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    Avenue of Mysteries
    Avenue of Mysteries
    Avenue of Mysteries
    Audiobook20 hours

    Avenue of Mysteries

    Written by John Irving

    Narrated by Armando Duran

    4/5

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    About this audiobook

    John Irving returns to the themes that established him as one of our most admired and beloved authors in this absorbing novel of fate and memory.

    In Avenue of Mysteries, Juan Diego—a fourteen-year-old boy, who was born and grew up in Mexico—has a thirteen-year-old sister. Her name is Lupe, and she thinks she sees what’s coming—specifically, her own future and her brother’s. Lupe is a mind reader; she doesn’t know what everyone is thinking, but she knows what most people are thinking. Regarding what has happened, as opposed to what will, Lupe is usually right about the past; without your telling her, she knows all the worst things that have happened to you.

    Lupe doesn’t know the future as accurately. But consider what a terrible burden it is, if you believe you know the future—especially your own future, or, even worse, the future of someone you love. What might a thirteen-year-old girl be driven to do, if she thought she could change the future?

    As an older man, Juan Diego will take a trip to the Philippines, but what travels with him are his dreams and memories; he is most alive in his childhood and early adolescence in Mexico. As we grow older—most of all, in what we remember and what we dream—we live in the past. Sometimes, we live more vividly in the past than in the present.

    Avenue of Mysteries is the story of what happens to Juan Diego in the Philippines, where what happened to him in the past—in Mexico—collides with his future.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSimon & Schuster Audio
    Release dateNov 3, 2015
    ISBN9781442384507
    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 Avenue of Mysteries

