The Fourth Hand: A Novel

Synopsis

&“Imagine a young man on his way to a less-than-thirty second event — the loss of his left hand, long before he reached middle age.&”The Fourth Hand asks an interesting question: &“How can anyone identify a dream of the future?&” The answer: &“Destiny is not imaginable, except in dreams or to those in love.&”While reporting a story from India, a New York television journalist has his left hand eaten by a lion; millions of TV viewers witness the accident. In Boston, a renowned hand surgeon awaits the opportunity to perform the nation&’s first hand transplant; meanwhile, in the distracting aftermath of an acrimonious divorce, the surgeon is seduced by his housekeeper. A married woman in Wisconsin wants to give the one-handed reporter her husband&’s left hand—that is, after her husband dies. But the husband is alive, relatively young, and healthy.This is how John Irving&’s tenth novel begins; it seems, at first, to be a comedy, perhaps a satire, almost certainly a sexual farce. Yet, in the end, The Fourth Hand is as realistic and emotionally moving as any of Mr. Irving&’s previous novels—including The World According to Garp, A Prayer for Owen Meany, and A Widow for One Year—or his Oscar-winning screenplay of The Cider House Rules.The Fourth Hand is characteristic of John Irving&’s seamless storytelling and further explores some of the author&’s recurring themes—loss, grief, love as redemption. But this novel also breaks new ground; it offers a penetrating look at the power of second chances and the will to change.

Copyright:

2001

Book Details

Book Quality:

Publisher Quality

Book Size:

352 Pages

ISBN-13:

9780307366498

Related ISBNs:

9780676973938

Publisher:

Knopf Canada

Date of Addition:

11/05/21

Copyrighted By:

Garp Enterprises, Ltd

Adult content:

No

Language:

English

Has Image Descriptions:

No

Categories:

Literature and Fiction, Parenting and Family, Humor

Submitted By:

Bookshare Staff

Usage Restrictions:

This is a copyrighted book.