The scholarly response to John Irving's novels has impinged upon a wide range of contemporary subjects of interest, from postmodernism and ethics to gender studies, the family, and historical criticism. This volume draws on a series of contemporaneous reviews and scholarly essays to provide the reader with an in-depth look at Irving's work. This book devotes particular attention to the critical reception of Irving's ten novels from "Setting Free the BearS" through" The Fourth Hand." The work is divided into eleven sections that address each of Irving's novels and the publication of his memoirs. Each section is accompanied by book reviews that reveal the nature of the novels' critical reception, as well as by scholarly essays that provide readers with an exemplary interpretation of each of Irving's works. Fully indexed, "The Critical Response to John Irving" includes an expansive introduction, a biographical chronology, and a bibliography for further reading.