𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒈𝒆𝒕𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅, 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝑰 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒈𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒕𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒂𝒅. 𝑰𝒏 𝒄𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒄𝒂𝒔𝒆𝒔, 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒃𝒆 𝒂 𝒈𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒇-𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆- 𝒐𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝒂 𝒔𝒊𝒈𝒏𝒊𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒅𝒊𝒆𝒅. 𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒇-𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒈𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒕𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒅𝒊𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎-𝒅𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒐𝒓 𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆- 𝒊𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒓𝒖𝒍𝒆𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒈𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒕𝒔.

I have always enjoyed reading John Irving, even though I am not from New England (my husband has family up there) it’s such a beautiful place and Irving transports the reader there. His stories never fail to engage me. Adam is a novelist first and foremost, also a screenwriter. Born to unwed mother Rachel Brewster “Little Ray”, an expert skier of diminutive size (whose lifelong job is as an instructor on the slopes; she was too small to compete) he spent ski seasons feeling like an orphan. Living with his grandmother and grandfather, fussed over by aunts and alongside older cousins, it is tomboy Nora that holds a tender space in his heart. Nora sort of serves as the big sister, the insight. Adam was determined to hate the very thing that took his mother away seasonally, refusing to learn to ski or at least to ski poorly. Adam is obsessed with wanting to know what happened in Aspen and ponders how his mother couldn’t have known Marilyn Shaw “Snow Baby”, coached by the same instructor and both of them from Vermont. He also wonders about how she got knocked up with him and who his father is; she isn’t saying. Nothing drives children to dig more than having things kept from them. She cares so much about the state of the Hotel Jerome that naturally his history leads him there, where many ghosts exist. Of course his family is eccentric, it’s what I always enjoy about Irving’s characters, when his mother marries Mr. Barlow it challenges societal norms as well as their family, Irving was doing this long before present day with his fiction.

Adam’s love life is a mess, mostly sexually. There is a lot to explore beginning with the 1940’s to current times, sexual repression was very real and families generally didn’t divulge things in the presence of little ears, or hands as may be Adam’s case. Families were often tight lipped and intolerant of deviations from the norm. Fear leads to judgement and shame. He is his mother’s true love, even in innocence it can be a confusing adoration. You know there is going to be ridiculous encounters in bed,unlike in the movies, physical interactions in real life are often humiliating, disastrous but we keep at it anyway. Homosexuality, transitioning, death, love, family, identity, politics, marriage of convenience (or necessity) and ghosts- what isn’t in this novel? It didn’t feel new to me without the ghosts, it reminded me a lot of The World According to Garp (my favorite Irving tale), with the wrestling, Barlow’s choices, his mother’s progressiveness, Adam’s journey, the unknown father, but I still wanted to read it and see how things played out with everything going on in the world today. It’s a different place now in that people are more open to ‘unconventional relationships’ and identity issues. Adam, I wanted to feel closer to him, sometimes he felt far from me which is strange when he is telling the story. I do like that he is clueless about so many things growing up, that’s how it feels when we’re young. We don’t have the full picture or if we do, our young minds can’t fully absorb it. Irving manages to take subjects that are a loaded gun and deal with it through lightness, laughter.

If I were to unpack every situation, tragedy it would take me days. I just can’t wait to hear the thoughts of fellow readers. John Irving fans, I don’t need to say read it, the rest- it is a lot to take on but worth the time.

Published October 18, 2022

Simon & Schuster

The Last Chairlift is a must read for loyal John Irving fans, but probably not a great starting point for a first time Irving reader. This novel is long and the characters are extremely well developed. Although sometimes the plot didn't hold my interest, I always wanted to continue reading. I learned a lot about skiing, writing and alternative lifestyles. The Last Chairlift will be Irving's final long novel and it is an accomplished end to an amazing career.

I adore John Irving's novels and The Last Chairlift glows with humor, compassion and depth. When I read the first page, it was like meeting old friends, Irving's voice is so familiar. A pure joy to read. Thank you Mr. Irving.

