Post #2

"When Ruth Cole entered her parents' bedroom, she saw the naked young man who had mounted her mother from behind; he was holding her mother's breast in his hands and humping her on all fours, like a dog, but it was neither the violence nor the repugnance of the sexual act that caused Ruth to scream. The four-year-old didn't know that she was witnessing a sexual act- nor did the young man and her mother's activity strike Ruth as entirely unpleasant. In fact, Ruth was relieved to see that her mother was not throwing up.

And it wasn't the young man's nakedness that caused Ruth to scream;she had seen her father and her mother naked- nakedness was not hidden among the Coles. It was the young man himself who made Ruth scream, because she was certain he was one of her dead brothers; he looked so much like Thomas, the confident one, that Ruth Cole believed she had seen a ghost" (4, A Widow for One Year).

Despite the slight uneasiness I have typing that passage, it captures an aspect of John Irving's writing. His style is purely blunt, despite the sexual or violent content, and thoroughly describes the characters motives, giving all of his characters depth. I thought of this passage because it was near the beginning and stuck out to me. I've already finished A Widow for One Year so I haven't read anything more. I have other books, but I haven't started them yet. And I haven't given any thought to a thesis.