

This is a novel that follows Adam’s life from 1941 to the present day and celebrates unique families and the love they share. These topics include: New Hampshire, unusual mothers, absent fathers, writers, ghosts, private schools, dysfunctional family relationships, wrestling, sexuality, politics, cultural changes, etc. Basically, this is the story of Adam’s life.Ĭertainly Irving covers all the topics one would expect of him in a novel. All of Adam’s family members are a progressive group of women, which is reflected in the plot. The Brewsters live in Exeter, Vermont, where Ray is a ski instructor, but leaves Adam with her mother and his sisters during the ski season. In 1941, Adam Brewster’s mother, Rachel (Ray), conceived at the National Championships in Aspen, Colorado, where she was competing as a slalom skier. This is best for Irving fans who will already be itching to see a new novel.Īdam Brewster tells his life story in the first person.

John Irving’s The Last Chairlift is the highly recommended, yet lengthy, story of Adam Brewster’s life. In “The Last Chairlift,” readers fall under his spell again. A visionary voice on sexual tolerance, Irving is a bard of alternative families. John Irving has written some of the most acclaimed books of our time, including The World According to Garp and The Cider House Rules. At the Hotel Jerome, where he was conceived, Adam will meet some spirits in The Last Chairlift, they are neither the first nor the last ghosts he sees. Years later, Adam goes to Aspen in search of answers. His son Adam grows up in a family that ignores convention and avoids questions about the eventful past.

Back in New England, Little Ray becomes a ski instructor.

Little Ray, as she is known, doesn’t even come close to the podium, but she manages to get pregnant. Rachel Brewster is a slalom skier at the 1941 Downhill and Slalom National Championships in Aspen, Colorado.