Thanks to S&S, NetGallery and John Irving for the ARC.
Sharon
The Writer's Reader
https://thewritersreader.wordpress.com

I love Irving and was excited to receive a Digital Review Copy of THE LAST CHAIRLIFT from NetGalley. However, having read 458 pages of it, I am abandoning the remainder (another 458 pages).

There were interesting relationships and characters (including a lesbian couple who reminded me of Penn and Teller). The story was full of love, humor, and empathy, but ultimately it just moved too slowly.

DNF.

I did post about the book several times as I read it, and will link those below.

Thanks again for the opportunity!

When given the opportunity, who would turn down the chance to review a book written by John Irving? After all, he's the genius behind so many wonderful novels, such as The World According to Garp, Cider House Rules and more. I was thrilled to receive an early copy even though the length did somewhat intimidate me and rightly so. It took me a significant amount of time to work my way through this lengthy submission.

The novel focuses on Adam. He's the son of Ray, a former skier who lost a National Championship in 1941 but ended up pregnant with him. The majority of the novel involves Adam trying to understand who he is and who his father is. As always, I enjoy that Mr. Irving gives us rich and diverse characters and meaningful social statements. The storyline is really that of a person trying to find their way through life and basically a journal of what happens to them and who they meet along the way. I believe that personally it could have been shortened and I would have found it more enjoyable. There are times I felt the information was somewhat redundant -- but that's personal opinion.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. I voluntarily chose to review it and the opinions contained within are my own.

Unfortunately, I have been locked out of my netgalley account for a few months and was not able to see which books I had on my list or even know to check if they downloaded properly, in order to properly read and review. I do apologize and am doing a 3 for neutral. Will update once I’m able to obtain a copy and read!

Many thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of this. John Irving is probably my favorite fiction writer of all-time. His books have been important to my reading career. I have read some of them twice which is significant as I "never" re-read books with so many good ones out there. I was disappointed in this one. The themes were too familiar. I was hoping for some better since this is supposedly his last novel. I would 5-star every other work from this man.

John Irving is such a gifted and talented writer. He has the knack for writing characters that are well, interesting, and odd. They are quirky and original and somehow Irving transports us into their lives and their relationships with others.

Adam's mother, Rachel Brewster a.k.a. Little Ray is a slalom skier who never makes it on the podium. She instead becomes pregnant with Adam and returns to her home in New England to become a ski instructor. Adam grows up in an interesting family. Adam is left with his grandmother, Nana, while his mother teaches skiing. His grandmother loves Moby Dick and even named his mother after a character in the book.

As Adam grows, we see his relationships with girlfriends, his family, his cousin Nora, Elliot Barlow (what a wonderful character) and others in his life. Again, there are quirky characters, odd characters, and interesting characters. Some have impacted his life more than others. Many are dealing with their own lives and issues. Then there are the ghosts....

Adam goes looking for answers. He does not know who his biological father is, so he goes looking at the Hotel Jerome in Aspen where he was conceived. Will he find what he is looking for?

This is a BIG book. It's long in length - I felt it - and covers a man's life. It took me quite a bit of time to read this book. Like other reviewers, I believe some more editing was in need. I don't mind reading long books, but when you feel the length, it begins to feel like work. Having said that, I enjoyed this book and continue to marvel at Irving's beautiful writing. He tackles several subjects in this book through his cast of characters.

I read several books while reading this book. I enjoyed reading a little bit of this book at a time. This book will take some time to read, even though lengthy, I'm glad I read it.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.

"The Last Chairlift" by John Irving is is an absolutely dazzling novel. It is so many things; a political commentary, a ghost story, a love story, some historical fiction, some comedy, feminism, the list goes on. It is a lengthy novel and took me almost two weeks to read, though I think the length of time required had more to do with my desire to savor each and every exquisite word of this book than with the amount of pages it contains. "The Last Chairlift" is rich and complex, with captivating characters that will haunt me for quite some time, much like the ghosts of the hotel featured so prominently in the story. My heart was touched by the lives of the characters and I laughed and mourned alongside of them. This book is achingly intimate and I felt like I was personally involved in the lives of Adam and his family.

