The cider house rules
Ratings66
Average rating4.2
15
Ratings66
Average rating4.2
Raised from birth in the orphanage at St. Cloud's, Maine, Homer Wells has become the protege of Dr. Wilbur Larch, its physician and director. There Dr. Larch cares for the troubled mothers who seek his help, either by delivering and taking in their unwanted babies or by performing illegal abortions. Meticulously trained by Dr. Larch, Homer assists in the former, but draws the line at the latter. Then a young man brings his beautiful fiancee to Dr. Larch for an abortion, and everything about the couple beckons Homer to the wide world outside the orphanage ...
Reviews with the most likes.
Amusing.. And kind of disturbing at times (passages on curettage and the “gritty” sound a womb makes when you are cleaning it out...)
I gave this three stars after I read it; I think I was being generous. At one time I thought Irving was the greatest and surely he couldn't write a boring book, right?
Well, this book was quite boring with flat, uninteresting characters.
The point of it is for Irving to repeat “abortion should be legal, abortion should be legal, abortion should be legal.” Everything that happens in the book is in support of that.
I completely agree with this view but that won't make this a good read.
My first re-read of this book since my early twenties - I loved it then, and I love it even more now. This is the story of Dr Wilbur Larch, an abortionist who also runs an orphanage, and the life of his protege, the unadoptable Homer Wells. John Irving's beautiful writing is alchemical, taking ordinary lives and turning them into something magical and infinitely valuable. I hope I'll find the time to read this book again but regardless, I will never forget it. ‘Goodnight you princes of Maine, you kings of New England.'
One of my favorite books ever. There is so much love, compassion and acceptance in it. I love how the orphanage becomes a home and family for those who otherwise don't have a place in the world. Homer Wells is one of my favorite book characters ever. Writing this, I'm convincing myself I want to reread it, and soon!
