Read 'The Fourth Hand' With Me?

Cafe Society
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Since its publication I have been looking forward to reading John Irving’s latest book, The Fourth Hand with a great deal of anticipation. No other author has as consistently entertained and enthralled me as our wrestlin’ lovin,’ bear-huggin.’ John.

The literary decks are cleared. I am now Ready. Would you like to join me?

I propose a cozy Cafe Society reading of The Fourth Hand. Pick it up this weekend, or next week, and read along with me. Without giving anything away for those who may be reading further behind, let’s discuss it as we go. I’ll try to resurrect the thread every few days just to remind everyone. When we’re all done, we can thoroughly discuss. Anyone who’s already read it, is of course welcome to add his or her thoughts!

Are you with me? An online reading adventure! Let’s go!

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I’m in! I’m checking it out from the library tomorrow. :slight_smile:

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Looking forward to it!

Quasi

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I’ll re-read it, and join in. Won’t give anything away, though.

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I’ve just started it and it’s interesting so far! Plenty of odd characters.

Anyone else joining us? (Please?!)

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…but it will be a few days before I can join y’all. I ordered the book from half.com since my local library doesn’t have a copy, and the waiting list to import it was 4 weeks if I’m lucky. (This incidentally, could be the subject of another whole thread: the fact that libraries have had their funding cut so deeply that one has to wait months sometimes to read a new novel).

The only hardbacks I ever buy are by Stephen King, so this is a real departure for me. I’ll catch up ASAP.

Q

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A shameless bump. Though the group we have here is nice and cozy!

I’m about halfway through and I’m enjoying it. Not tremendously, unfortunately, but it has Irvingesque elements which I do like. Sex? Oh, yeth – but as always, something to be infinitely pondered, rather than titillate. :wink:

Hope your book arrives soon Quasi! That’s really terrible about your library. I did have to wait a couple weeks for my library copy, but at least I got one!

Ya with us, Nacho gal?

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Ya just gotta love the doctor, his son and their …uhmmm… unique way of playing lacrosse :slight_smile:

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That dog makes me glad my pooch only partakes of Iams, and the occasional Snausage (which I love to say … “Here Molly! Come get a Snausage!”).

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I’ve finished! Anyone with me?

Have you all started yet, Sarah and Quasi? Any come-latelies who’ll join in the discussion?

Just to get things moving, I’ll post some of my thoughts in my next post. Anyone wishing to avoid spoilers can join in later.

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Haven’t gotten my copy in the mail yet, Ellen, sorry! It may come today, and if it does I’ll read on it this weekend at work inbetween the Judd book.

Quasi

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Yet another shameless bump…

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Hello dear Irving readers! Have we finished? Have we begun? I concluded the book a week or so ago and I suppose I haven’t been very energetic about getting back here and posting because … gasp … I didn’t like it very much!

Obligatory spoiler alert
I think the main problem was, it just struck me as too superficial. There was just one main storyline, and God forgive me, it was a pretty boring one. The main character (see I’ve already forgotten his name!) was too unlikable. Even if he was likable, Irving made him too shallow and vacant. There are possibilities in a good-looking guy too nice to disappoint women (and so becomes a slut) but I couldn’t muster much enthusiasm for this guy.

One thing that bothered me was the insertion of real-life events. Perhaps I shouldn’t compare this book to Garp but I will anyway. Part of what has always charmed me about that book was its completely invented modern world. There are, in real life, no Ellen Jamesians. Yet we accept them in the world according to Garp. It’s a world where Robert Muldoon was a well-known Philadelphia Eagle. Here, in THe Fourth Hand we have a made-up all-news network, true, but it’s like those tiresome movies of the last several years, where every plot development is delivered by Bernard Shaw. It’s as if these authors/producers can’t imagine life if it’s not played out on CNN. Perhaps this is a valid obeservation; I don’t know. I just know I’d rather have a world of someone’s invention and not a reflection of what’s going on on TV every day.

