If I'm being honest I was not super impressed
with Irving
this time around. When comparing A Widow for a Year to his other more
controversial and edgy works like Cider House Rules and A Prayer for Owen
Meany, it just fell short. I realize that every book cannot be a
masterpiece, and that certainly a single writer is going to have some books
that just aren't as wildly popular as others, but after experiencing the best
of Irving, I was really surprised by how little this book moved me.
The writing was solid, exactly what I've come
to expect from Irving .
The content just wasn't as fascinating as the other books of his that
I've read previously. He managed to make his topic about as entertaining
as it could possibly be, but unfortunately I didn't find the topic that
interesting to begin with.
I didn't care for the story much, and probably
wouldn't have finished it if I hadn't been listening to it on my daily commute
to and from work. Because it was an audio book and because I didn't have
anything better to listen to on my way to work each day, I finished it.
It probably wouldn't have made the cut now that my commute has been
shortened to a mere 10 minutes round trip. I can't stress enough that it
wasn't the writing style or writer's ability that kept me from enjoying A Widow
for a Year. I simply wasn't interested in the storyline. Irving writes a wide
variety of novels, about many different, often controversial, themes. If
the synopsis of Widow for a Year doesn't sound like your cup of tea, I
recommend that you check out all of Irving 's
books and pick one that does appeal to your tastes. If you are interested
in the basic premise of one of Irving 's
books then I can almost grantee you will not be disappointed.