John Irving

Join novelist and screenwriter John Irving for a discussion of his new book, "In One Person. " The book explores the nature of sexuality through the tragicomic story of its bisexual narrator, Billy. At once political and deeply personal, "In One Person" will serve as a jumping off point for Irving to discuss his craft and the vagaries of love. The Aero Theatre, 1328 Montana Ave., Santa Monica. 8 p.m. Thu. $25. (310) 260-1528; http://www.livetalksla.org.

Join novelist and screenwriter John Irving for a discussion of his new book, "In One Person. " The book explores the nature of sexuality through the tragicomic story of its bisexual narrator, Billy. At once political and deeply personal, "In One Person" will serve as a jumping off point for Irving to discuss his craft and the vagaries of love. The Aero Theatre, 1328 Montana Ave., Santa Monica. 8 p.m. Thu. $25. (310) 260-1528; http://www.livetalksla.org.

In One Person A Novel John Irving Simon & Schuster: 426 pp., $28 Late in John Irving's 13th novel, "In One Person," the narrator, an aging writer named William Abbott, recalls visiting a high school friend dying of AIDS. It's the early 1980s, the beginning of the AIDS crisis, and Irving evokes the deathly terrors of that period, a time when people seemed, literally, to evaporate, to become, in the words of the late David Wojnarowicz, "a dark smudge in the air that dissipates without notice … glass human[s]

In One Person A Novel John Irving Simon & Schuster: 426 pp., $28 Late in John Irving's 13th novel, "In One Person," the narrator, an aging writer named William Abbott, recalls visiting a high school friend dying of AIDS. It's the early 1980s, the beginning of the AIDS crisis, and Irving evokes the deathly terrors of that period, a time when people seemed, literally, to evaporate, to become, in the words of the late David Wojnarowicz, "a dark smudge in the air that dissipates without notice … glass human[s]

"A Widow for One Year" reestablishes John Irving as a premier storyteller, master of the tragicomic and among the first rank of contemporary novelists. This time around, every major character is either a writer, book editor or, at the very least, a prodigious reader. But "A Widow for One Year" is no tedious postmodern tract of writing about writing.

John IRVING has made no secret of his admiration for Charles Dickens. In his 1979 essay "The King of the Novel," reprinted in the collection "Trying to Save Piggy Sneed," Irving articulates standards by which he wishes his own fiction to be judged. He extols Dickens' plot and character development, sentimentality, high and low comedy, unpretentious imagery, social liberalism and emphasis on what Dickens' father-in-law called "the follies and absurdities of human nature."

If this were a story written by John Irving, it would begin with the ending: A movie starring Jeff Bridges and Kim Basinger has been made of the first third of his novel "A Widow for One Year." Its title is "The Door in the Floor." The journey from page to screen would be detailed, of course, with attention paid to the collaboration between a literary lion and a cub with a vision. But Irving usually starts his books by divulging the denouement.

Last Night in Twisted River A Novel John Irving Random House: 558 pp., $28 The opening passages of "Last Night in Twisted River" recycle John Irving's signature themes at such dizzy speed, it's as though the author were ticking boxes. New England? Check: The story begins in New Hampshire, where Irving once situated an eponymous hotel. Subversive Christian symbolism? Double-check: The first character introduced is fallen Angel Pope. Fractured family? But of course: Irving heroes, like those in Dickens and Disney cartoons, are invariably short a parent or two; here, young Danny Baciagalupo's mother absents herself early on, sucked beneath the frosted tide of Twisted River one bleak midwinter's night in 1944.

No, there aren't any bears or wrestlers in John Irving's eighth novel, but even without those signature marks of his early work, his fans will feel at home here. His countryless characters don't, though. This book has orphans and doctors and writers, a whole circus full of animals, irony and sexual ambiguity galore. It has humor. It has violence. It has Irving's usual crowded, Dickensian canvas and, if not World War II itself, the moral equivalent. For Irving is a moralist.

