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    The Fourth Hand
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    The Fourth Hand
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    The Fourth Hand
    Audiobook11 hours

    The Fourth Hand

    Written by John Irving

    Narrated by Jason Culp

    3/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    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.


    From the Hardcover edition.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateJul 3, 2001
    ISBN9780739300619
    Unavailable
    The Fourth Hand
    Author

    John Irving

    John Irving has been nominated for a National Book Award three times—winning in 1980 for the novel The World According to Garp. In 1992, Irving was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in Stillwater, Oklahoma. He won the 2000 Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay for The Cider House Rules. In 2001, he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Irving's most recent novel is In One Person (2012).

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    Reviews for The Fourth Hand

    3/5

    1,122 ratings32 reviews

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    • 4/5
      It's not "Owen Meany", no... but it is something special none-the-less.
    • 3/5
      This is the story of Patrick Wallingford, a telejournalist, who loses his left hand to a tiger on live television, and Doris Clausen, the widow of the man whose hand Patrick receives in a ground-breaking hand transplant. This being Irving, there are many other characters, and many other stories, but basically this is the love story of Patrick and Doris, which begins when she agrees to donate her deceased husband's hand for the transplant, but only if she can have visitation rights. This novel is not as good as Irving's best--A Prayer for Owen Meaney, The Cider House Rules, or even A Widow for One Year--but it is good enough, with endearing characters and a slightly bizarre plot. Recommended.3 stars
    • 3/5
      This novel was a very slow start for me. I had a hard time getting into the writing; it was shallow and quick, choppy even. Hard to fall into, and moved too quick and jerky to be enjoyable. Like riding a bus going too fast down an alley that may have something interesting going on, if you could look out the windows and see more than brick whizzing by. Turns out that was on purpose. I didn't figure it out, though, so that detracted from the novel as a whole. If I'd caught on to what he was doing (jerky, shallow, writing for a jerky, shallow world of people), then I probably would have enjoyed it more. As it was, I was simply annoyed. For me this novel was a case of the parts being better than the whole. There were elements to the novel that I was fascinated by (Dr. Zajac, Doris Clausen), and parts that I just didn't get. For example, the main character is, simply, a dufus. And, apparently, handsome and vacuous enough to make women want to have his babies. Did I ever want a shallow man's baby? Nope. But apparently it's a thing. The novel's ride smooths out as it moves along, and that made the last half of the novel much better for me. However, I never really cared much about the main character. And, I wanted to know more about Doris. That woman was one interesting, weird character.There's a bit o'magical realism here, which was a plus in my book. So it was okay, enough good parts to warrant the read.
    • 4/5
      The main character is a nice guy, too nice. He is drifting along in life and from woman to woman. When he loses his hand, he finally finds a direction in his life.
    • 4/5
      Much more literate than most books I read. A note at the end by Irving on "Why I Wrote The Fourth Hand When I Wrote It" was interesting and helpful.
    • 3/5
      If I had flipped open these early pages set in Japan under normal circumstances, I probably wouldn't have continued. Remember that dreadful Sofia Coppola movie? The Japanese language has a perfectly serviceable "r" sound. How else could one have Hirohito, Kurasawa, Morita, etc. It's Chinese that has an "l" sound but not the "r," idiots. Why would Irving set parts of his book in a country he's never visited? (I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt.) Ho, ho, no "lobe"? Are they staying in a youth hostel? What unproper, proper or capsule hotel wouldn't provide a crisp cotton blue-and-white yukata? But I was to be traveling and waiting around a lot; I can say this about Irving: easy travel reading. It wasn't just the language problem that felt wrong about Japan. Japan would be a very strange place to hold a women's conference. Honestly, China, Thailand, Hong Kong, even India would be more appropriate. All those places have far more women in high positions in journalism, govt and business than Japan does. The interpreters might well be female, though! Let's just say the proceedings at the conference would be quite different. As would anything taking place in Japan. Also striking here and elsewhere in the book: how seldom Irving attempts descriptions of landscapes, cityscapes, Kyoto, etc. Yes, he does it at the lake in Wisconsin