Talk:John Irving

Education

He was educated at Philip Exeter Academy and Upper Canada College.

I'm not sure that the above is true; I've found other information elsewhere, so until someone can confirm where Irving actually studied, I'll move it to the talk page. Here's what I found:

He attended the University of Pittsburg, and the Institute for European Studies in Vienna

I don't know which one is true. MikeCapone 06:28, Apr 26, 2004 (UTC)

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Hey All,

From certain school records, there is evidence that he did attend both Philip Exeter and Upper Canada College. I am, however, not confident that he graduated from either school.

In the least, Upper Canada College appears in many of Irving's novels. An example would be "A Prayer for Owen Meany" in which Irving describes UCC with such accuracy, it might suggest that he was a student at the College.

For the record, John Irving is viewed as a 'friend of the College' by members of the UCC Community. From what I am told, to be considered a "Friend of the College" - would usually mean that either the individual: graduated, is a parent and/or a donor to the College.

• there may be elements of Upper Canada College in A Prayer for Owen Meaney, but other parts of the description definitely reference Exeter.--Samuel J. Howard 00:21, 3 May 2004 (UTC)

• So in reality, there are indications of both UCC and Exeter...Would it be possible that he attended both schools?

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From what I know, he definately attended Exeter when he was a teen. But i don't know about the UCC. I'm also sure that he attended Pittsburgh ("Imaginary Girlfriend").

Birth name

There seems to be disagreement about his early life (prior to his adoption and name change), viz.

 John Irving was actually born with the name John Blunt, and was later
 changed to Irving when his mother remarried.
 
 The Dictionary of Literary Biography offers additional details:
 
 "...John Irving was born in Exeter, New Hampshire, on 2 March 1942.
 His birth name was John Wallace Blunt Jr., in honor of his biological
 father, a World War II flyer who was shot down over Burma. Irving's
 mother, Frances Winslow Irving, legally changed his name to John
 Winslow Irving when he was six years old after he had been adopted by
 her second husband, Colin F. N. Irving..."
 
 Another take on the story is provided by the Wikipedia entry on John Irving:
 ...  
 
 "...John Irving was born John Wallace Blunt, Jr. in Exeter, New
 Hampshire. His mother Helen, a descendant of the Winslows, one of New
 England's oldest and most distinguished families, divorced Irving's
 biological father, an airman serving in the pacific, when Irving was
 two years old. The family maintained a strict silence regarding his
 natural father. When her son was six years old, Helen Winslow married
 Colin F.N. Irving, a Russian History teacher at the prestigious
 Phillips Exeter Academy. John Wallace Blunt, Jr. was adopted by Colin
 Irving and became John Winslow Irving in name..."

This comes from here, and is quoting an earlier version of the WP article. Some clarification would be nice! -- Slowmover 15:02, 20 June 2006 (UTC)

The Imaginary Girlfriend

I found it very strange that the article does not mention the autobiographical The Imaginary Girlfriend , which was published in 2002 (http://www.powells.com/biblio?show=TRADE%20PAPER:USED:0345458265:6.95).

Fls 12:44, 19 September 2006 (UTC)

I have added information about the Imaginary Girlfriend (under other projects) and the children's book A Sound Like Someone Trying Not to Make a Sound (among the novels). I have no information about how these books were received by critics or the audience, though.

Fls 10:44, 29 September 2006 (UTC)

Fourth Hand reviews

While I think the Fourth Hand deserved to be "savaged by critics", there is some evidence that it wasn't. The following site -- http://www.powells.com/biblio/17-0375506276-3 -- includes some excerpts from half a dozen quality reviews (including one from Richard Eder of The New York Times Book Review) who seem to give the book a largely positive review.

Should the claim be substantiated by a reference or two?