"I'd left the brothel and was on my way to the club," John Irving is saying, "when I said, 'I haven't seen the transsexuals this morning! I've got to go back and see the transsexuals because I want to see what they look like now as opposed to what they look like after they're dressed.' And we turned around to go back."

MARCH 7 Jodi Picoult The bestselling author discusses and signs her new novel, "Lone Wolf. " Told from multiple points of view, it's the story of grown siblings wrestling with the fate of their father, who is gravely ill. Picoult is known for writing popular fiction and for her outspoken support of women's fiction that focuses on families and relationships (just don't call it "chick lit"). Presented by Vroman's Bookstore. Ramo Auditorium at Caltech, 332 S . Michigan Ave. Free.

Last Night in Twisted River A Novel John Irving Random House: 558 pp., $28 The opening passages of "Last Night in Twisted River" recycle John Irving's signature themes at such dizzy speed, it's as though the author were ticking boxes. New England? Check: The story begins in New Hampshire, where Irving once situated an eponymous hotel. Subversive Christian symbolism? Double-check: The first character introduced is fallen Angel Pope. Fractured family? But of course: Irving heroes, like those in Dickens and Disney cartoons, are invariably short a parent or two; here, young Danny Baciagalupo's mother absents herself early on, sucked beneath the frosted tide of Twisted River one bleak midwinter's night in 1944.

Two of America's top authors, John Irving and Stephen King, made a plea to J.K. Rowling Tuesday not to kill the fictional boy wizard Harry Potter in the final book of the series, but Rowling made no promises. "My fingers are crossed for Harry," Irving said at a joint news conference before a charity reading by the three writers at New York City's Radio City Music Hall.

It's a summer when, between the massive new Harry Potter and John Irving's 800-plus-page opus, a trip to the beach with novel in tow might require some heavy lifting. The big books of summer are upon us. Big as in weighty -- we're talking poundage, not the latest pretender to the James Joyce crown. Scale in hand, we dropped into the Borders in Canoga Park to size up the season's fiction heavyweights. A cursory sample turned up these stats: John Irving, "Until I Find You" (Random House). 848 pp.

John IRVING has made no secret of his admiration for Charles Dickens. In his 1979 essay "The King of the Novel," reprinted in the collection "Trying to Save Piggy Sneed," Irving articulates standards by which he wishes his own fiction to be judged. He extols Dickens' plot and character development, sentimentality, high and low comedy, unpretentious imagery, social liberalism and emphasis on what Dickens' father-in-law called "the follies and absurdities of human nature."

Jeff Bridges has long been one of the greats of American film acting. But because his greatness comes under the deep cover of his characters and with an absence of self-aggrandizement, and because he makes relatively few movies these days, the actor's screen appearances can sometimes take on the weight of a major rediscovery.

It's a summer when, between the massive new Harry Potter and John Irving's 800-plus-page opus, a trip to the beach with novel in tow might require some heavy lifting. The big books of summer are upon us. Big as in weighty -- we're talking poundage, not the latest pretender to the James Joyce crown. Scale in hand, we dropped into the Borders in Canoga Park to size up the season's fiction heavyweights. A cursory sample turned up these stats: John Irving, "Until I Find You" (Random House). 848 pp.

Two of America's top authors, John Irving and Stephen King, made a plea to J.K. Rowling Tuesday not to kill the fictional boy wizard Harry Potter in the final book of the series, but Rowling made no promises. "My fingers are crossed for Harry," Irving said at a joint news conference before a charity reading by the three writers at New York City's Radio City Music Hall.

If this were a story written by John Irving, it would begin with the ending: A movie starring Jeff Bridges and Kim Basinger has been made of the first third of his novel "A Widow for One Year." Its title is "The Door in the Floor." The journey from page to screen would be detailed, of course, with attention paid to the collaboration between a literary lion and a cub with a vision. But Irving usually starts his books by divulging the denouement.

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