    4/5

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    • 3/5
      Obwohl ich Lupe, die Gedankenleserin und j?ngere Schwester des Protagonisten Juan Diego, sofort ins Herz geschlossen habe, ist Irvings Roman leider nur untere Mittelklasse. Er liest sich irgendwie so, als h?tte jemand alle vorhergehenden Irving-Romane gelesen und dann aus Versatzst?cken ein neues Buch zusammengestellt. Die Themen sind Irving-Lesern sattsam bekannt: Cross-Dressing, Aids, Abtreibung und Romane schreiben. Seltsamer Weise fehlen Ringk?mpfe, aber das w?re denn dann wohl auch wirklich zu viel gewesen. F? meinen Geschmack gibt es in dem Buch zu viel Mysteri?ses (ja, ich wei?, das steht schon im Titel) und das "Mary Monster" mag ja in natura imposant sein, aber als Aufh?nger f?r eine Geschichte ist sie wenig glaubw?rdig. Und dass Juan Diegos Beta-Blocker als Erkl?rung f?r alle Geister in dem Buch herhalten m?ssen, ist f?r Irving-Leser einfach zu fadenscheinig. ?berhaupt h?lt sich Irving mit den sonst so durchdachten und in der Geschichte lang vorbereiteten unvorhersehbaren Wendungen gewaltig zur?ck. Letztendlich ist auch das Ende der Geschichte lang vorhersehbar und das ist gerade f?r einen Irving-Roman wirklich entt?uschend.
    • 5/5
      Juan Diego, along with his sister Lupe, was a ?dump kid? in Mexico, scavenging for items to sell or use in the city dump. Among the things Diego had rescued from the fire were books, many in English, which were thrown out by the Church. Diego learned to read both Spanish and English with these books. Now, half a century later, Diego is an established and respected writer. All of his friends from his days as a dump kid are dead including Lupe and he has health problems. He is on a pilgrimage in the Philippines to honour a promise he made to a friend all those years ago in Mexico. On his journey, he meets two women, a mother and daughter, who claim to be fans and quickly seem to take over his life including sharing his bed but who may not be what they seems. As Diego travels around the country meeting old friends and visiting shrines, and as he mixes his beta blockers with Viagra, he dreams about his former life and how it led him to here.Avenue of Mysteries by John Irving is a beautifully written book containing many of the motifs and themes of his previous works: the circus, orphans, and, of course, the Church and sex. But this is John Irving and because he revisits older themes does not make this a rehash of earlier books. This is a story about the importance of dreaming and imagination not only in youth but perhaps especially in old age. It is about sacrifice and love and mystery both in the secular and the religious and it is full of empathy, humour, and just a touch of the mystical. It will make you laugh in parts and frustrate you in others but the story and its many quirky characters will stay with you long after you finish reading.
    • 3/5
      This was good but I like other Irving novels more.
    • 4/5
      The main character of this novel is one that will stay with you for many years. He is an introspective, kind writer who lives as much in his head as he does in the real world. We travel back and forth between his childhood as a "dump kid" orphan in Mexico, living and working the the great city dump, and his present which is mystical and mysterious. As with so many Irving novels, it is the characters, and the bizarre events that happen to them that make the story so appealing.
    • 4/5
      Longtime fans of John Irving?s novels will note several recurrent themes and techniques in Avenue of Mysteries that hark back to Irving?s earlier work: the plight of orphans, life inside a small circus, the homosexual and transsexual lifestyles, the dubious value of organized religion, and the use of magical realism to move his plot along, among them. The novel is so clearly a John Irving novel, in fact, that upon its completion, one senses at least a bit of d?j? vu in the air.Avenue of Mysteries is a coming of age novel focusing on Juan Diego, a boy who along with his younger sister Lupe lives along side a huge garbage dump in Oaxaca, Mexico protected by the man who may or may not be Juan Diego?s father. Juan Diego and Lupe are children of extraordinary talents. Juan Diego has successfully taught himself to read in both Spanish and English by studying the books he manages to save from the garbage dump?s fires. But despite Juan Diego?s prowess with words, his sister?s talent may be even greater than his: she reads minds and can sometimes predict the future. Juan Diego is, however, no longer a child. He and Lupe left the dump almost sixty years ago, and those times now live only in his memories and dreams. Despite being so largely self-taught, Juan Diego managed to carve out a successful writing and teaching career for himself in the United States, but now recently retired from the world of academia, he is on his way to the Philippines where he plans (or, depending on how you look at it, will be forced) to spend some time with a still enthusiastic ex-student of his. Early on during the trip, the professor, no longer a healthy man, finds that tinkering with the dosage of his daily meds has a great impact on his wakefulness, his energy level, his sexual prowess, and most importantly, on his dreams. Juan Diego so enjoys reliving his past through his dreams that once he finds the dosage combination that most often allows him to reach his most vivid dream state he is reluctant to return to taking his medicines as prescribed ? no matter the consequences to his health. So, in alternating segments (sometimes within the same chapter), the reader learns Juan Diego?s childhood story and