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Trying to Save Piggy Sneed
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 7 hrs and 59 mins
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Trying to Save Piggy Sneed
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Summary
Trying to Save Piggy Sneed contains a dozen short works by John Irving, beginning with three memoirs, including an account of Mr. Irving’s dinner with President Ronald Reagan at the White House. The longest of the memoirs, The Imaginary Girlfriend,” is the core of this collection.
The middle section of the book is fiction. Since the publication of his first novel, Setting Free the Bears, in 1968, John Irving has written 12 more novels but only half a dozen stories that he considers finished”: they are all published here, including Interiors,” which won the O. Henry Award. In the third and final section are three essays of appreciation: one on Gnter Grass, two on Charles Dickens.
To each of the 12 pieces, Mr. Irving has contributed his Author’s Notes. These notes provide some perspective on the circumstances surrounding the writing of each piece - for example, an election-year diary of the Bush-Clinton campaigns accompanies Mr. Irving’s memoir of his dinner with President Reagan; and the notes to one of his short stories explain that the story was presented and sold to Playboy as the work of a woman.
Trying to Save Piggy Sneed is both as moving and as mischievous as readers would expect from the author of The World According to Garp, The Cider House Rules, A Prayer of Owen Meany, A Widow for One Year, and In One Person. And Mr. Irving’s concise autobiography, The Imaginary Girlfriend,” is both a work of the utmost literary accomplishment and a paradigm for living.
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What listeners say about Trying to Save Piggy Sneed
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Rainbow Cool Stuff
- 02-04-23
Disappointing
The 3* are because John Irving is clearly a good writer and the narration is also good. The dropped 2* are because this mishmashed collection of short writing (mix of fiction and non fiction) was somewhat flat by comparison to the novels. Even John Irving says in his notes after each piece that he cringes at a couple of them. In which case why include them? As a writer, write something that you are proud to publish - rather than drag up old stories but a younger “amateurish” (his words) self. It was free though so it does seem churlish to complain
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- cath
- 12-03-23
Great if you like short stories
Bite size chunks of John Irving at his best. Some as autobiographical some not.
A number of the stories also include ‘authors notes’ which are enlightening. I’m a bit biased when it comes to JI but I must say I enjoyed this book. I’m not normally a short story lover, but I enjoyed the eclectic mix of true story’s, fiction and essays on Dickens and Gunther Grass. These last two weren’t something I thought I’d enjoy but I found them engaging and entertaining.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Sam
- 16-09-21
John Irving is always a joy to read / listen to
Loved this series of essays / chapters about various writings, writers, family members, experiences. Irving is always wonderfully honest, has such a fantastic eye, warmth and wit and I love Joe Barrett's reading which is so intertwined with Irving now that I can't imagine his voice separated out from the work.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- T
- 01-09-15
Much to enjoy - but where are his novels?
My indifferent 3 star rating is because these shorts cannot compete with the brilliance of his wonderful 5 star novels. John Irving is one of the USA's greatest living novelists, has rarely written short stories, and this is the only collection published. So I listened partly through curiosity, partly out of frustration that audible UK doesn't make many of his novels available. Publishing wrangles maybe?
First published in 1996, the collection is quite a mixed bag and has aged well. The same sly wit that illuminates his novels is well in evidence both in the stories and memoirs. Each piece is followed by some interesting "author's notes" which give extra context. Narration is good. Overall, I think existing Irving fans will find much to enjoy, but anyone else should probably start with one of his novels.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Philip
- 04-03-20
Vintage Irving
Loved this series of memoir essays from John Irving. His final essay charting his earlier life as a competitive wrestler (My Imaginary Girlfriend) is compulsive listening. Joe Barrett's reading style is perfect for the world according to Irving.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- J. Rozen
- 26-02-24
Dogs and men
Interesting stories and anecdotes from John Irving. Makes me want to meet him to hear more directly of his experiences in life.
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