John Irving returns to the themes that established him as one of our most admired and beloved authors in this absorbing novel of fate and memory.
As we grow older—most of all, in what we remember and what we dream—we live in the past. Sometimes, we live more vividly in the past than in the present.
As an older man, Juan Diego will take a trip to the Philippines, but what travels with him are his dreams and memories; he is most alive in his childhood and early adolescence in Mexico. “An aura of fate had marked him,” John Irving writes, of Juan Diego. “The chain of events, the links in our lives—what leads us where we’re going, the courses we follow to our ends, what we don’t see coming, and what we do—all this can be mysterious, or simply unseen, or even obvious.”
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“John Irving’s new novel is deftly aided in this exploration by talented narrator Armando Duran…Duran affects a friendly, curious tone as the episodic events of Juan’s life enlighten and entertain Irving’s fans as well as new readers…Duran is most potent as the now-aging novelist finds his answers to the question of how an artist develops. Winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award.”
— AudioFile
“This sprawling, imaginative tale about a writer whose life’s journey has all the qualities of a modern Dickens novel is vintage Irving.”
— AARP Magazine“The character is a captivating original; his tale includes humor, pathos, and acute observations. Once again, Irving charms by blending the fantastical with what is deeply, affectingly real.”
— People magazine“A dream-steeped, enchanted, and often amusing tale…. Irving keeps this imaginative story, his aging novelist, his odd cast of characters, and his readers, moving on a trajectory toward collision in this unfailingly masterful narrative.”
— USA Today“Avenue of Mysteries is thoroughly modern, accessibly brainy, hilariously eccentric, and beautifully human.”
— New York Times Book Review“A wild and rollicking ride…. Irving plays delightful havoc with this colorful collection of humanity, beguiling us from start to finish.”
— Seattle Times“An empathically imagined, masterfully told, and utterly transporting tale of transcendent sacrifice and perseverance, unlikely love, and profound mysteries.”
— Booklist (starred review)“Once again, Irving’s lyrical writing grabs readers from the first page.”
— Library JournalJohn Irving has been nominated for a National Book Award three times—winning once, in 1980, for the novel The World According to Garp, which became an international bestseller. In 1992, he was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in Stillwater, Oklahoma. In 2000, he won the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay for The Cider House Rules. In 2001, he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters. His novels have been translated into thirty-five languages.
Armando Durán has appeared in films, television, and regional theaters throughout the West Coast. For the last decade he has been a member of the resident acting company at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. In 2009 he was named by AudioFile as Best Voice in Biography and History for his narration of Che Guevara. A native Californian, he divides his time between Los Angeles and Ashland, Oregon.