Book Summary and Reviews of Until I Find You by John Irving

Until I Find You by John Irving

Until I Find You

by John Irving

  • Published:
  • Jul 2005, 848 pages
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About this book

Book Summary

Jack Burns goes to schools in Canada and New England, but what shapes him are his relationships with older women. John Irving renders Jack's life as an actor in Hollywood with the same richness of detail and range of emotions he uses to describe the tattoo parlors in those North Sea ports and the reverberating music Jack heard as a child in European churches.

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Did you read any books in 2025 that are widely considered classics? If so, which ones and why?
OK, so after I posted this question of the week, I got to wondering what would be considered a classic. What do you think? The only three I've read that I'd say most people would call classics are: The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain Lolita by Vladimir...
-kim.kovacs


What are you reading this week? And what did you think of last week’s books? (10/16/2025)
Finished up https://www.bookbrowse.com/bb_briefs/detail/index.cfm/ezine_preview_number/23189/house-of-leaves House of Leaves - fascinating book - as well as https://www.bookbrowse.com/bb_briefs/detail/index.cfm/ezine_preview_number/23249/whalefall Whalefall by Daniel Kraus. Thanks to the folks he...
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How has your reading changed as you've gotten older, if at all?
I find that I'm rereading a lot more than in the past. I've pulled some that struck me as keepers in the past and am reading again to see what had intrigued me about them. Things like Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier and The Executioner's Song by Norman Mailer and The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by D...
-Linda_O_donnell

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Reviews

Media Reviews

'Though the incessant, graphic sexual abuse becomes gratuitous, Irving handles the novel's less seedy elements superbly: the earthy camaraderie of the tattoo parlors, the Hollywood glitz, Jack's developing emotional authenticity, his discovery of a half-sister and a moving reunion with his father.' - Publishers Weekly.
'Irving's much anticipated new novel is problematic. Some novels are simply too long, and this is one of them....The last quarter of the book would have made a decent novel on its own...and it is only in the last quarter...that this book has life and a point; however, expect considerable demand from the author's loyal fans.' - Booklist

This information about Until I Find You was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

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Author Information

John Irving Author Biography

John Winslow Irving was born in Exeter, New Hampshire, in 1942. His novels include The World According to Garp, The Hotel New Hampshire, The Cider House Rules, A Prayer for Owen Meany, A Son of the Circus, and Last Night In Twisted River. Irving is married and has three sons; he lives in Toronto and in southern Vermont.

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