John Irving always writes big bricks of novels and they can sometimes seem daunting when you’re about to start one, but personally I usually end up enjoying them. The Cider House Rules has been on my shelf for a LONG time and was very overdue for a read, and I’m glad I finally picked it up.

The book is set in an orphanage in St Cloud, Maine before, during and after World War II. The orphanage is run by Dr Larch, who also performs illegal abortions for women in desperate need. One of the orphans is Homer Wells, who is adopted four times but for one reason and another always ends up back at the orphanage. Homer is a favorite with Dr Larch and his two nurses, and although I thought the book was going to be focused mainly on the doctor, it actually follows Homer throughout his journey into adulthood, from being the doctor’s young protege, to managing a cider press with the love of his life (who unfortunately is also the love of his best friend’s life).

I liked the book from the beginning – around 200 pages in, I started to love it. When I finished it, I had thoroughly enjoyed all 700+ pages. It is crammed with rich detail, the minutiae of lives, and I really because invested in the characters. What I wasn’t expecting was how gloriously funny it was in parts. This is not a comedy novel, but one long scene that occurred at around the 200 page mark and went on for several more had me laughing out loud. It’s no surprise that so many of John Irving’s books have been adapted for the big screen, because although I have not seen the 1999 film adaptation of this book, I could imagine it playing out in my mind.

I don’t want to give away too many plot points as I think readers deserve to experience it all for themselves, but I’m glad that I got around to reading this book, and highly recommend it. ( )

Abortion and a physician's responsibility for providing healthcare to women and children are the focus of Irving's novel which describes life in an orphanage in Maine far from the rest of the world at the beginning of the twentieth century. Abortions are illegal but people know that St. Cloud's is one of the few safe places they can go to either have the procedure done safely or leave behind the child knowing it will be well cared for. Dr Larch and his nurses will not ask questions beyond what they need to know. The accuracy of Irving's descriptions of the place, the procedures, the instruments, the options are informed by Irving's grandfather having been a Harvard Medical School graduate and the model for Dr Larch. Beyond caring for the woman Dr Larch cares for their offspring, helping them get adopted, reading Dickens to them every night, showing King Kong every week and as he turns out the light telling them "Good night you princes of Maine, you kings of New England" - a classic line. It's a warm and supporting environment. Dr Larch, a bachelor, does have one vice, he is addicted to ether, a not uncommon addiction of physicians at that time.

Once Dr Larch realizes Homer will not be adopted be decides to make Homer his protégé teaching him everything he needs to know to eventually replace Dr Larch. As he explains to Homer, if you're going to stay you're going to have to find a way to be useful. He gives Homer a copy of Grey's Anatomy which Homer reads thoroughly. Eventually the problem is that Homer decides he cannot do abortions as that is killing a soul. He decides he is not going to become a doctor even though he has developed all the skills needed to become an excellent surgeon. Dr Larch pushes back aggressively having Homer face the result of an unsafe abortion which has put the woman beyond where anyone can save her. An opportunity appears when a rich couple comes to St Cloud's seeking an abortion. Homer convinces them to take him back to the young man's orchard near the coast of Maine. Dr Larch reluctantly allows Homer to go with them knowing full well this will be for more than a brief visit.

A close friendship develops between Homer and Wally and Wally's fiancée Candy. WW II intervenes. Wally enlists and volunteers to fly bombers in the dangerous Burma Run. In Wally's absence Candy and Homer's relationship becomes intimate with each finally admitting that they love each other and Wally as well. Wally's plane is shot down and he's missing in action for months. Candy becomes pregnant and they head to the orphanage . They return to orchard with Homer bringing back a boy he has adopted, a story they maintain for many years. Wally returns paralyzed from the waist down but Candy decides to honor her pledge to marry him when he returned. Homer and Candy maintain their relationship with secret meetings. Star crossed lovers? Definitely a very tangled web.