"The Last Chairlift" truly is literary fiction at its best. John Irving proves once again that he is one of the top writers of the era and I hope this book introduces a whole new generation to his genius and talent. It is definitely one of the best books I've read this year and is the kind of book that I will return to again and again when I find myself missing the characters. It is a beautifully deep story and is destined to become a modern classic.

Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for the amazing privilege of reading an advanced digital copy of this tremendous book in exchange for my honest review. Review posted to Barnes and Noble, Instagram, Twitter, and Amazon.

Spanning 80 years, this is the memoir of Adam, a writer and his eccentric extended family. He had an unusual childhood and throughout his life is surrounded by some vivid characters. I can’t possibly summarize this sprawling book in a brief review.

There is humor and horror. It is disturbing; it is poignant; it is infuriating. Fans of Irving will recognize some of his favorite settings and themes. As Adam’s life unfolds, Irving chronicles political and cultural events of the times.

The book is very long…more than 900 pages and there is a lot of repetition. Part of it is written as a screenplay. Initially, I read all day and hadn’t even made a dent in the story. I felt as though it were a chore to get through it until I changed my tactic. I spent a set allotment each day to take my time to read just a few chapters while also reading other faster paced books at other times during the day. That way I was able to savor the writing rather than being frustrated by seeming to be going nowhere.

Ok well I’m halfway though and I still have almost 500 pages! I have to come back after I read the rest but it is a fun book filled with quirky characters but also some parts that I think could have been edited. Where is there a screenplay in here?! But I love Irving’s way of nick naming characters; the characters themselves and the coming of age sex and all story:
Definitely for hard core Irving’s fans but if you’ve never read Irving I’d steer you to Garp Owen meany or Cider house

I made it through eight chapters of this book and was still at only 3%. At that point I started looking up other reviews and it appears that even long time John Irving fans had trouble with this one. I was hoping I could say it was just me, alas that is apparently not the case. I do know that I'm having trouble concentrating right now and this book is just too complicated for what I can read at this point.

I'll say I have enjoyed the writing style so far. I just can't do it for 900 pages.

So sorry. If I go back and finish it, I will update the review. I'm not posting this anywhere else.

Thanks to Simon Books and NetGalley for the gifted copy. All thoughts are my own.

I have been unable to complete reading this title on my Kindle. For me this particular book doesn't work well in this format and I'll need to try reading it again once I can get a hard copy of it.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an e-arc of John Irving's book, "The Last Chairlift" to be published Oct. 18, 2022.

"The Last Chairlift" is about Adam's life. He's the son of an unwed single mother.

It's a very long read about his life, his beliefs over almost 80 years. In my opinion, the book could have been half as long and still told the same story.

I just reviewed The Last Chairlift by John Irving. #TheLastChairlift #NetGalley

John Irving is such a special writer. So many of his earlier books are some of my all time favorites. I was so excited to get a copy of The Last Chairlift and I wanted to love it, but I didn’t. It’s very long, I didn’t really like the characters, and i felt it was repetitive. Hardcore John Irving fans might still want to give it a go, but this one didn’t really work for me.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for this ARC.

The cover needs so much help. I would never pick this up based on the cover. 900 pages made me excited but something didn’t work here…. Too much religion and politics? Maybe too much like Irving’s others? I can’t figure it out.

His first novel and seven years and according to him his last long story, writer John Irving takes the mantra, “Go big or go home” and raises it another level.

This is the story of Adam Brewster, an inquisitive affable kid who becomes an inquisitive affable man, as well as an inquisitive affable writer.
Irving mines his own biography once again to create a story that skids somewhere between truth and fiction. The parallels between our protagonist and Irving are numerous but include education at Phillips Exeter in New Hampshire, a missing father, wrestling, writing, the avoidance of the draft, and time spent at the Iowa Writers Workshop among others.

For those familiar with Irving many of these themes or ideas are ones that have surfaced multiple times throughout his literary career, and it seems by length alone that any or all of them have been reimagined here as we follow the life of Adam and his extended family.

