Reviews for The Water-Method Man

The average rating for The Water-Method Man based on 2 reviews is 4.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2017-01-13 00:00:00 Garry Beck I've spoken with several Irving aficionados concerning the finer points of reading John Irving. It is almost universally decided that his first three novels were the throwaways (the practice sessions, if you will) of an author trying to find his voice. Not terrible, unreadable drivel. But basic novels without a cemented voice. Having read Setting Free the Bears, I can almost see what my informants meant. Almost. While The Water-Method Man feels and reads nothing like Irving's debut novel, I can see hints of his voice from what I read in the first 60 pages of The World According to Garp, which I abandoned not because I didn't like it but because I was liking it a lot. I was reading two other amazing novels at the time and paused my read of Garp so that I could give it more attention at a later date. One of the questions I've been asked numerous times since beginning my John Irving challenge, wherein I will be reading all of his novels in order of publication within a year's time, is "Why Irving?" The answer comes in three parts. 1. I wanted an author who was polarizing, a love 'em or hate 'em type, much like my hero, Stephen King, who was the subject of my last challenge. He or she should also be overall respected in the literary world. An award winner, and whatnot. 2. I needed an author with at least 12 novels to his or her name so that I could at least read one book of theirs a month. Irving has, at last count, 15 novels. I will not be doing short stories or his nonfiction because I cannot pinpoint at what time in his career these were written. Which brings me to... 3. I needed an author who most agree has gotten better with age. Or, at the very least, an author who peaked at some point, so that I can watch the honing of their craft and possibly even the eventual downfall. Irving fit all of this criteria, and I have most of his novels. I think I'm only missing three or four books. And the ones I do not have, I can find cheap enough at my local UBS, as they have multiple copies of all of his works. Now that I've gotten that out of the way, let me talk about this particular book. One of the main problems I had with Setting Free the Bears was the disjointed narrative. The book's structure is not entertaining. There's what feels like a 100-page infodump in the middle of the book. In The Water-Method Man there are some of the same infodumps, but they are spread out through the narrative. The story itself bounces all over the place and it's not always clear when you are in the timeline, but I was never confused for more than a page or two. Only thing I would've changed is more of a hint toward the front of each chapter to let me know when we were. And that's my only complaint. The Water-Method Man is a much more mature, albeit overall immature, experience. It is, after all, a book about a man who's indecisive and afraid of commitment and one of the bigger idiots I've read about. Bogus Trumper, whose name I cannot say without giggling a little, is a man-child in possession of all the stupidity. Trumper is oblivious to the obvious, but not in an unbelievable way. That's my bitch with most authors who tackle dumb characters. They create bumbling oafs that aren't realistic. Trumper is one of the best idiots I've read about, because he never comes to terms with his idiocy. Again, he's oblivious. Truly dumb people rarely ever acknowledge how brainless they are. And neither does Trumper. There are several laugh-out-loud moments in this book. Scenes of what I will call Beautiful Chaos. There is a scene in Setting Free the Bears that does the same thing: crazy, frenetic, Laurel-and-Hardy comedy on an adult level. Idiocy written beautifully. The "Smell My Dick" chapter is one of the funniest things I've read. Whenever I look back at this book, I will think of that scene. Irving also handles unbelievable situations in a believable manner. The condom reveal was asinine and should have severed the cables on my suspension of disbelief, but the scene was written so well that I never noticed how fucking implausible it was. I went along with it, which is difficult for me. I cannot stress how much a scene like this one would normally kill my enjoyment. Here, I honestly didn't mind at all. In summation: If The Water-Method Man is one of Irving's worst outings, I am thrilled to continue this challenge. I was a mite worried after reading Setting Free the Bears, but no longer. I'm stoked to begin The 158-Pound Marriage next month. Until then, keep your urethras open! Final Judgment: Come see our wacky, waving, flailing, literary-prose man!

Review # 2 was written on 2007-09-10 00:00:00 Don Green this book is so unique in that it's absolutely not what you would expect from john irving. It's only his second or third book, and you can see the beginnings of Garp in it, but it's so simple and streamlined compared to some of his later work. It's a sweet, funny story with extremely memorable characters - in fact, I can't believe it hasn't been made into a movie yet. I think it's crying out to be. A movie about a book about the making of a movie. Also, it made me start going around flipping my tit at people who are full of it, and eating lots of yogurt.