Meanwhile a third storyline percolates. Melony, the girl Homer left behind in the orphanage stalks Homer across Maine unsuccessfully. She is very strong, has definite anger management issues, and is honest to a fault. She's going to tell you exactly what she thinks regardless of the consequences. She is determined to confront Homer with the promise they made to each other that when either left the orphanage they would take the other with them. She feels abandoned by him. How that gets resolved is constantly hanging over Homer. It increases the dramatic tension. We're always wondering will this be the point where the confrontation takes place.
And since this is John Irving there's yet another storyline to heighten the mix. The apple orchard needs migrant workers to harvest the apples. Our sympathies immediately go out to these Black marginalized workers. They live in a less than adequate bunk house which has the owners "rules" tacked to the wall. Homer is comfortable living by communal rules and is surprised to see all the rules seem to be ignored. Mr. Rose, leader of the migrants explains, in here we make the rules. His dominance is reinforced by his subtle but considerable skills with a knife. Homer lives in Wally's room at night but learns apple picking and cider making from Mr. Rose during the day. This symbiotic relationship persists for fifteen years but when Mr. Rose's daughter, Rose Rose, appears with the rest of the crew she appears to be pregnant. Candy finally gets Rose Rose to reveal the child is the result of incest with Mr. Rose. Homer realizes he has the skills to deal with this safely and overcomes his long standing avoidance of the issue. The abortion goes well but Rose Rose disappears almost immediately and Homer learns she's knifed Mr. Rose. In a strange turn Mr. Rose exacts a promise from Homer and the migrants to adopt the story that Mr. Rose has killed himself and no one is to mention his daughter's role.

And since this is John Irving there's yet another storyline to heighten the mix. The apple orchard needs migrant workers to harvest the apples. Our sympathies immediately go out to these Black marginalized workers. They live in a less than adequate bunk house which has the owners "rules" tacked to the wall. Homer is comfortable living by communal rules and is surprised to see all the rules seem to be ignored. Mr. Rose, leader of the migrants explains, in here we make the rules. His dominance is reinforced by his subtle but considerable skills with a knife. Homer lives in Wally's room at night but learns apple picking and cider making from Mr. Rose during the day. This symbiotic relationship persists for fifteen years but when Mr. Rose's daughter, Rose Rose, appears with the rest of the crew she appears to be pregnant. Candy finally gets Rose Rose to reveal the child is the result of incest with Mr. Rose. Homer realizes he has the skills to deal with this safely and overcomes his long standing avoidance of the issue. The abortion goes well but Rose Rose disappears almost immediately and Homer learns she's knifed Mr. Rose. In a strange turn Mr. Rose exacts a promise from Homer and the migrants to adopt the story that Mr. Rose has killed himself and no one is to mention his daughter's role.

The die is now cast. Homer receives word that Dr Larch has died of an accidental ether overdose. Before he died Dr Larch created a false persona, Dr Fuzzy Stone and convinced the board he objects to Dr Stone's views clearing the way for them to want Dr Stone to be Dr Larch's replacement. Dr Larch hopes Homer will assume the role. Just one of the many ways Dr Larch does the right thing by telling some small lies. Homer returns to St Cloud's where he was always meant to be. It's a safer place than the world out there.

After reading the book I found a Blue Ray copy of the movie at my local library. The movie was nominated for 7 Academy Awards including Best Picture. It won two major awards, Michael Caine, Best Supporting Actor for his role as Dr Larch and John Irving for Best Adaption. The cast included a stellar set of actors who went on to long and distinguished careers including Toby McGuire, Charlize Theron, Paul Rudd, Kathy Bates, J.K. Skilling, Kieran Culkin, Delroy Lindo, etc. It was directed by Lasse Hallstrom.

The Blue Ray features a commentary by Hallstrom and Irving. We learn many decisions they had to make to turn a 600 page book into a 2 hour movie. By far the most important was to shorten the time frame from fifteen years to less than 2 years. The decision by Irving, drove many other changes. Irving also eliminated several substories which others often wanted put back in such as Homer's failed adoptions which left him a permanent St Cloud's resident. Candy and Homer's son did not fit the shortened time frame and the love triangle needed less attention. To speed up Wally's becoming a pilot he now shows up in uniform at St Cloud's for Candy's abortion. Melony is almost entirely eliminated. And Homer moves in to Cider House with the migrants rather than in to Wally's room, accelerating his interactions with Mr. Rose who no longer has a pacifier and now can't read and comes across much less threatening than in the book. Somehow Delroy Lindo turns the villain into a sympathetic figure, quite an accomplishment. We also learn that Irving found some advantages to shortening the time frame. It meant when Homer returns to St Cloud's at the end he no longer has to assume the false persona of Dr Stone, he can still be Homer and best of all the orphans he had left behind are still there and can give him a hero's welcome including some enticing looks between Melony and Homer.

