The Cider House Rules

A while back, I mentioned that I was reading a book that was too good to put down entirely, but too slow to continuously read. I was reading short books for a while and flipping back and forth, before setting it down. Eventually though, I did want to finish John Irving's novel, The Cider House Rules. I know the book was turned into a movie that received much critical acclaim, but I had never seen it. (I have it on hold at the library and will soon.) I had purchased a copy of the novel used because everything I've read by John Irving has been good (The World According to Garp, A Prayer for Owen Meany, and A Widow for One Year). My copy doesn't have a plot description on the back, but I knew I could count on Irving to deliver a wonderful story told with complex characters, humor, and imagination. Even though it's been years since I read his other books, I can remember a surprising amount with vividness--which is why even though I finished this book weeks ago, I knew there was little risk of my not being able to remember it with clarity.

At its core, the novel is about the personal journey of Homer Wells, an orphan who is never adopted. But the power of Irving's work is its depth. I loved how even its primary setting, St. Cloud's orphanage, is almost its own character. St. Cloud's is an orphanage that also offers abortions, which are illegal at the time the novel takes place. (It begins in the 1920s and ends about 30 years later.) The doctor at St. Cloud's, Dr. Larch, becomes attached to Homer and teaches him everything he knows about delivering babies and performing abortions. When faced with disposing of an aborted fetus, Homer decides he is morally opposed to abortion and refuses to help Dr. Larch. When he has the opportunity to flee St. Cloud's, he does and that's really when his personal journey begins. I really enjoyed the beautiful novel and had the satisfaction of having it end exactly the way I wanted it to. I'm refraining from a universal recommendation, however, as I know the abortion issue is something that people can have strong, negative feelings about. I think what's remarkable though about tackling a social issue in a novel is that a true writer does not include judgment, only observation--which means Irving offers the reader a portrait of the issue in its many shades of grey.