I got a really big kick out of getting this book in the mail for review. I always enjoy John Irving and today on WKAR’s Current State I reviewed his latest, Avenue of Mysteries.

You can listen to my review here: http://wkar.org/post/book-review-john-irvings-avenue-mysteries

If you would rather read my review, you can do so below.

Hey, did you know Current State has a podcast? If you subscribe, you can download episodes and segments (and you can find me every other Thursday). Here is a link to find it on iTunes- https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/wkar-fm-current-state/id594609653?mt=2

You can snag a copy of Irving’s latest novel here on Amazon.com If you want to check out my other book reviews for WKAR’s Current State, you can do so via links on this page.

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Book Review: Avenue of Mysteries by John Irving

I’ve been a fan of John Irving ever since I was a teenager. After sneaking my dad’s copy of The World According to Garp off the shelf, I devoured it in secret. Some of Irving’s novels, like Garp and A Prayer for Owen Meany are works of genius that will outlive their author. Then, there are books that seem like they’re just markers between greater works to come.

John Irving’s new novel Avenue of Mysteries is one of the latter. Like Garp, it follows the life of a writer. Juan Diego grew up impoverished in Mexico. He is the son of a prostitute and doesn’t know who his real father is. Juan’s nickname then was the Dump Reader and he would steal books before they were put in the flames with the rest of the garbage, and he would read everything.

Irving plays with magical realism in this book through three unique and captivating female characters. The first is Lupe. She is Juan Diego’s little sister and can read minds. She has a severe speech impediment, making her brother the only one who can understand her. Juan acts as her translator. Lupe tells him what everyone is thinking, and he decides what he will tell others and what he will keep secret.

Like most of Irving’s novels, it covers two different periods in time. Half of the novel focuses on the early life of Juan Diego and Lupe. It follows their time in the dump and a very questionable circus. The other half focuses Juan Diego as a much older man. A successful author now, he is traveling the world. It is during this trip that he meets Dorothy and Miriam, the other two mysterious women in the novel.

Miriam and Dorothy are mother and daughter, and they live on the road. They seem to know something about every country and every hotel. But there is something very off about the pair. They follow Juan Diego on his trip, and their intentions with him are never clear. Things get even more muddied as he slips in and out of relationships with both of them. Throughout this journey, Juan Diego’s heart medication plays with his mind and dreams. He flips back and forth between the two times in his life. He changes locations with nothing more than a nod or a blink.

For fans of Irving, there are a lot of gold nuggets to discover. Yes, there is a small reference to wrestling, but sadly no bears like in The Hotel New Hampshire. And a transgender man plays an important part in the story like in Garp and the more recent In One Person. I always enjoy Irving when he challenges himself and that is happening here. I’m not sure if Avenue of Mysteries will bring new readers into the fold of Irving fans, but it definitely reminded me, after so many years, why I’m still a fan of his writing.

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New book! New book! New book!

My latest novel Permanent Spring Showers was just published by 5 Prince Books. You can find out more about my novel as well as my other books (including A Jane Austen Daydream and My Problem With Doors) and grab a copy via my author page on Amazon.com here.