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A masterpiece from one of the great contemporary American writers.
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'The brown bears paced, brushing their thick coats against the bars; their heads swayed low to the ground, in rhythm with some ritual of stealth they were born knowing and pointlessly never forgot'
It is 1967 and two Viennese university students decide to liberate the Vienna Zoo, as was done after World War II. The eccentric duo, Graff and Siggy, embark on an adventure-filled motorbike tour of Austria as they prepare for "the great zoo bust." But their grand scheme will have both comic and gruesome consequences, as they are soon to find out...
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
breathtaking,
By A Customer
This review is from: Setting Free The Bears (Black Swan) (Paperback)
This is an incredible, beautiful book, as so many of Irving's are. What sets this apart from his other work is the raw energy that cuts through it. There is an amazing vitality that I haven't seen in other Irving titles (and I've read them all and loved almost all) and it swept me away. Ok, so it doesn't have the overwhelming impact of Meany, or the breadth of his later work, but it crackles with energy, and his use of language is both electifying and lyrical. It reads like a young and brilliant author enjoying himself. To my mind, it is Water Method Man that really reads like a first novel - like a writer trying to establish himself by being contrivedly deep and introverted.If you like his later work, or indeed any of his work, I'd recommend this wholeheartedly.
3.0 out of 5 stars
Don't let the bears loose!,
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This review is from: Setting Free The Bears (Black Swan) (Paperback)
This book was an early selection by the Round the World Book Group in Edinburgh. It is not a work of literature with beautiful writing to discuss, or with great characterisation. It simply tells a simple story. It is not the best book by John Irving which I have read. I would say - only read this one if you are an Irving fan, or if you are a completist.
4.0 out of 5 stars
A good start,
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This review is from: Setting Free The Bears (Black Swan) (Paperback)
I read this a long time ago, and picked it up off the shelf again in anticipation of a trip to Vienna later this week. I had good memories of the style of this first novel by Irving, and the account of two friends on a road trip through Austria which opens up into memories of the Anschluss and Siggy's family history has held up well. This long central section, which is bookended by the account of the journey away from and back to Vienna, is probably my favourite part; historical events, accidents and incidents are described in terms of their effect on family members and other individuals, many of whom perished in capricious circumstances. This is movingly echoed in the statement which Irving quotes from the Serbian general Drazha Mihailovich at his trial after the war: "I wanted much, I started much, but the gales of the world have carried away both me and my work." It's a poignant image, which was also memorably used in Ian Fleming's Casino Royale.
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