The Fourth Hand" gelesen, was ich ziemlich unterhaltsam fand (zumindest die erste Hälfte).Dieses Buch handelt von dem 16jährigen Eddie O'Hare, Professorensohn, der als Ferienjob als "Schriftstellerassistent" den Sommer 1958 auf Long Island bei der Familie Cole verbringt: Mutter Marion und Kinderbuchschriftsteller Ted Cole, die vor fünf Jahren ihre halbwüchsigen Söhne bei einem Autounfall verloren haben, und ihre vierjährige Tochter Ruth.Eddie erlebt eine sehr intensive sexuelle Initiation mit Marion, die sich im Verlauf des Sommers für immer von Mann und Kind trennt.Danach werden die nächsten Jahrzehnte der Protagonisten erzählt:Ted Cole schreibt immer weniger und kultiviert eigentlich nur noch seine Affären mit verheirateten Frauen und sein Squash-Spiel, Ruth wird erwachsen, studiert und wird ebenfalls Schriftstellerin, Eddie versucht sich ebenfalls als Schriftsteller, hat aber als einziges immerwährendes Thema "ältere Frau-jüngerer Mann", Marion bleibt abwesend, aber immer in Eddies Gedanken.Was mir am Buch gefallen hat, sind die Gegensätze zwischen Entwicklung einiger Personen (wie Ruth) und bis zur Unbeweglichkeit versteinerter Verhaltensmuster wie bei Eddie, Marion und Ted, zwischen den teils tragischen Schicksalsmomenten und der beschreibenden, fast herzlosen Sprache.Außerdem die lockere Erzählweise, die vielleicht amerikanisch, vielleicht nur Irving-spezifisch ist, mit einem Schuss Humor und ziemlich trocken, gleichzeitig die Öffnung der Erzählung und der Figuren gegenüber der restlichen Welt (es geht zum Beispiel um Lesereisen nach Deutschland und Holland).Lustig fand ich auch, dass John Irving indirekt (über einen der fiktiven Autoren) Bezug nimmt auf seine - reale - Teilnahme an dem internationalen Schriftstellerprojekt der Süddeuschen Zeitung (Magazin) "Die blaurote Luftmatratze" (irgendwann in den 90er Jahren).Zitat:Eddie dachte an Mrs. Bascoms Wohnung an der Ecke 5th Avenue und 93rd Street, an die vielen Fotos, die sie als Kind, als junges Mädchen, als junge Braut, als junge Mutter, als nicht mehr so junge Braut (sie hatte dreimal geheiratet) und als jugendlich wirkende Großmutter zeigen. Eddie konnnte sie nicht ansehen, ohne sie sich in allen Phasen ihres langen Lebens vorzustellen."Ich versuche, die ganze Frau zu sehen", sagte er zu Hannah. "Natürlich sehe ich, dass sie alt ist, aber es gibt Fotos. Und wenn nicht, kann ich mir das Leben einer Frau entsprechend vorstellen. Das ganze Leben, meine ich. Ich kann mir vorstellen, wie sie ausgesehen hat, als sie deutlich jünger war als ich, weil es immer Gesten und Gesichtszüge gibt, die sich eingeprägt haben, unabhängig vom Alter. Eine alte Frau betrachtet sich selbst nicht immer als alte Frau, und ich tue es auch nicht. Wenn ich sie ansehe, versuche ich, ihr ganzes Leben zu sehen. Und das ist etwas sehr Anrührendes."Kein mitreißendes, aber ein schönes Buch. Noch besser hätte es mir gefallen, wenn der Autor sich ein bisschen kürzer gefasst hätte (762 Seiten).
    • 3/5
      I enjoyed the story and the characters in this novel, but the novel was long. Really long. And it FELT long. Irving spends way too much time and wastes for too many words on details that are just not important. I don't really need to read 3 pages of landscape descriptions every chapter just to get to a pertinent part of the storyline. It is just not relevant.
    • 4/5
      What can I say? Irving rocks. I saw the movie before I read the book, so I knew the plot for the first part, I never expected it to go on as epically as it did.