a little. But, otherwise, the lack was really striking to me. He's on a helicopter coming from Narita and he doesn't describe the sensations or the view?! Can one really conduct an everyday conversation under such circumstances? I'm going to make a point of avoiding the one set partly in India, Son of the Circus. Irving's affection for children and family is well known, so it was also dismaying how "little Otto" was depicted--like by a writer who has never cared for one for even an hour. The characters might as well have been slinging around a bag of potatoes. I had reservations about how the character coped with the loss of his hand--dressing, carrying stuff, opening doors. I can't comment on the football material because I skipped over it. The vast majority of observations about journalism were banal too. Our character wants to teach a course at a top journalism school (like my own) on how TV news lacks any context! This was a hot topic circa 1962 but this novel is set around 1999. On the first few days of a journalist class, even in high school, you learn that the top half a single newspaper page contains more news than a 1/2 hour broadcast. Anyone in TV news is well aware of that and how print/writing journalists regard them. Hell, privately TV people tell you as much: "We have to make it as dumb as possible." Blah, blah. Even putting aside the internet demands for a moment, by this time the significance of nat'l news broadcasts had been eroded by rise of local, cable, etc--as the Bill Clinton campaigns demonstrated.OK, most readers won't be annoyed by the above, I suppose, even if they recognize the errors, the sloppiness. How is the sex and love story? I just couldn't care about this shallow Wallingford character one way or another. No emotional engagement. And his misogynistic depictions of women sometimes verged on Updike territory. The free-loving, Queens-accented makeup girl comes to mind but Updike would have a better ear for speech. Of course, Doris is the most compelling character here. This is how we get to know most people, or at least interesting people: in a series of reveals and hints. But why would this couple make any sense?
    • 1/5
      Rarely have I been so disappointed - happens when one's gods turn out to have feet of clay. Compared to Garp, Owen Meany, Cider House, Hotel New Hampshire, A Son of the Circus, this was not my hero at his best. Not going to disrespect one of the great writers of our age but read his other works instead and don't judge by this.
    • 3/5
      In this story of a "disaster news" network reporter who loses his left hand in a freak lion maiming, Irving looks at the nature of destiny, personal morality, the things that give meaning to life, and love. It covers a lot of ground, but it all fits together. It is also a searing commentary on the 24 hour news cycle, which seems to underscore the importance of the characters' discovery of meaning.
    • 4/5
      Well, I think the climax of the story was when Wallingford had his hand bit off. Then, it drug on longer than it needed to with a few too many sex-scenes for my liking. I would definately lable this book a romance novel, if not erotic lit because of how many times the characters within it had sex. I'm not sure whether or not I would say it glorifies romantic relationships even though I would classify it as a romance novel. The characters within it are also very quirky and at times unbelievable. Nothing in this book impressed me, nothing quite made me turn my nose up at it. It's a meh book for me though I did enjoy the author's attempts at character growth, which novels that are of poorer quality neglect.
    • 3/5
      This book is not in my Irving top 5, but it's still an enjoyable book about love and growth.
    • 3/5
      The blurb on the back of the book informed me that the main character has his hand bitten off by a lion. This being a John Irving novel, my first happy thought was that at least such a person would struggle to wrestle...Thus I decided to read this one, though it did turn out to have many of the features of Irving novels that have irritated me in the past - preoccupation with American Football (though it might even have been baseball, that's how little I understood of it), at least one bedroom scene that had me reaching for the sick bag, and a determination to recycle the same funnies time and time again. (Though in some cases, like the turd and the lacrosse stick, to throw them away on a single mention might have been considered wasteful)On the other hand, the story was told in a more succinct, accessible way than some of his others, and the account of the visit to Japan, in the early stages of the book, was hilarious. The guy can definitely write, and he can do great satire too, though farce often takes over as the scenes are only funny because he has chosen to make the characters so bizarre and their behaviour utterly alien.And I can confirm that sexual grappling aside, There Was no Wrestling!!
    • 4/5
      Totally enjoyed this book, it was quirky and fun. Irving never fails to entertain.
    • 4/5