Maybe the idea of the hand-transplant recipient was doomed anyway. What can you say? It’s an intriguing idea yes (and strangely, at the end of the book, Irving tells us of the story’s inception. Why did he feel compelled to do this? Didn’t he think the story could stand on its own? Hmm?) After you get over the awesome idea of a hand transplant, what, really, can you say that improves on reality. There’s too much reality there for fiction to work.

One more point that bothered me: the doctor. Irving spent an awful lot of time dreaming him up, his life, his maid, his son (and the sweet reading of Runaway Ralph and Charlotte’s Web; need I tell you they’re of course favorites of mine?). And then he DROPPED him. Dropped him! I heard echoes of Mrs. Ralph from Garp, and was reminded of the epilogue in Garp. Everyone’s accounted for, even Mrs. Ralph. The poor old hand surgeon (who, we’re told unconvincingly in my opinion, is a celebrity hound) just dangles back somewhere midbook, no future in the world according to the fourth hand.

So, what did you all think?

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And, as is usual, he puts in references to his previous books. The Indian Circus being the first one that comes to mind.

I’ve found, after the second reading, that I might not go for a third for quite some time. It’s hard to muster the enthusiasm for it.

I also liked the character of the doctor, and was enjoying the building of his relationship with his son, but Irving dropped it. It felt like ‘well, they’ll be okay, let’s get back to Disaster Man.’

And the Disaster Man? Well, I can’t think of his name, either. THAT"S a first with an Irving book, especially just a week after reading it. (I admit that I don’t remember the protagonist of Setting free The Bears either, but I haven’t read it in four years.) He seemed like an insincere, shallow man. Sure, Irving TELLS us that he has changed thanks to the love of this woman, but he’ll still screw anything that comes into his sights - even his makeup girl, the day before he’s leaving to see the love of his life. God, what a jerk.

He did this with Owen Meany as well, when Johnny goes off on diatribes about the Reagan Years. Didn’t bother me in the least bit. And it’s such a small part of this one that I had no problems with it this time, either.

Yeah, I think that the story was too short (or perhaps too underdeveloped?) for a novel. Perhaps a novella would have been in order? I also don’t think that he wrapped up this world very well… too many loose ends! That’s the great thing about most of Irving’s work - he lets you know more information about the world after the main story ends, either in an epilogue, or just as a matter of course. Maybe that’s the problem with The Fourth Hand.

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…on SDMB, I happened to remember that I had agreed to participate in this thread, and now that I have finished reading the novel, here are my comments…

  1. I don’t like novels with too much narrative. This one was almost “Heller-ish” in that I was not “allowed” to make up my own mind what kind of characters I was dealing with, but had to take the author’s word at almost every turn.

  2. One of the first thoughts as I kept reading was “You know, there just aren’t enough books written about anorexic malnourished transplant surgeons with shit-eating dogs.” The Lacrosse racket turd tossing stopped being cute after the third mention.

3.Oddly, I was touched by Irma’s attempts at making herself beautiful for Zajac, and I liked Irving’s weaving real-life events into the tale, especially the convict’s hand transplant. but after a while I thought I was reading “Gump”.

  1. Pat (“Disaster-Man”): Jesus, I got sooo tired of reading about his love for Mrs. Clausen , and almost stopped reading then. I also have a big problem with his nightly sign-off: “Good night, Doris and good night my little Otto.”
    No self-respecting news organization is going to let this go on night after night, for chrissakes! It smacks of Dan Rather’s “Courage” sign-off from a few years ago.

  2. All in all, I hated it and it’s for sale at half.com.

Okay. I believe that fulfills my agreement to share my thoughts in this thread.

Bye-bye folks
Quasimodem

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My goodness but didn’t Ellen have a good idea! Propose a book for group reading that everyone hated! Yipe.

Thanks for checking in Quasi, though obviously the book turned you into an old grump. :wink:

Well, I’m re-reading Jitterbug Perfume, so I’m redolent of patchouli and all full of good cheer. Let’s hope ole John scores with his next one!