Until I Find You by John Irving (2006, Paperback, Reprint)

Like so many readers of John Irving, I love "A Prayer for Owen Meany" and am always hoping for the more of the same. In three words: THIS AIN'T IT!

I'm sure that there may be some readers that will enjoy the ponderous beginning of this novel, and some readers may even be able to follow Irving's logic, but it took me three starts to see the forest for the trees.

While the plot does get occasionally interesting and funny, the plot is over-wrought, and the ending gives the impression that Irving got tired of writing about Jack Burns.

If you need a sedative, this is a great book, otherwise save your money for something more worthwhile.

My favorite John Irving novel is A Prayer for Owne Meany. Using that yard stick, I didn't think his latest held up. As usual, the writing is interesting and the dialogue is sometimes laugh-out-loud funny, but this book lacked the epiphantic moment that turns all of Irving's books from rambling to incredibly poignant. The characters in Until I Find You are all well-crafted, but to me the ending didn't leave me with much. I'd say this is a good Irving novel, but not a great one.