John Irving has long been one of my favorite authors. This book, which one review predicts will be considered his grand opus, both made me completely question my love for John Irving's novels and also completely reaffirmed it. The material is emotionally difficult, for sure, although that is nothing new for an Irving novel.
The expansive nature of the story really brought home the common themes and plot elements that are common to all of the Irving stories I've read (The World According to Garp, Hotel New Hampshire, The Cider House Rules, A Widow for One Year, A Prayer for Owen Meany) - of course the locations and the depth of study in each area, but also the mommy issues, the wrestling, the detached writers without a sense of who they are. At first, hitting a familiar element made me sigh and wonder (although never question the worth of finishing all 1000+ pages). But, above all, Until I Find You is a story about story telling and storytellers and audiences. As the story moves onward, it all becomes clear and seamless and works beautifully.
Still one of my favorites. Hands down.
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