Fred 'Bogus' Trumper is a wayward knight-errant in the battle of the sexes and the pursuit of happiness. He also happens to have a complaint more serious than Portnoy's. Yet he stubbornly clings to the notion that he'll make something of his life, and is about to commit himself to a second marriage that bears a remarkable resemblance to his first.

The Water-Method Man is a work of consummate artistry and comic invention, bizarre imagery and sharp social and psychological observation.

'John Irving, it is abundantly clear, is a true artist. He is not afraid to take on great themes'
Los Angeles Times

'Brutal reality and hallucination, comedy and pathos. A rich, unified tapestry'
Time

'John Irving has been compared with Kurt Vonnegut and J.D. Salinger, but is arguably more inventive than either'
The Times

 
I bought a pile of eight John Irving books really, really cheap, mainly because A Prayer For Owen Meany was on the BBC Big Read list and I would need to get a copy at some point. However, when I saw the titles of the books I was a little startled to find I knew most of them...and how is it one man can write so many classic books! I'm really curious now to find out if I like his writing style, and if his famed books can touch me as they have so many others.