The Last Chairlift by John Irving

#TheLastChairlift #NetGalley

John Irving is a towering figure in modern fiction with books that are intelligent and popular. I first read a book by him called Setting Free the Bears when I was in college and my professor knew the author. He has gone from strength to strength since then.

The Last Chairlift is reportedly the last novel that Irving plans to write. He has given readers a rather long book at over 900 pages that some may enjoy more than others.

Here is the story of skier Rachel Brewer whose career takes a new turn after she becomes pregnant. Years later her son, Adam, returns to Colorado seeking to better understand his mother and himself. Adam also wants to find out more about his father. Oh, and there are some ghosts in this title that creates its own universe with a unique family at its center.

Readers who have followed Irving will want to give this title a look

Many thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for this title. All opinions are my own.

Pub date: 18 October 2022

From the Publisher

“Powerfully cinematic…Irving’s portrayal of a shooting in a crowded venue, for instance, is rendered with such visual acuity and kinetic energy that I’d swear I saw it rather than read it….Whenever “The Last Chairlift” is actively expanding the boundaries of what a family can be — the story feels vital and exciting.”—WASHINGTON POST



“Here the consistent pleasure is an extended family whose distinctive voices deliver thoughtful messages of tolerance, understanding, and affection for those who are different.”—KIRKUS REVIEWS

“Irving’s majestic latest, his first since Avenue of Mysteries (2015), is a multigenerational portrait as colorful and varied as it is complex and quirky as it echoes and pays homage to the author’s own rich literary history. … Irving infuses the narrative with countless comedic set pieces, some farcical, others wistfully tender. The emotionally resonant result is sweepingly cinematic, reminding the reader that Irving has a screenwriting Oscar. Autobiographical snippets and splashes of brilliance buttress the themes of death and aging, memory and identity, in an elegiac testimony to the many facets of familial love…a big, immersive novel.”—Booklist