John Irving’s novel, A Widow For One Year, takes readers on a life-long journey through the lives of several characters. What struck me about this book was the story’s common threads of psychological dysfunction and how one person’s damage profoundly affects others.
In the first part of the book, a sixteen-year-old aspiring writer named Eddie gets his dream job of working with a famous writer, Ted Cole. Upon arriving at the Cole residence, Eddie is soon seduced by Cole’s wife, Marion, who has retreated from life due to the death of her own teenage sons some years earlier. Marion has had almost nothing to do with her four-year-old daughter, Ruth, at this point. Finally, Marion abandons her family, leaving Eddie and Ruth wrecked.
The story then shifts forward in time and focuses on Eddie and Ruth, both of whom have become writers. Eddie struggles with his craft as much as he does with being abandoned by Marion. Ruth is more accomplished but finds herself in Amsterdam’s red-light district working out her own demons. This part of the story was a bit strained but in the context of the first part makes sense.
Finally, Irving brings it all together in the last part. Marion returns after her long absence. The ripples she created come home to roost but in an articulate way for all involved.
What I enjoyed most about this book was Irving’s ability to relate the cause and effect of a tragedy’s consequences. The Marion character is not a sympathetic one, yet she earns respect along the way. At the same time, the other characters plow through life carrying burdens that were placed upon them by others only to realize that at some point they can put them down. There’s a lesson there, one that sadly many people learn too late.
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