Both the book and the movie are well worth reading and seeing, and l recommend listening to the commentary. While this review has been long there's definitely much more. Both are rich and worth your time. ( )

https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/the-cider-house-rules-by-john-irving/

A long but tremendous book, set mainly in an orphanage in Maine before, during and after the second world war. Dr Larch, the head of the orphanage, is also an abortionist and helps women from all over the community to end unwanted pregnancies. His protégé, Homer Wells, makes friends with coastal orchard kids Wally and Cindy and leaves the orphanage. We know that he will come back in the end but the journey is beautifully told and heart-breaking. ( )

What a pleasure it was to read The Cider House Rules. I’m smiling as I look back on it.
The cider house rules, it turns out, are rules that are perfectly sensible in the abstract, but that have to be applied in a context where it may not be sensible to follow them – or at least, where people don’t follow them because they are too troublesome. This is the paradigm that shapes the key conflicts in the story – people who don’t want to do abortions but find that many women have a real need for an abortion. Surprisingly, for a story about abortion, orphans and repressed love, the story is great fun to read. It’s full of humour, delightful characters, imaginative situations and a plot that keeps moving and shifting so that although the overall story arc seems pre-ordained, a reader never knows what to expect.
The story’s protagonist, Homer Wells – like several of Dickens’ protagonists – seems quietly passive a lot of the time, letting things happen to him while others around him are driving the action of the plot. He’s attracted to Melony, who is charismatic in a negative way, but he lets her define their relationship initially. Even his ultimate fate is set up by others and after some resistance he finally decides to accept it. However, he does make the decisions that he has to at key points – to stand by his principles, and to re-evaluate them when he has to. Homer chooses to pursue his love even though it leads to unhappy compromises. It seems to me that this is how most of us get by, doing the best we can as long as we can, and adapting when we find that our thinking no longer matches our reality. Is this why the protagonist is named Homer? He’s adrift through his life, facing extraordinary challenges until he finally makes it home?
Dr Larch is another interesting character. A father figure to Homer, he is driven and rigidly committed to his objectives. He cares deeply for Homer, and recognizes that Homer will have to break away from him to make his own choices. But Dr Larch is a very thoughtful and kind man, both to the women that he provides medical services to and to the orphans in the St. Cloud’s home. His nightly reading of Dickens novels to the children, and his good-night to the boys – “Good night, you princes of Maine, you Kings of New England” – offers them a sense of pride and a future. His distressing early history sets a path for his life that is almost saintly in its selflessness and commitment, in spite of his addiction to mind-altering ether. So it’s appropriate that he lives in St. Cloud’s.
As I write this, I think that there’s a parallel to Greek drama as much as there is to Dickens’ novels. The characters struggle with morality and fate and with their own personal flaws. They have to made decisions where the choices are complex and the outcomes are unclear. They face the fundamental situations of human life: birth and death, love and longing, and ultimately the search for meaning. While telling the tale, Irving comments on their situation as a Greek chorus might. (His frequent asides about the lives and longings of orphans seem a bit questionable at times, while they show a compassionate way of thinking about people who face emotional and material challenges.) But of course Irving rolls out this story with humour and a lightness that has a very different tone from Greek drama.
I loved the big, complex plot line and Irving’s descriptions of rural Maine. I’m sure I’ll look back on the characters and the story with pleasure for some time. Although the debates around abortion will move on (I hope), Irving’s exploration of how the characters deal with life questions will remain relevant for the future. ( )

(7.5) Well I found this a long slog. This book has been described as polemic and I would have to agree. I suspect it has become a banned book recently in certain American states with its strong emphasis on abortion, although he does provide a certain amount of balance with his two main characters taking opposing stances. It is long, with much detail on the different lives of the orphans and supporting characters and digressions into medical matters.
I did find the author's notes helpful and it made me appreciate the research that he had had to do. ( )