      The combination of rich details and deep, convincing characters really makes this a book to savor.
    • 5/5
      It's hard to express just how much I loved this book and related to the main character. Language and setting are why I love Irving, but this story just brought it to a new level for me.
    • 5/5
      While meandering at times A Widow For One Year follows the life of Ruth Cole. In Part One it is 1958 and Ruth is only four years old. The plot doesn't necessarily focus on Ruth at this point but rather on her Long Island parents - their endless grief over the accidental death of their teenage sons and the bitter end of their tumultuous marriage. Ruth's father is a celebrated author of books for children, a closet alcoholic and a raging adulterer. He wants to divorce Ruth's mother, Marion, but he first needs to make sure he'll win the custody battle over Ruth. Given his drinking (he can't even drive due to too many dui arrests) and sexual conquests outside the marriage he needs Marion to have an indiscretion of her own to level the playing field. Enter Eddie O'Hare, a sixteen year old high school student from Philips Exeter Academy. Ted hires Eddie to be his writing assistant for the summer but really Eddie is supposed to seduce Marion. It's Eddie who I like the best in this part one. He plays the fool perfectly (oh, but what a sweet and pretty fool). Unwittingly he is a pawn for both Ted and Marion. In Part Two Ruth, at thirty-six, is an accomplished writer living in New York. The section begins with the very same Eddie O'Hare. He is in town to introduce Ruth at one of her readings. While their paths cross only briefly at this point in the story Ruth is enlightened by Eddie's memories of her mother. She begins to see her parent's divorce in a whole new perspective. Before leaving for a European book tour Eddie gives Ruth a murder mystery he thinks was written by Marion. While in Amsterdam Ruth is witness to the murder of a window prostitute from the red light district.This sets in motion Part Three which, in the beginning, focuses mostly on the murder of the prostitute from five years earlier. The lead chief inspector has a conundrum. While he was able to solve the murder he now wants to find the witness. The story jumps back fill in the story of the prostitute (which could have been a whole separate book). I don't want to spoil the end except to say it's nice that Irving brought the story full circle.
    • 1/5
      An awful book. I read 300 pages and had yet to discern a plot, other than characters screwing each other. Very happy to return this one to the library half read.
    • 5/5
      This is the third of John Irving's books that I've read. (The others are A Prayer for Owen Meany and Last Night in Twisted River.) And I am now more convinced than ever that I should read everything that this man has written. His stories often explore subject matter that I might not usually gravitate toward. For example, a large section of [A Widow for One Year] describes an affair between a high school boy and a woman old enough to be his mom. Another section brings us face-to-face with prostitutes in Amsterdam. But no matter the surface-level subject matter, Irving's real topic is the interplay between relationships and loss, and he explores this topic deeply.[A Widow for One Year] tells a sweeping story that begins in 1958, as Eddie O'Hare becomes Ted Cole's writer's assistant and Marion Cole's lover. Eddie is witness to a difficult time in the Coles' life, as they continue to mourn the death of their two sons while trying to raise four-year-old Ruth. The events of that summer continue to reverberate 32 years later when Ruth's writing career brings her and Eddie together again. This span of time gives the book the sweeping feel of an epic, although Irving also gives us a close-up look at days and moments in the characters' lives. The narrative is complex, but in the hands of a master like Irving, this is a gift rather than a complication. Despite the heavy subject matter, Irving's story is laced with humor, and at times, it feels like he is playing with the reader. For example, after I had spent 200 pages wondering if aspiring writer Eddie O'Hare was a semi-autobiographical character, Ruth Cole delivers a diatribe about how good authors make everything up. I felt like Irving had been in my head. And then there are the chapter titles. There is a short essay at the end of the book in which Irving discusses the chapter titles and first lines, which are the only thing he re-reads after publishing a book. I noticed the clever chapter titles when reading. It's hard not to appreciate titles like, "Why Panic at Ten O'Clock in the Morning?" and "Better than Being with a Prostitute in Paris." But I think I would have paid more attention to the first lines if I'd read the essay first (although since it has spoilers, it probably should be saved until the end). They really do set the tone for various parts of the novel. I could go on and on about more aspects of this book that deserve noticing, but suffice it to say that reading [A Widow for One Year] is truly enjoyable experience. Each reader will likely take something different from the book because Irving has left so many treasures for us to find. Enjoy!
