''WITTY, TENDERHEARTED, FERVENT, AND SCARIFYING.... This novel is an example, now rare, of the courage of imaginative ardor.'' -The New York Times Book Review
''THE CIDER HOUSE RULES is filled with people to love and to feel for... The characters in John Irving's novel break all the rules, and yet they remain noble and freespirited. Victims of tragedy, violence, and full of thought-provoking dilemmas than the lives of many real people.'' - The Houston Post
''AN OLD-FASHIONED, BIG-HEARTED NOVEL... with its epic yearning caught in the 19th century, somewhere between Trollope and Twain... The rich detail makes for vintage Irving.''-The Boston Sunday Globe
''[IRVING] IS AMONG THE VERY BEST STORYTELLERS AT WORK TODAY. At the base of Irving's own moral concerns is a rare and lasting regard for human kindness.'' -Philadelphia Inquirer
''ENTERTAINING AND AFFECTING... Irving is the most relentlessly inventive writer around... A truly astounding amount of artistry and ingenuity.'' -The San Diego Union