• The Fourth Hand

  • A Novel
  • By: John Irving
  • Narrated by: Jason Culp
  • Length: 11 hrs and 17 mins
  • 3.7 out of 5 stars (429 ratings)

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The Fourth Hand  By  cover art

The Fourth Hand

By: John Irving
Narrated by: Jason Culp
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Publisher's summary

#1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER • A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK

While reporting a story from India, New York journalist Patrick Wallingford inadvertently becomes his own headline when his left hand is eaten by a lion. In Boston, a renowned surgeon eagerly awaits the opportunity to perform the nation’s first hand transplant. But what if the donor’s widow demands visitation rights with the hand? In answering this unexpected question, John Irving has written a novel that is by turns brilliantly comic and emotionally moving, offering a penetrating look at the power of second chances and the will to change.

Praise for The Fourth Hand

“A rich and deeply moving tale . . . Vintage Irving: a story of two very disparate people, and the strange and unexpected ways we grow . . . Irving’s novels are perceptive and precise reflections of the world around us.”The Washington Post Book World

“A blend of sexual farce, journalistic satire, and tender love story . . . From what at first seems bizarre, Irving builds the best kind of love story: an improbable one. Wallingford gets more than a transplanted hand; he begins to find his soul.”USA Today

“A riveting entertainment and certainly one of the funniest novels of the year. The authoritative control of Irving’s storytelling has never been more impressive. . . . The delighted reader is powerless to look away.”Chicago Sun-Times

“[A] thoroughly satisfying literary experience . . . Irving’s most compassionate and redemptive [novel] to date . . . [His] mastery of characterization is unequaled in American novelists of the day.”St. Louis Post-Dispatch

“A beautiful story about the redemptive power of love.”The Denver Post

©2001 by Garp Enterprises (P)2001 Random House, Inc.

What listeners say about The Fourth Hand

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 3.5 out of 5 stars
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    109
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  • 4 out of 5 stars
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Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

WELL..... I LOVED IT

It seems that one either loves this book or hates it. For those who say they hated it and that "nothing ever happens", I suggest a lack of a sense of humor.
I just adored this story, the characters were quirky funny and I looked forward to each new chapter. So if you don't need to have your read be an exciting page turner at each moment, and if you possess a sense of humor, you'll just love this listen.

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10 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Strange but Fascinating

This is the first Irving book I've "read," and I enjoyed it a lot. The narrator, Jason Culp, is what sold me on listening in the first place, because I had greatly enjoyed his excellent narration of "Last Man Standing." I found "Fourth Hand" fascinating because, in a manner similar to "Even Cowgirls Get the Blues," it swirls in a vortex of sexuality without being dominated by it. I've actually known a man like the main character, so as improbable as he seems, he does exist out there. As a character, he may not have been as compelling without the gruesome mayhem aspect, but strangely, that aspect lends him credibility. I admit I fell into the trap of expecting a more profound outcome, thus almost gave it four stars instead of five. But then I realized it's character driven, rather than plot driven. As such, the characters find themselves in multiple laugh-out-loud situations. Bottom line: It's a fascinating ADULT listen, and it may very well be that my slight disappointment at the end had more to do with the fact that the story was over than the fact that it didnt end differently.

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10 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

American Male Humor

This is my favorite audio book and I have collected hundreds. This book has everything an American Male can ask for: the NFL, sex, John Irving's dry humor, etc. I strongly recommend it (for guys).

On the flipside, I don't believe females would find this book amusing.

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars

Bit of a bizarre story line

For some reason I haven't quite figured out, I couldn't stop listening. The characters are colorful, and I agree with the another reviewer regarding laughing out loud a few times, and the reader was good. But, a fascinating story line ... a guy with questionable morals losing his hand and falling in love with the widow of a donor hand ... had a lot more promise than the book ultimately delivers. There was probably and hour or more devoted to silly stuff not even relative to the meat of the story ... like a dog who liked to eat poop, and an owner who liked to sling dog poop with a lacrosse stick ... crazy, but, like I said, I couldn't stop listening.

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Give John Irving a hand

Vintage John Irving. This book is the story of TV journalist Patrick Wallingford and puts on display the colorful and sympathetic characters, dazzling imagination and vibrant storylines that have become hallmarks of Irving's classic writing style. And the tale is read by a strong and expressive voice that lights the prose in neon lettering.

On the downside, The Fourth Hand does run out of gas about three-quarters through the book (a common problem with many novels), but the ride has already been so good to that point that you will easily forgive Irving for not ending on a stronger note.

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

a good irving story

Is it as good as A Prayer for Owen Meany or A Widow for One Year? No, I don't think so. But it is good. It's worth reading and it's classic Irving. If you like classic John Irving, you'll enjoy the Fourth Hand.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars

Like a train wreck

I couldn't help looking, even though it was horrible. The only character that was the least bit likeable was the lion. At first I thought it was just the narrator that made all the women sound whiny and annoying, but then I realized all the women really WERE whiny and annoying. But the star didn't treat them so well either. Although the ending was weird, I was glad it was over.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

Fourh rate

The reader was good. So much for nice things to say. This book is so bad it's beyond being reviewed. You have the feeling throughout that the main character is such an egomaniac that he doesn't even realize what a bore he is. Truly, except for the references to the lion attack, NOTHING happens.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

good listen

John Irving's books work particularly well as audiobooks because he's such a lovely storyteller. You won't necessarily find yourself glued to your MP3 player dying to see what happens next, but with every chapter, Irving invites you in once again with his by now typical characters and plots, so he's easy to pick up and put down and pick up again. If you like Irving, you'll like this a lot, though it's not his best book ever.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

Boooooooring!

I couldnt stop listening because I kept expecting something to happen, but it never did. I found it extremely boring.

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3 people found this helpful