"Until I find you" by John Irving, until we find Irving again

Last Friday I finally finished reading the third novel I've read by John Irving, "Until I Find You". The first two were "The Cider House Rules" and "A Widow for one Year". It's a lengthy novel (1000 pages) and as might be expected so many pages get in the way of quality. Though it has good moments and funny moments sometimes it is quite common. A shorter novel without so much triviality in the description of the films of the main character and some of the things that happen to him would have been better. There may be some spoilers ahead so watch out. Irving does not describe the inner thoughts of the characters, he often looks at them from a distance. And some are unfairly treated, such as Michele Maher, who does not deserve that her reencounter with Jack is such a disappointing experience. The Lucy and the Sally (Claudia's daughter) episodes seem completely gratuitous, though they certainly contrast each other. Finally, when Jack finally finds his father, his father is already mentally ill, although he is just over sixty (at least, he's not so old as the character in "Widow", who has a foot in her grave when she reencounters the boy she was having sex with at the beginning of the novel). Too much research into music and into the tattoo world is there. It's nice that authors have so much time to do research but all those details about tattoing or about organ music get in the way of action and but for a few pedants are quite boring. The same goes for most of the Hollywood movie industry information and of course for the wrestling. Irving has been in Hollywood and he is a wrestler so he knows what he's talking about, still it is sometimes pointless to dwell so much on all that stuff. This novel to me is not nearly so good as the exceptional "Widow" and the equally exceptional "Cider House Rules". "Rules" is also a very good movie, I haven't still seen the Widow film. I'm a bit surprised because the widow's mother is described as the prettiest woman on earth (or something like that) and Kim Basinger for me simply does not fit. But I haven't seen it, so nothing else on the Widow film. More to come about "Until I find you" in forthcoming posts, with lots of spoilers, though.