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The Fourth Hand (Magill’s Literary Annual 1991-2005)

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Although John Irving’s The Fourth Hand resembles his earlier novels in its treatment of the themes of family, marriage, love, sex, loss, and redemption, it differs from them in its relative brevity (about half the length of Irving’s other books) and in its style. Both differences may be attributed to Irving’s having written the Oscar-winning screenplay of his novel The Cider House Rules (1985); The Fourth Hand is dedicated to the producer and director of the highly acclaimed film. He also signed on with Miramax to write the screenplay for The Fourth...

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