Berrys Versus Beans: Another Eccentric New England Family - The Hotel New Hampshire

I have fallen into the bad habit of checking out Wiki before I write my review. It seems a bogus kind of research, as it is too often cliff notes for students who would never pick up the book. Nonetheless, the depth and complexity of this novel makes me want to quickly introduce all the remarkable characters and the clever symbolism Irving employs. Other Internet summaries tick off Irving's recurring theme of bears, wrestling and distant or absent parents, aligning them with his biographical experiences. So, go to these sites for the synopsis; this review will be more introspectively analytical.

The motif that I culled out of the story is one of making something good out of something bad. A lot of the times this has to do with physical things: Frank dealing with the death of the family dog through several taxidermic experiments; the father buying the closed school and converting it into the first hotel; and John reclaiming a deserted resort and making it the circle-fulfilling family estate and last "hotel." Most of the conversions, however, portray the recovery and stronger sense of self that each of the characters attain after a serious trauma. A litany of these catastrophes would turn me, if no one else, off from reading the book. However, Irving has spirits and life mantras interspersed throughout -- the mid-Western "life is never easy so do the best" philosophy of the grandfather, Iowa Bob; his mother's shrug; the wisdom of bears; and family tag lines such as walking by open windows. While the family is challenged, it is not doomed -- the message is not one of false hope.

Went back to reread my summary of the Beans of Maine, only recalling how much I disliked that family and the intentional downward spiral they create for themselves. The Berrys in contrast make their own habitat, even recreating it as best they can in Vienna. The hotels are a devise that not only keeps the family structured but also is the foundation for the novel's progress.

Back in the 80s when this book came out, and even more recently as several of his other novels have been made into movies, I shied away from reading Irving. Yes, I have a bias against contemporary authors and the manipulation of books by best seller lists and sham endorsements. But, like my caution with seeing TC Boyle's picture and falsely concluding he looked too dangerous to read, when I looked at John Irving, I thought he was too handsome to lure me into his world. The best thing coming from this year's list of States has been crossing that border of reluctance to discover two phenomenal writers who should never be regarded as merely contemporary but who are classics.