      I've enjoyed a number of John Irving's works, particularly Unless, The Cider House Rules and A Widow for One Year. I was looking forward to diving into The Fourth Hand and, though it didn't live up to my expectations, I wasn't entirely disappointed.Patrick Wallingford is a New York television journalist whose left hand is eaten by a lion on live tv. Superbly handsome, Patrick's love life does not suffer due to his misfortune. He remains carefree and uncommitted. A married woman in Wisconsin wants Patrick to have her husband's left hand when her husband dies, but her husband is young and healthy. Through a series of events, Patrick receives the hand on the condition that the widowed Mrs. Clausen (Doris) maintains a relationship with it.This novel is at times ridiculous and at others emotional and thought-provoking. I didn't really grow attached to many of the main characters because they often felt like caricatures. The plot, however, was intriguing and drew me in. This is definitely not one of Irving's best novels, but it's still a good read. If you haven't read Irving before though, I wouldn't start with The Fourth Hand.
    • 4/5
      The direct, informative and un-flowery writing in this book very much matches the topic - it is about a journalist. Like the reporter he is describing, Irving doesn't concentrate on poetic prose, preferring to simply get his character's story across to the reader. While this direct approach should have disappointed me, it works in this book because the story and unforgettable characters are so entertaining and incredible. Irving's insights into America's lamentable state of journalism perfectly express the reasons why my own journalism degree is gathering dust in the closet. When will America finally wake up and realize that making the news into a business defeats the entire purpose of unbiased reporting?
    • 5/5
      This is the first Irving book I've liked since "Hotel New Hampshire."
    • 4/5
      I really loved this book however, there was a point in which it started droning. It reads well and quick and can be finished in a few days. John Irving's characters are very interesting and sometimes complex(as they should be) and his writing seems to show and tell at the same time. In other words, it seems as if the whole story is exposition or summary yet it still conveys incredible detail and the reader is always right in the scene. I recommend although, it is my first book by Irving.
    • 3/5
      Patric Wallingford loses his left hand in a freak accident. As the reporter in India sticks the microphone into the lion's cage, teh lion bites the hand off--on camera. The widow of a beer truck driver and a Green Bay Packer fan offers her husband's hand with the proviso she has visiting privileges of the hand.Clever--indictment of Press and TV, including treatment of JFK's death and the Egyptian plane crash.
    • 4/5
      Patrick Wallingford is a news announcer known for handsomeness and bravado. When he loses his hand to a lion he receives a new one from a stranger-but the wife of the stranger wants to keep in touch with the hand and even seduces Patrick so she can have his child. Very John Irving.
    • 4/5
      Strange book but oddly compelling. Very different.
    • 1/5
      I felt like John Irving was just showing off his facility for writing, and coming up with weird plots and whipping out books. The characters in this were unlikeable and I didn't gain anything from having read this.
    • 3/5
      This was entertaining while I read it, but it isn't all that great. I know that not every Irving book can be a good as The World According to Garp or A Prayer for Owen Meany (my favorites), but I expected more. Without giving away the story, I just didn't buy into the woman's obsession with the hand or the man's love for the woman. And, in a very un-Irving way, there were many loose ends -- several characters with prominent parts in the beginning of the book disappear without a trace. We're told that the protagonist changed, and that the "new" Patrick Wallingford is not like the "old" Wallingford, but I couldn't really see why he changed, and why his changing necessarily meant that characters would disappear. It was like Irving packed the first half of the book with typical Irving situations and characters, then got bored with the whole thing, so spent the second half resolving it all in the fastest, most simplistic, straightforward way he could.
    • 3/5
      I enjoyed the style, but there wasn't enough substance in this book.
    • 2/5
      Reading this was like struggling to eat soggy cereal - I kept hoping the next mouthful might have a raisin to redeem it, but it never did. Eventually I forced it all down.It was bland, tedious, and vaguely annoying. I found everyone so covered in exaggerated oddness that there was no character underneath to identify with. And there was a strange middle-aged-boy fantasy feel to it, where every woman in the book is irresistibly drawn to an unappealing male character. The poop-eating dog seemed to be the only female with taste!I was an avid reader of [[John Irving]] while I was in college, and I still enjoy rereading his books from that period. But his later ones have all disappointed me. It is possible that I am still cross about the introduction to [A Son of the Circus], which said something silly about not needing to go to India to write an novel about India. I mean, what an irritating stance to take, avoiding an entire country just to make a literary point (grin.)