follows him on his sexual adventure across the Philippines. Typical of previous John Irving novels, Avenue of Mysteries is a complicated blending of realism and magic, a long story filled with memorable characters that come and go in the life of the book?s main character. There are Mexican prostitutes of both sexes, the strictest of Catholic nuns, orphans galore, unbending priests, an evil lion tamer, girl acrobats, inspirational female doctors, dogs with personality, a Virgin Mary statue whose eyes move and shed tears, a mother and daughter who both spend hours in bed with our hero - and most important to Juan Diego, there is the failed candidate to the priesthood who changes Juan Diego?s life forever for the better. All that said ? and despite how much I enjoyed much of it ? Avenue of Mysteries is not destined to rank anywhere among my favorite John Irving novels. Parts of it are simply more of a chore to get through than they should be, and the story takes a little longer to tell than it should have taken. Despite that, the author?s fans will not want to miss Avenue of Mysteries, because who knows which of Irving?s novels will be the one he decides is his last.
    • 4/5
      This novel covers a lot of ground - almost an entire life, and not in a linear fashion. Juan Diego Guerrero is a writer in his fifties with a bad heart and a crippled foot. He lives in Iowa but was born in Mexico to a beautiful mother who was both a prostitute and a well-regarded church cleaner. Juan Diego was raised in a dump by a kindly dump boss named Rivera that may or may not have been Juan Diego?s father. He translates for his sister, Lupe, who can be understood by nobody else due to a speech impediment. She also reads minds. When their mother is killed by a falling statue the kids are thrust into working in a circus, where Lupe is to read the minds of the lions for the lion tamer and Juan Diego is to translate. And this is just the beginning.This is a complex story, weaving past and present, memories and the fantastic, dense yet graceful. It shifts between the adult Juan Diego on a trip to the Philippines to honor the memory of a father killed during WWII of a draft dodger Juan Diego knew as a boy in Oaxaca and his boyhood memories of the people he has loved and lost, including those that brought him to Iowa ? his surrogate parents ? Edward Bonshaw, who hoped to become a priest until he met Flor, the transvestite that would become Juan Diego?s substitute mother. It?s a big, involved, story of love and intertwined lives.
    • 4/5
      This book was a magical mystery tour. Lots of ghosts (or were they?). I loved the relationship between Juan Diego and Lupe. Brother Pepe was also a favorite.
    • 5/5
      John Irving, if you are reading this, Avenue of Mysteries is the John Irving book I was born to love, but couldn't quite get there. Though I did love all of the story set in Mexico and Iowa and all of the characters were wonderful. I couldn't get over the feeling of John Irving looking over his shoulder and laughing about old fat women who are his readers (naturally I am old and fat) and I still don't know what beta blockers are and what they had to do with the story. These were my reservations, as petty as they may seem they kept me from loving this book as much as Son of Circus, my favorite John Irving book.
    • 4/5
      A young reading prodigy and his prophetic sister, both born to a poor Mexican prostitute and living in a public dump, wrestle with their fate and faith.
    • 2/5
      Abandoned after a few chapters. Beta blockers, viagra, sexually obsessed young women and Catholicism - I used to love John Irving but I don't think he has much to say to me anymore.
    • 3/5
      I read The World According to Garp and A Prayer for Owen Meany when I was 16 and loved them, and I liked The Cider House Rules quite a lot. But neither Irving's style nor his themes have changed one whit since then; he doesn't seem to have grown or evolved, and so his more recent books have been a disappointment. Avenue of Mysteries isn't nearly as bad as The Fourth Hand, but it's still a pale shadow of Irving's earlier, better work.
    • 4/5
      I love John Irving's writing so much. Whenever he writes a new book, I buy it without even reading the fly-leaf to find out what it's about. In this case, we have a story with many vintage Irving themes and motifs. Which, while some find it "lazy", I enjoy very much...reading his books always contains an element of chatting with an old friend, even though the stories and characters are completely new. This is the story of Juan Diego, a writer in bad health, who is reminiscing about his life. The back story of Juan Diego and his mind-reading sister Lupe is gripping. John Irving can bring the reader into the lives and places of his characters so well. The current story of Juan Diego has him skipping and doubling doses of his beta-blockers, which makes him an unreliable narrator of the present day. I'm not a fan of magical realism, and got a bit frustrated, but Mr. Irving managed to pull it off with a strongly executed ending. I will continue to be a devoted fan.
    • 3/5
      Listened to the audiobook which was 17 discs long!
    • 3/5
