The Last Chairlift by John Irving

I listened to the audio of this book for 38 hours, driving through the western US as well as skiing. I am an Irving fan, a big skier with ties to Exeter NH, and love Moby Dick. All those traits probably contributed to my dedication to this book, to keep listening even when I felt an editor should have taken a red pen to some of it. This is a big commitment of a book with characters that live, die, and resurrect. It is the quintessential story of a young man searching for a father while growing up with arguably four mothers. It is the most basic plot where a human tries to make sense of what it means to be human with a finale, resonating quote, “You are never over your childhood, not until you are under the train.”

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