    • 4/5
      Not my favorite work by John Irving but has some merit. The audacity of the women in the book when it comes to wanting a baby by this man is amazing. Does bring up some interesting ideas about emotions one could encounter from receiving a transplant.
    • 1/5
      One of the worst books I have ever read. Don't waste your time.
    • 3/5
      Not John's best, but an enjoyable story. Didn't do a whole lot for me, but some may enjoy it. Fast paced narrative. Lots of charractors.
    • 5/5
      so good it took my breath away. honest.
    • 4/5
      Patrick Wallingford, a New York Journalist, Accidentally allows a Lion to eat his left hand! Which leaves him forever known as the "Lion Guy", as millions of viewers witness the event on TV, as he is interviewing someone at the time!A renowned plastic surgeon Dr Zajac offers to do the worlds second hand transplant for him. The only down side being that the wife of the hand donor (who is safely dead) wants to have visitor rights to the hand afterwards!And so we have the recipe for a weird and wonderful story that is funny, sad and eye opening for all concerned!I really enjoyed this book, but then I love anything John Irving presents to us, he has the most delicious sense of the absurd, but always manages to pull out of it a thought provoking story!
    • 3/5
      I know that John Irving is a human being. I’ve seen him in person; therefore I know that he is human, which is to say, flawed. I accept that. What I have not accepted—until reading “The Fourth Hand”—is that he is a flawed writer. As a MASSIVE John Irving fan, I have genuinely loved every novel he published prior to this one, from the middle-aged suburban angst of “The 158-Pound Marriage” to the exotic lunacy of “A Son of the Circus” (which required three attempts before I could actually even make it past page 50 or so).Most of Irving’s novels are saturated in his signature style, which is one of the features that I positively love about an Irving novel. But this one, well, it’s certainly not his best effort. It lacks his style and tone. If I hadn’t read his name on the front cover of the book, I would have had a difficult time believing that he is the author. The protagonist, although he does experience some redemption and growth throughout this relatively brief—for Irving—novel, is just not very likeable. Perhaps that was Irving’s point—he’s a TV news personality who’s lost his left hand in a bizarre lion attack, and that odd fate makes him more curious than sympathetic. He falls in love with the woman who donates her recently deceased husband’s hand as a transplant. And bizarre romantic lunacy ensues. Or maybe it was supposed to. And that’s just it—in an Irving novel, a huge part of the enjoyment of the story is going along for the narrative ride. Although it’s usually impossible to tell where Irving is going with a story, I have always been confident that he knew what he was doing, and I was truly comfortable ceding narrative vision to him as a master storyteller. That vision is absent from “The Fourth Hand.” It pains me to say that this is the first John Irving novel that I do not truly love. But that will not stop me from reading the ones he’s written after this one, and the ones he’s yet to write.
    • 3/5
      I'm a devoted fan of John Irving's books and have read six other of this earlier novels. There's something about his characters and his worldview that resonates with me, and it's that fact that kept me interested in this novel even when it became less interesting than I hoped. Or maybe that's not quite right. The story remained of interest, but the outcome of the characters' fates began to feel less compelling. The redemption of the main character felt increasingly certain (which may have been difficult to avoid, considering that premonitions and fate play a role in this book), even when he indulged in a bit of backsliding and bad behavior late in the book.

      I realize now that enjoyed the first half of the book much more than the last half, and that's owing to two things. One reason is the lack of storytelling propulsion that linked to the lack of jeopardy and uncertainty. The other is the increasing absence of the odder, more intriguing characters. The main character himself always seems much less interesting than his exterior as a one-handed news reporter covering disasters and accidents would suggest, so his alteration does little to diminish his profile. He's a guy who gets along and acquiesces at the outset, and though he shows more will at the end, his choices steer him toward a more placid life. The characters I wished I could see more were the hand surgeon and his family, who felt too settled too soon and could have injected at the end of the story some of the humor they provided at the beginning. In a novel with a protagonist who is prone to being acted upon, the phasing out of these strong secondary characters was particularly evident.