      It's not often that I really like a character in a book but don't much like the book itself, but that is the case with John Irving's newest novel. Juan Diego, the ?dump reader,? is a likable and smart child and a likable if somewhat clueless adult.The book goes back and forth in time, and in dream sequences, and there is more than a little magical realism thrown in. Animals fare really badly in this story, and I hate to read about that. But humans don't have much going for them either. This is a sad story about broken people.About halfway through the book, I realized I was bored and just wanted to get on with the story. About 3/4s of the way through, I just wanted some ends to be tidied up and the book to be done. But I had another 100+ pages before that would happen.It's a book about faith. And sex. Lots and lots of sex. A preoccupation with sex. Discussions of sex. Thinking of sex. Having sex. It got old.This novel is not so much dark as it is just sad.I have liked John Irving's writing for years, especially A Prayer for Owen Meany and Cider House Rules, but not all of his books work for me. This one didn't. But I still am fond of Juan Diego and some of the other great characters in the book.
    • 2/5
      Disappointing. Interesting characters in search of a plot. I could have done without the mysterious mother-daughter duo and all the Viagra. And did he ever find the cemetery in Manilla? I think that whole storyline where the main character goes to the Philippines ruins what might have been a pretty good book.
    • 5/5
      Often my reaction to a book is shaped by my expectations. From John Irving, I have come to expect deep portrayals of unusual characters along with some quirky plot elements. These quirky plot elements are sometimes jarring, but because I have come to expect them and because Irving draws me into the world he creates so effectively, I am willing to overlook them. This was true of [Avenue of Mysteries], which introduces us to Juan Diego and his younger sister Lupe. Their mother is a cleaning woman at a Jesuit orphanage and a prostitute. They are not sure who their fathers are, but they live in the Oaxacan dump with the dump boss. No one but Juan Diego understands Lupe, so he interprets for her. She reads minds very well and somewhat less accurately tells the future. Juan Diego teaches himself to read and becomes known as the dump reader. We gradually learn about Juan Diego and Lupe's childhoods through the dreams of an adult Juan Diego who is a famous author in route to Manila. Along the way, he meets Miriam and Dorothy, a mother and daughter who come to play a big role in Juan Diego's trip. The flashbacks, which comprise much of the book, were my favorite parts. Lupe is a memorable character, and the relationship between Juan Diego and Lupe is tender and multi-layered. Their relationships hwith the Catholic Church (and especially with Virgin Mary or Mary Monster, as they refer to her) adds to the story, as does the cast of supporting characters. I didn't enjoy the present day storyline as much, but I was willing to overlook that in order to spend time with the resilient Juan Diego and Lupe.
    • 4/5
      I enjoyed this book, great style, want more like it
    • 5/5
      Not a disappointment, I loved everything about this novel. Library book.
    • 3/5
      There is a good story in this book about a boy who rescued books from the ongoing fires in an Oaxaca, Mexico dump and taught himself to read. Juan Diego is an intelligent and clever boy who has managed survive with a mangled foot and even take care of his younger sister, Lupe, who has a disorder that makes her speech unintelligible. She is also a mind reader. He is her translator and often has to soften her gutter talk to make it more pleasing to the priests and others who are helping them. I enjoyed the parts about their childhood, but unfortunately, Juan Diego grows up to be a foolish man who does not take his beta-blocker medicine as prescribed because it makes him feel "diminished". He likes the way Viagra makes him feel even though it gets him into trouble. Juan Diego has missed the dreams that take him back to his childhood which in my opinion is the main reason to read the book. I became irritated with the dalliances of his 53-year-old self with Miriam and Dorothy, a mother and daughter who suddenly appear in and take over his life as he travels to the Philippines to honor a promise he made to a draft-dodging gringo who was kind to him and Lupe when they were "dump kids". The purpose of the two women (or succubi) doesn't become clear until the end of the book. Juan Diego never married, but became a famous author who wrote popular books about abortion and the circus. Sound familiar? Anyone who has read more than a few books by Irving will catch many of the motifs he uses. He increasingly likes to inject past plots into new novels. While I enjoy the talk about literature and being a writer, I'm beginning to think he has become a lazy author to rehash so many of his old themes. On the other hand, there were some brilliant sections that made me glad I persisted in reading. I particularly enjoyed the memorable scene when the "Mary Monster" fell on the prostitute mother of JD and Lupe. It fits in well with Irving's opinion of Catholicism, and the broken nose plays a key role in the plot. Later on, the pilgrimage to the Avenue of Mysteries that leads to the Shrine of Guadalupe in Mexico City is so well written that I felt like I was there with the children. Their extreme disillusionment in realizing their dream was palpable. Late in the book, he writes a lovely homage to Juan Diego's adopted parents that brought tears to my eyes. If only Irving had focused on the main plot elements and left out the explicit sex with too much penis talk, I would have had a much better reading experience. As it was, I found it a slow read because I had to look too hard to keep track of the "good" story within the tiresome embellishments.
    • 5/5
      Such a wonderful book. So liked the people who littered the pages. It feels like one of his best. A novelist writing about the process of writing.