A Widow for One Year

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Author(s)

John Irving

Publisher

Ballantine Books

Genre(s)

General Fiction

Age Range

14+

Release Date

May 05, 1998

ISBN

0345424719

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Ruth Cole is a complex, often self-contradictory character--a "difficult" woman. By no means is she conventionally "nice," but she will never be forgotten. Ruth's story is told in three parts, each focusing on a crucial time in her life. When we first meet her--on Long Island, in the summer of 1958--Ruth is only four. The second window into Ruth's life opens in the fall of 1990, when Ruth is an unmarried woman whose personal life is not nearly as successful as her literary career. She distrusts her judgment in men, for good reason. A Widow for One Year closes in the autumn of 1995, when Ruth Cole is a forty-one-year-old widow and mother. She's about to fall in love for the first time. Richly comic, as well as deeply disturbing A Widow for One Year is a multilayered love story of astonishing emotional force. Both ribald and erotic, it is also a brilliant novel about the passage of time and the relentlessness of grief.

Ruth Cole is a complex, often self-contradictory character--a "difficult" woman. By no means is she conventionally "nice," but she will never be forgotten.

Ruth's story is told in three parts, each focusing on a crucial time in her life. When we first meet her--on Long Island, in the summer of 1958--Ruth is only four.

The second window into Ruth's life opens in the fall of 1990, when Ruth is an unmarried woman whose personal life is not nearly as successful as her literary career. She distrusts her judgment in men, for good reason.

A Widow for One Year closes in the autumn of 1995, when Ruth Cole is a forty-one-year-old widow and mother. She's about to fall in love for the first time.

Richly comic, as well as deeply disturbing A Widow for One Year is a multilayered love story of astonishing emotional force. Both ribald and erotic, it is also a brilliant novel about the passage of time and the relentlessness of grief.

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really good

March 19, 2005 (Updated: June 03, 2026)

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Reader reviewed by mzblonde

i thought this book was really good. i chose it for my english project and i am really happy with my decision. its very controversial and mysterious. granted, it is extrememly long, but i found it hard to put down! Ruth Cole is one of teh wildest characters i have read about.

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Not entirely appropriate for the YA crowd

November 05, 2004 (Updated: June 03, 2026)

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Reader reviewed by Bookworm9

I was a bit surprised to see this book listed here, especially with only a 14+ label. As with all of John Irving's books, there's plenty of "adult material" here, mainly of a sexual nature. Irving's books are always over-the-top in their shock value, but unfortunately this one is just shocking, and doesn't include the great relationships of some of his other books (i.e. "A Prayer for Owen Meany" and "The Cider House Rules"). This is just a sad tale of an extremely dysfunctional family over the span of decades, namely the daughter, Ruth, who is searching for happiness in life. The premise itself isn't bad, but Irving just gets too bogged down with goofy situations.

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Wild and crazy humor

March 18, 2002 (Updated: June 03, 2026)

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Reader reviewed by L. Eustace

Ruth's mother left her at 4 years old, and obviously, she has never forgiven her mother for doing that. Struggling to keep her temper as a best-selling writer, she researches people for her books, writing about herself and her life, even though she claims she does not.

This is another comical and maybe even mockish novel by John Irving. His humor is just so wild it's crazy. As usual, the characters in this book are a little unusual, and the story is just as weird as it can get.

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