The Last Chairlift by John Irving
The Last Chairlift isn’t a perfect novel. In fact, it is an awful mess at times. But it speaks to me, and it moves me.
Don’t read the book blurb. It doesn’t accurately describe The Last Chairlift.
So what is The Last Chairlift about?
Well….if it was easy to explain, the book blurb would be more accurate, but I’ll do my best.
On the surface, The Last Chairlift is about Adam’s life. He is born to an unwed single mother, Little Ray. He grows up with an eclectic family including a grandmother, aunts, uncles, and cousins. We follow Adam through his life including how he navigates the sexual politics of those he loves and also his journey to discover the identity of his father.
At first glance, The Last Chairlift is horrible. It is character driven, and it doesn’t have a strong plot. It should have been broken up into various books as it is almost 1,000 pages. Some of the topics aren’t that interesting (like wrestling…snooze fest). About 25% of the book is a screenplay which just doesn’t work (if you are really interested in a mixed media book that works check out Maddie Mortimer’s Maps of Our Spectacular Bodies).
There are also many, many similarities with A Prayer for Owen Meany. Adam even lives on Front Street with his grandmother, the exact same street as in A Prayer for Owen Meany. John Irving is a talented enough writer to create a different setting for The Last Chairlift.
So all of that sounds awful right? Why in the world did you rate this book 5 stars? Have you lost your mind?
Probably. But that’s beside the point.
“The Last Chairlift is an anthem for our times.”
-Lisa of Troy
The Last Chairlift felt like home: the little snowshoer, the little English teacher, Little Ray, the ski patroller, Em, Matthew, Adam, Nora. These characters will stay with me for a long time.
The Last Chairlift feels like what Lessons by Ian McEwan should have been. Irving was able to elevate Adam’s problems from just Adam’s life to societal problems as a whole. The Last Chairlift is much more than just the troubles of one man.
But let’s talk about the symbolism, the deeper meanings of the book.
In The Last Chairlift, Adam talks about editing his book, that when you put forth your work, you can’t be afraid of ruffling a few feathers.
He also talks about his small hands. It reminds me of the song by Avicii, Wake Me Up.
“I tried carrying the weight of the world
But I only have two hands.”
Adam is one person. He wants to make changes in the world, but how much can one person do?
In the book, there are two characters who don’t speak: the grandfather and Em, the pantomimist. This really moved me. Aren’t there a whole bunch of people just talking, talking away? Isn’t that essentially Twitter? A whole bunch of people just talking and no one listening. In fact, these days corporations direct us to chat bots and to leave voicemails that will never be returned. Why try to engage when no one is listening? People just don’t try anymore. They retreat.
Em is incredibly interesting, and she has Nora who “interprets” her pantomime. However, Nora is not always faithful in representing Em’s thoughts. How many voiceless people groups are out there? Many groups have an advocate, but that message being conveyed by the advocate might become garbled or not truly represent the underlying voiceless or powerless group.
There is an event that happens, and Adam shows great bravery. However, the press doesn’t consider Adam a hero. For all of the people advocating for others without a voice or power, should they just give up? Even if they are successful, they usually don’t get any credit, and they don’t even know if what they are doing is working.
One of the characters in The Last Chairlift is Jasmine. She is one of Adam’s girlfriends. She is always calling her ex-boyfriends/husbands on the phone and chewing them out. Why was she in the book? Have you ever been caught up on something? You just can’t move past it. Is that our country? Is that our society? Are we caught up on the past so that we can’t move forward?
In The Last Chairlift, there is also a lot of piggybacking between two characters. At one crucial moment, one character carries the other. Is that what we, as a society, need to do? Do we need to carry each other?
*Thanks, NetGalley, for a free copy of this book exchange for my fair and honest opinion.