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For the Holiday Enthusiast / Traditionalist: A CHRISTMAS CAROL AND OTHER STORIES, by Charles Dickens, with an Introduction by John Irving. A gorgeous Modern Library trade paperback edition of Dickens's 1843 bestseller, A CHRISTMAS CAROL has endured as a perennial Yuletide favorite. This edition includes an exclusive, all-new introduction by Irving, explaining the story's importance in his own life and that of literature. Learn more at:
http://info.randomhouse.com/cgi-bin21/DM/y/ecAS0DH8nv0Vo0PxF0AP
For all Irving fans-new and old: TRYING TO SAVE PIGGY SNEED. A treat for Irving addicts and a perfect introduction to his work for the uninitiated. In this spirited collection, Irving explains how he became a writer and tells six scintillating stories, ending with homage to Charles Dickens. This collection cannot fail to delight and charm.
http://info.randomhouse.com/cgi-bin21/DM/y/ecAS0DH8nv0Vo0PxG0AQ
For the spiritualist / best friend: A PRAYER FOR OWEN MEANY. This special Modern Library hardcover edition features an original and exclusive Introduction by Irving. In the summer of 1953, two eleven-year-old best friends are playing in a Little League baseball game in New Hampshire. One of the boys hits a ball that kills the other boy's mother. The boy who hits the ball doesn't believe in accidents; Owen Meany believes he is God's instrument. What happens next is extraordinary and terrifying.
http://info.randomhouse.com/cgi-bin21/DM/y/ecAS0DH8nv0Vo0PxH0AR
For the Irving devotee / collector: the Modern Library hardcover edition of THE WORLD ACCORDING TO GARP. As the New Republic wrote in its review, nothing in contemporary fiction matches it Irving's blend of gravity and play is unique, audacious Brilliant, funny, and wise. I won't recount the story, since most of you know it and it nearly defies synopsis. But I will say this is the single must-get gift for any family member or friend who considers himself a true-blue Irving fan.
http://info.randomhouse.com/cgi-bin21/DM/y/ecAS0DH8nv0Vo0PxI0AS
For the woman new to John Irving and / or the Oprah Book Club member: A WIDOW FOR ONE YEAR. Richly comic, as well as deeply disturbing, A WIDOW FOR ONE YEAR is a multilayered love story and a brilliant novel about the passage of time and grief. The Los Angeles Times Book Review wrote "The pleasures of this rich and beautiful book are manifold. To be human is to savor them."
http://info.randomhouse.com/cgi-bin21/DM/y/ecAS0DH8nv0Vo0KbQ0A8
For the Tobey Maguire fan / movie buff: THE CIDER HOUSE RULES. Give
the gift of the original this holiday season and bestow upon your movie-obsessed loved one the real deal: the novel that inspired the movie that made Tobey a star. First published in 1985, THE CIDER HOUSE RULES is Irving's sixth novel. Set in rural Maine, it tells the story of Dr. Larch, founder of the orphanage in the town of St.Cloud's, and Homer Wells, who is never adopted.
http://info.randomhouse.com/cgi-bin21/DM/y/ecAS0DH8nv0Vo0PxJ0AT
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Or, instead of a more expensive hardcover, consider giving your loved one a collection of Irving trade paperbacks. A slew of paperbacks are the right choice for a lot of people on your shopping list: the collector, the book club member, and the Irving newbie. All the wonderful Ballantine editions listed below come with discussion guides bound into the book and beautiful cover art.
Something new that't old: THE 158 POUND MARRIAGE and THE WATER-METHOD MAN. I suggest giving these as a pair for the unique perspective they lend to Irving's oeuvre.
THE 158 POUND MARRIAGE is a dark, erotic tale about a manage a quatre in a New England university town. It foreshadows what was to come in THE WORLD ACCORDING TO GARP. A must-have for the versed Irving reader and a new perspective on the writer's craft for the new.
http://info.randomhouse.com/cgi-bin21/DM/y/ecAS0DH8nv0Vo0PxK0AU
THE WATER-METHOD MAN is Irving's second novel, written when he was twenty-nine. The main character is a graduate student with a birth defect who is about to commit himself to a second marriage that bears remarkable resemblance to his first. The New Yorker called this book, "Three or four times as funny as most novels."
http://info.randomhouse.com/cgi-bin21/DM/y/ecAS0DH8nv0Vo0PxL0AV
For anyone who wants the inside scoop: THE IMAGINARY GIRLFRIEND. The
Seattle Times called this book the nearest thing to an autobiography Irving has written If that doesn't catch your attention, I don't know what will. Check it out here:
http://info.randomhouse.com/cgi-bin21/DM/y/ecAS0DH8nv0Vo0PxM0AW
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We're mentioned the rest of these above in the hardcover section, so I'll just list the title and URL where you can find more information for the paperback. Remember to mix and match!
A PRAYER FOR OWEN MEANY
http://info.randomhouse.com/cgi-bin21/DM/y/ecAS0DH8nv0Vo0PxN0AX
THE FOURTH HAND
http://info.randomhouse.com/cgi-bin21/DM/y/ecAS0DH8nv0Vo0PxO0AY
THE CIDER HOUSE RULES
http://info.randomhouse.com/cgi-bin21/DM/y/ecAS0DH8nv0Vo0PxP0AZ
THE WORLD ACCORDING TO GARP
http://info.randomhouse.com/cgi-bin21/DM/y/ecAS0DH8nv0Vo0PxQ0Aa
