The Last Chairlift

Irving returns with his first book since 2015’s Avenue of Mysteries. Adam is ski instructor Rachel’s “one and only” child. She refuses to reveal his father’s name, but Adam is desperate to find out. As Rachel is absent much of the year, Adam is raised by his grandmother and their extended family. Their household is open to a range of gender differences and sexualities. It unfolds that Rachel is gay and lives with her longtime lover when she is not at home, while her husband Elliott, a wrestling coach and English teacher from Adam’s school, comes out as transgender. Adam, who is able to see ghosts, is aided by the ghosts as he eventually discovers his father’s identity. Later, Adam, like Irving, becomes a novelist and screenplay writer and imagines his life as a noir movie. Sections of Irving’s novel are written as screenplays, a device that unfortunately does not translate well to audio. Despite the impressive cast of talented narrators, the novel is so intricate that it becomes hard to follow.