Speaking of family, Irving was always one to break the non-traditional model and that holds fast here as well. His Mother is a lesbian who lives with her girlfriend, and also her husband, an English teacher of Adam’s who begins the process of transitioning. Adam’s cousin, also a lesbian, lives with her girlfriend, both of whose parents are gay. The characters live and love and fight and die beginning in the late sixties and working through the present day so a lot of ground is covered. Irving makes the most of the AIDS crisis and Ronald Reagan’s silence in the face of then tens of thousands of gay men dying.

The book is epic and feels like it and as engaging as the characters are there were times I was exhausted by the weight of it all. Irving takes two rather large chunks of the novel and presents them as a screenplay, the idea being this was the only way our protagonist could remember the things that happened at that time.
Okay.
Does it add anything? I didn’t think so, but at least the formatting moved the plot along. And as much as I genuinely grew to love so many of the characters, and to be clear this is a character-based novel first, I wanted something more at the end. I wanted the same kind of moving catharsis that happened at the end of “Owen Meany’, ‘The Cider House Rules’ or even ‘A Son of The Circus’. Would I recommend the book? For diehard Irving fans of which there are plenty, you’ll read the book regardless. I would. I did.
But for someone new to his work I would stick to the three others I’ve mentioned above as a start. Thanks to Simon and Schuster for the advance copy.

Adam doesn't know who his father is. He was conceived, he thinks, sometime when his mother was on one of her skiing adventures. She had been, in her youth, a world-class competitor and for some of his growing-up years, she would still spend the "season" teaching and working in the business of skiing. She becomes interested in a small man that eventually she marries and Adam finds the surrogate father in him but still wants to know the details of who his father is and what kind of relationship his mother had with him. With this in mind, he goes in search of just that. Meanwhile, the characters that surround Adam have weddings, parties, and celebrations where sexually inappropriate behavior seems to reign. The plot of the book is relatively simple and is a good story. The side activities I found to be distracting. Good characters and an interesting setting make the book worth reading. Thanks to #NetGalley#TheLastChairLift for the opportunity to read and review this book.

The story is set in Aspen Colorado in 1941. It is character filled , however the main character is Adam Brewster born to a single mom. He grows up in a very unconventional family. From his mother, grandmother, aunts, cousins and ultimately to his Step-Dad. The novel takes us through Adam’s coming of age. In later years he returns to the Hotel Jerome, where he was conceived to find answers to some of his family’s secrets. It’s there that he encounters ghosts.

This novel is so much more than a ghost story. It is filled with so much symbolism. It’s ending was beautiful and I must admit I shed a few tears. In Irving’s masterful way he tackled so many of society’s issues. Sexual politics, parental issues, the voiceless etc. At 912 pages it is a bit of a feat to get through but I was fully captivated by his writing. I’m still beyond appreciative to have received an advance digital copy and have since purchased a hardcover copy to add to my collection of his works. I sometimes hear reviews calling Irving’s work an acquired taste. I think it is one all should acquire! I highly recommend this amazing read!

It's been a long while since I've read a book by this author, but I remember enjoying those I did and looked forward to diving into this one. It took awhile, but it's well worth it - interesting and well-written.

I'm not even going to try to provide many details; basically, it's a life story told by Adam, the son of slalom skier Rachel Brewster. Back in 1941, in Aspen, Colorado, to participate in championship downhill and slalom races, Rachel ends up with no medals but instead a euphemistic bun in the oven - Adam, born in 1942. Years go by, and Adam returns to Aspen and the Hotel Jerome (where reportedly he was conceived by a still-unknown father). Despite a reasonably supportive rest of the family and friends, Adam understandably wants to know who his father was; the story follows Adam's experiences and observations (told as only this author can do) over a period of 80 years and many, many intriguing characters, not a few of whom are ghosts. As with many lengthy books, it gets repetitious in spots, but that really doesn't get in the way of enjoyment and awe of the author's considerable writing talent.

If you enjoy a really good story and have plenty of time, this book really is worth the effort. I thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review a pre-release copy.