Not a great book but an easy & entertaining read if you don't object to a predictably violent ending

Terrible, just a rehash of his other books. Very bad!

I have enjoyed many of JI's novels, in particular Cider House Rules and Prayer for owen Meany. I enjoy his descriptions of New england landscapes and his character developments. I enjoyed his descriptions of Coos Country and the log-driving activities portrayed in the first chapters of "twisted river" but found the characters/family described here increasingly unbelievable and disturbing. I read about half of this book before i put is down without finishing it. I found it disappointing compared to other J Irving novels.

Good story, great characters, John Irving never disappoints...

Get a grip Irving fans! I've really liked his good novels, but this is probably his worst. It reminds me of Iris Murdock's last few novels, when she was demented but still writing. She still got published because her fans would buy her books, but they were gibberish. Irving is in decline. In this book, Irving has nothing new to say about life and his prose is getting all "twisted", to say nothing of excessive meaningless descriptions of all kinds of things irrelevant to the story.

definitely a good read with the flow of a twisted river in this talented writer's (Daniel Baciagalupo) life story. with remarkable characters: Ketchum, Dominic and Daniel Baciagalupo, and all along with different characters that anytime in the story, one of them somehow had "angel" in their name. I enjoyed the way that main character writes his own life's novel, and the way he criticizes his own writing although there were not enough bends in Twisted River to account for the river's name, this life story had many bends, and still it flew like running water, I can't imagine how it could be written better than this. I wonder if Irving started with the end of book or the beginning, or anywhere in the midst, as Daniel says about his notes before finishing a book: "They're sentences, or parts of sentences, ahead of myself; they're waiting for me to catch up with them" from the book: "We don't always have a choice how we get to know one another. Sometimes, people fall into our lives cleanly--as if out of the sky, or as if there were a direct flight from Heaven to earth--the same sudden way we loose people, who once seemed they would always be part of our lives."

gave to Tom for Xmas 2010 Danny Angel, author taken from Twisted R when young after shooting bad guy's woman (Dad's lover). hero: Ketchum Dad- Ital cook/chef. V, Good, as usual

Quite a span of time! This is a big novel with details galore. A long story. A story of many lives. The end is a tad kitsch, but it has to end somewhere. The whole book would have had a more "real" story line if the "cook" have stayed in Twisted River after the "murder". There was no reason to leave. By leaving he was tagged "guilty" and the whole book revolved around the "when" he would be caught. The best character in the book is Ketchum. He's the one who makes the story moves. He energizes everything. But what he did in the end is, again, pushing the envelop. This is not a Japanese novel where if something goes wrong you kill yourself to save face. Lastly, what's the deal with these "big" women in the book. I mean, really, 200 - 300 pounds. Am I missing something here? This book is not his best. We're a long way from "Garp", or "Owen Meany", or "Cider House Rules". Can't wait to read his next book...

No question you're reading a John Irving book... there are bears, farting dogs, car sex, tragic deaths, and wrestling. (The narrator also makes a large number of asides in parentheses.) Last Night in Twisted River spans several decades and multiple locations as it tells the story of Dominic (the cook) and Daniel Baciagalupo (his son the writer), Ketchum (the logger) and the women with whom they have relationships from Daniel's preteen years until his sixties. Irving poignantly describes the impacts of personal tragedy, particularly the deaths of family members, friends and lovers, in shaping the human character. Interestingly, for a writer with such a gift for exploring tragic situations, the forced insertion of characters' reactions to 9/11 in the final section falls flat. Very little else in the novel ties in to any of the other historic events that took place between 1954 and 2005, and the screeds against George W. Bush feel tired and dated (even if the reader agrees with their substance.) Irving is at his best when exploring the ways people cope with cruel twists of fate, of which Last Night in Twisted River offers plenty. While this novel is not among his best (Garp, Owen Meany, Cider House Rules), a middling effort from Irving is still a far more enjoyable read than much of what is published today.

I'm a third of the way through this (bought a copy at the airport). It's my first taste of Irving and I have to say, I'm enjoying it! The story is so finely woven together, the characters and settings so completely fleshed out and alive... it's more slow-paced than I'm used to, but I'm well and truly hooked.