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Title:
The Cider House Rules
Genre:
Fiction
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Subgenre:
Bildungsroman; Coming-of-age literary novel set in a Maine orphanage and apple orchard, exploring abortion, adoption, and moral choice in mid-20th-century America
Binding:
Hardcover
Edition:
1st
Printing:
1st
Narrative:
Third Person
Type of Book:
Fiction
Number of Pages:
560
Number of Chapters:
11
Date Added:
2018-06-26 18:36:59
Synopsis:
The Cider House Rules is a sweeping coming-of-age novel set primarily in rural Maine before, during, and after World War II. At the remote St. Cloud’s orphanage, the ether-addicted but fiercely compassionate obstetrician Dr. Wilbur Larch delivers babies for women in need and, when asked, performs illegal abortions—services he defends as a grim moral necessity in a world that gives many women no real choice. Among the orphans is Homer Wells, repeatedly returned by adoptive families and gradually taken under Dr. Larch’s wing as his protégé.
Raised inside the routine of childbirth and termination, Homer learns obstetrics and gynecology from Larch and becomes an extraordinarily skilled, if unlicensed, doctor. Yet Homer remains morally opposed to abortion itself, even as he witnesses what happens to desperate women who have no safe options. Larch, who hopes Homer will someday succeed him and keep the orphanage and its secret services alive, shapes the young man’s education and identity while insisting that being ”of use” in the world may demand choices that are legally or morally ambiguous.
Homer’s life changes when a young couple, Wally Worthington and Candy Kendall, arrive at St. Cloud’s for an abortion. Through them Homer discovers the wider world beyond the orphanage and ultimately leaves to work at the Worthington family’s apple orchard and cider house. Immersed in the seasonal community of migrant workers and the rigid yet often-ignored ”cider house rules” tacked to their bunkhouse wall, Homer falls in love, becomes entangled in Wally and Candy’s complicated relationship, and confronts issues of class, race, sexuality, and responsibility.
Over the years, Homer’s refusal to perform abortions and his attempt to build a different life are tested by war, by secrets within the Worthington family, and by tragedies that tie him back to St. Cloud’s. When a devastating discovery forces him to reassess his beliefs, Homer must decide whether he will return to the orphanage, whether he can assume Dr. Larch’s role, and what it truly means to protect the vulnerable. Through its intertwined stories of orphans, nurses, farm workers, and New England families, the novel examines love in its many forms—familial, romantic, and ethical—and explores how ordinary people navigate the fraught terrain between personal conscience, social law, and the need to be of use.
Raised inside the routine of childbirth and termination, Homer learns obstetrics and gynecology from Larch and becomes an extraordinarily skilled, if unlicensed, doctor. Yet Homer remains morally opposed to abortion itself, even as he witnesses what happens to desperate women who have no safe options. Larch, who hopes Homer will someday succeed him and keep the orphanage and its secret services alive, shapes the young man’s education and identity while insisting that being ”of use” in the world may demand choices that are legally or morally ambiguous.
Homer’s life changes when a young couple, Wally Worthington and Candy Kendall, arrive at St. Cloud’s for an abortion. Through them Homer discovers the wider world beyond the orphanage and ultimately leaves to work at the Worthington family’s apple orchard and cider house. Immersed in the seasonal community of migrant workers and the rigid yet often-ignored ”cider house rules” tacked to their bunkhouse wall, Homer falls in love, becomes entangled in Wally and Candy’s complicated relationship, and confronts issues of class, race, sexuality, and responsibility.
Over the years, Homer’s refusal to perform abortions and his attempt to build a different life are tested by war, by secrets within the Worthington family, and by tragedies that tie him back to St. Cloud’s. When a devastating discovery forces him to reassess his beliefs, Homer must decide whether he will return to the orphanage, whether he can assume Dr. Larch’s role, and what it truly means to protect the vulnerable. Through its intertwined stories of orphans, nurses, farm workers, and New England families, the novel examines love in its many forms—familial, romantic, and ethical—and explores how ordinary people navigate the fraught terrain between personal conscience, social law, and the need to be of use.
Author:
John Irving
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Publisher:
William Morrow
Barcode:
9780688030360
Country:
United States
Place of Printing:
United States
Publication Date:
1985-06-01
Publication Year:
1985
Copyright Year:
1985
OCLC:
1003368413
Number of Copies:
1
Language:
English
Publisher Location:
New York
Has Dustcover:
Yes
Automatic Estimated Value:
~$8.99
Automatic Estimated Date:
2026-03-03
Date Added:
2018-06-26 18:36:59
