A Widow For One Year by John Irving

I loved it.  Irving tells a complex, quirky, fascinating story in a complex, quirky, fascinating way.  You have to wrap your head around it.  Thinking is required when reading John Irving.  He's a master at his craft.

This story is about all the things in life we'd rather not talk about.  A mother deserting her 4 year old daughter when she was unable to deal with her grief concerning the loss of two teenage sons gripped me.  Eddie, a teenage boy developing a life long desire for this grieving mother never lets Marion be far from his thoughts.  Ted, a womanizer with a penchant for younger women is left to raise Ruth.  Ruth grows up to become a best selling author never able to let go of her anger toward her absent mother. Throw in a cop and a prostitute in the red light district in Amsterdam and the pages of this novel never stop turning.

I rated this novel 5 out of 5.  It is a masterful display of the power of the written word.  For me as an author, Irving is to be studied and disected.  This one's a keeper.