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In One Person

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A compelling novel of desire, secrecy, and sexual identity, In One Person is a story of unfulfilled love - tormented, funny, and affecting - and an impassioned embrace of our sexual differences. Billy, the bisexual narrator and main character of the novel, tells the tragicomic story (lasting more than half a century) of his life as a "sexual suspect," a phrase first used by John Irving in 1978 in his landmark novel of "terminal cases", The World According to Garp.

His most political novel since The Cider House Rules and A Prayer for Owen Meany, John Irving's In One Person is a poignant tribute to Billy's friends and lovers, a theatrical cast of characters who defy category and convention. Not least, In One Person is an intimate and unforgettable portrait of the solitariness of a bisexual man who is dedicated to making himself "worthwhile".

©2012 John Irving (P)2012 Random House AudioGo Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Fiction Tear-jerking
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Several characters at the beginning of the book are repurposed from Owen Meany but if you push past that it's a really good, enthralling book

Complex but lovely book

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A prayer for Owen Meany has been in my top 5 for many years so I was instantly drawn to this latest book by one of my favourite authors and I was not disappointed. Once again he explores our ideas of gender, sexuality and family relationships with a cast of characters that are rounded and real. The book covers decades and, as in real life, not all the ends tie up a nicely as you might hope and with other authors would have turned into a Hollywood style ending that never happens in reality. Thoroughly recommend it.

John Irving does it again

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What an incredible story of one boys long unusual brave life. A brilliant story well told and beautifully written.

An epic story of one boys life

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Great narration.

Ah well 😁 not my normal subject matter but I have read all Irving’s books. Thought provoking, sad in parts, humorous in others. Great piece of work!

Memorable

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I struggled with this story to begin with... it seemed to follow the plot of 'a prayer for Owen Meany' - a book I truly love, but after a short while the story deviated from what I thought I would be listening to and started off o a completely different tangent. this is a wonderful story of a boy and his journey discovering his sexuality and who he really is....,

a nice long listen

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