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jasmine_paints's review against another edition
4.0
My first impression was "Irving has yet to hit his stride, in this first novel" but part II and III won me over. It doesn't stack up to Garp but a good read non the less
drapoco's review against another edition
2.0
Sad story .
I bought this book for my mom as a Christmas gift 20 years ago. It's not my impression that she opened the book but when I found it wanted to read it, and so i did.
It's a book of its time. It's a bit too elaborate, bits of the story are still good
I've read better writers in the same style as John Irving.
All in all, i read it to honor the memory of my mother, not because it was a good book..
I bought this book for my mom as a Christmas gift 20 years ago. It's not my impression that she opened the book but when I found it wanted to read it, and so i did.
It's a book of its time. It's a bit too elaborate, bits of the story are still good
I've read better writers in the same style as John Irving.
All in all, i read it to honor the memory of my mother, not because it was a good book..
bupdaddy's review against another edition
4.0
I actually preferred this book to Garp, which is the only other Irving (to date) that I've read.
It's got most of the Iring staples - bears, motorcycles, Europe, and it tells a story in two major parts. It has the weirdness you come to expect from Irving..."surreal" isn't the right word, but his stories live in a world slightly different from ours. At the same time, this book feels more human than Garp - more like the characters exist and less like they're Irving's playthings.
Cool ending, too.
It's got most of the Iring staples - bears, motorcycles, Europe, and it tells a story in two major parts. It has the weirdness you come to expect from Irving..."surreal" isn't the right word, but his stories live in a world slightly different from ours. At the same time, this book feels more human than Garp - more like the characters exist and less like they're Irving's playthings.
Cool ending, too.
dawn_fox's review against another edition
1.0
Really struggled to get through this one and in the end, skipped a huge chunk in the middle. Such a disappointment as I've really enjoyed several other Irving novels. Not sure exactly what I didn't like about this one, the story and characters just didn't grab me and the middle section (backstory and diary excerpts) was really dull.
cashin_yiu's review against another edition
2.0
My least favorite Irving (as evidenced by me taking 3.5 months to read it). Characters just not captivating, not relatable as a coming of age story, and a bit forced.
rebeccarennerfl's review against another edition
2.0
It really is astonishing that the same person who wrote Owen Meany and Garp started HERE.
peter_fischer's review against another edition
5.0
I believe this was Irving’s first published work. The novel, one of my favourites of his, foreshadows some of Irving’s greatest writings. It deals with the rebelliousness of youth, which is often a blind vision, or takes the form of a comic revolution. Graff, a student, and Siggy, a mechanic, go on a motorcycle tour in Austria, which culminates in Graff, after Siggy’s death in an accident, setting free the animals of the zoo in Vienna, with disastrous consequences. Written with great verve and sometimes bordering on the fantastical, like all of Irving’s books, it reminds me a bit of Günter Grass’s work, who I understand Irving admires.
wemilyebb's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content
aks_maine's review against another edition
4.0
It's interesting, because SFtB is obviously Irving, but at the same time has a different tone than his later works (OM, HTNH, TWAtG, CHR, LNiTR, etc). There's tragedy, sure, and there certainly is heartbreak, but it's funny. I thoroughly enjoyed this book in a lighthearted, peppy sort of way. Yes, Gallen was absolutely obnoxious, but she had a purpose. I loved Siggy's diary, and could picture ever little thing (even poor Wut's forray into the men's room). I was pleasantly surprised, and thought it was a wonderful read.
mattstebbins's review against another edition
3.0
Definitely see some of what later makes some Irving novels great (including a fascination with the absurd, and flashes of descriptive brilliance), but still very much a first novel.
[3 stars for potential, and for the places where he gets it right, even if on a whole the work's a bit spotty.]
[3 stars for potential, and for the places where he gets it right, even if on a whole the work's a bit spotty.]