    • 5/5
      Tragedy and comedy, grief and humor are interlaced in this cleverly written novel; it is sad and hilarious at the same time. Peculiarly, there are several protagonists, and one of them comes to a conclusion by the end of the book about "how fortune and misfortune were unequally distributed, if not at birth then in the course of circumstances beyond our control; and in the seemingly random pattern of colliding events - the people we meet, when we meet them, and if or when these important people might chance to meet someone else..." Out of three major themes running through the book - grief, a writer's world, and promiscuity - the author chose to overemphasize the last one, and that was my only regret. Otherwise, great storytelling. --
    • 4/5
      Very well written, but really over the top (would we expect otherwise?) I haven't read any books by John Irving for a while, and enjoyed this one. For some time, when I was a student, Irving was one of my favourite authors, but reading The fourth hand a few years ago was a disappointment. Now, I do no longer care so much for the hilarity, some of real gross. Of course, the episode in Amsterdam appealed to me, and I thought it was well done.Probably, quite a number of Irving's books would work just as well, or even better, if they were at least a third shorter. I sometimes wished that was the case with this book.
    • 2/5
      The last book I read by John Irving was a Prayer for Owen Meaney - and I was disappointed with A Widow for One Year in comparison. The book started off as a story about a womanizer married to a cougar and a young boy who likes older women. I did not particularly enjoy the ramblings about the fantasies of an adolescent boy. Then, in the middle of the book and with little transition, the focus shifted to the married couple's daughter Ruth as an adult. Right in the middle of the story a murder mystery is plopped in and then the book is quickly wrapped up a little too neatly. I also felt that the book was somewhat demeaning to women and that the author struggled with portraying a woman as a main character. The constant references to female anatomy parts was just too much.
    • 5/5
      I enjoyed the journey into the life of Ruth and her family. The twists the relationships took left me smiling as I compared them to relationships I have had or seen others have. The story celebrated all the dysfunctionalism that life is well known for.I liked how the story inter-weaved the past and present in a continuous flow that showed how life isn't a neat little box after all.I will defiantly recommend this book to others.
    • 5/5
      John Irving does it again! He really has to be one of my favourite authors. A Widow for One year is again an excellent story of a dysfunctional family, but he takes each character and makes you feel that you know them so well. You just have to fall in love with each and every one of them!This book is primarily about Ruth Cole and Eddie O'Hare,and is in three parts, it starts in the summer of 1958 when Ruth is 4 and Eddie is 16, he comes to work for Ruth's father Ted as a writers assistant and falls in love with Ruths mother Marion, a love he will have for the rest of his life.Ruths mother walks out on her family that summer and Ruth does not see her again for 37 years! she is brought up by her philandering father, who does love her dearly and does the best he can.The next time we see Ruth she is a young unmarried woman who writes for a living. Her choice of men has been terrible so far and her books all reflect the fact. She has been damaged by her life so far, and you get the feeling that she is waiting for something.The final part of the book we meet Ruth as a woman recently widowed with a child. She has a successful career as a writer and travels around the world. She has an idea for an extraordinary book and this ultimately brings her the love and security she so richly deserves.I loved it and would recommend it along with every other thing that John Irving has written. You cannot help but get caught up in his characters
    • 4/5
      (Adding this to my library now though I read it some time ago--this title just now showed up as a recommendation and I want to confirm that yes, it's a good recommendation. ;-)
    • 4/5
      Irving does it again. He takes family dysfunction to new levels, and makes you love the characters. He gives them so much dimension. One of my favorite authors, in this he deals with grief, abandonment, disloyalty and loyalty. Things never turn out the way they seem they will. It is nice to read an author who is not predictible and formulaic.