John Irving's novels have earned him immense popularity, and two have been made into major motion pictures. Now, after a long hiatus, he has released a novel filled with his trademark talent for spinning marvelously convoluted tales. Ruth Cole is four years old when she hears gasping sounds coming from her mother's room one night. Walking through their large house in the Hamptons, Ruth passes familiar photographs of two brothers who died before she was born. When Ruth opens the bedroom door, she sees a sight that will be etched in her memory more than those photos, her mother with Eddie, the 16-year-old summer helper. A Widow for One Year is the story of Ruth's unconventional, tragicomic life. As Ruth grows up to become an important author, her years include stories of Eddie, the photographs, the grand house, and her mother. Astonishing in its scope, A Widow for One Year resounds with emotional force and eccentric characters.