Kindle Price: $12.99

Save $10.81 (45%)

Promotions apply when you purchase

These promotions will be applied to this item:

Some promotions may be combined; others are not eligible to be combined with other offers. For details, please see the Terms & Conditions associated with these promotions.

Audiobook Price: $37.26

Save: $24.27 (65%)

Read with our free app
You've subscribed to ! We will preorder your items within 24 hours of when they become available. When new books are released, we'll charge your default payment method for the lowest price available during the pre-order period.
Update your device or payment method, cancel individual pre-orders or your subscription at
Your Memberships & Subscriptions

Buy for others

Give as a gift or purchase for a team or group.
Learn more

Buying and sending eBooks to others

  1. Select quantity
  2. Buy and send eBooks
  3. Recipients can read on any device

These ebooks can only be redeemed by recipients in the US. Redemption links and eBooks cannot be resold.
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Follow the author

John Irving
Follow
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

The Cider House Rules Kindle Edition

by John Irving (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
See all formats and editions

An American classic first published in 1985 by William Morrow and adapted into an Academy Award-winning film, The Cider House Rules is among John Irving's most beloved novels. Set in rural Maine in the first half of the twentieth century, it tells the story of Dr. Wilbur Larch—saint and obstetrician, founder and director of the orphanage in the town of St. Cloud's, ether addict and abortionist. It is also the story of Dr. Larch's favorite orphan, Homer Wells, who is never adopted.

“A novel as good as one could hope to find from any author, anywhere, anytime. Engrossing, moving, thoroughly satisfying.” —Joseph Heller, author of Catch-22

Previous page
  1. Print length
    612 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publisher
    Mariner Books Classics
  5. Publication date
    July 31, 2012
  6. File size
    4878 KB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  10. See all details
Next page
Popular Highlights in this book
What are popular highlights?
Previous page
  1. “You can’t protect people, kiddo,” Wally said. “All you can do is love them.”
    Highlighted by 509 Kindle readers
  2. If pride was a sin, thought Dr. Larch, the greatest sin was moral pride.
    Highlighted by 439 Kindle readers
  3. I have stood aside to see the phantoms of those days go by me. They are gone, and I resume the journey of my story.
    Highlighted by 360 Kindle readers
Next page

Editorial Reviews

Review

“The Cider House Rules is filled with people to love and to feel for. . . . The characters in John Irving’s novel break all the rules, and yet they remain noble and free-spirited.”—The Houston Post

“ [Irving] is among the very best storytellers at work today. At the base of Irving’s own moral concerns is a rare and lasting regard for human kindness.”—The Philadelphia Inquirer

“ Superb in scope and originality, a novel as good as one could hope to find from any author, anywhere, anytime. Engrossing, moving, thoroughly satisfying.”—Joseph Heller

“ An old-fashioned, big-hearted novel . . . with its epic yearning caught in the nineteenth century, somewhere between Trollope and Twain.”—Boston Sunday Globe

From the Publisher

How can anyone not love a book that simultaneously tells a deeply moving and compelling story AND explore the abortion debate with humor and evenhandedness? John Irving is my favorite author and while A PRAYER FOR OWEN MEANY is my favorite Irving title, THE CIDER HOUSE RULES is right up there. I love how deeply Irving knows these characters and how gradually he reveals their quirks and idiosyncracies. He knows and loves them so much, the reader can't help but love the ether-imbibing Dr. Larch and his surrogate son, the orphan Homer Wells. Irving is a consummate storyteller.

M. Coolman
Ballantine Publicity

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B008K556BK
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Mariner Books Classics; 1st edition (July 31, 2012)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ July 31, 2012
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 4878 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 612 pages
  • Customer Reviews:

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
John Irving

John Irving

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

John Irving published his first novel, Setting Free the Bears, in 1968. He has been nominated for a National Book Award three times-winning once, in 1980, for the novel The World According to Garp. He also received an O. Henry Award, in 1981, for the short story "Interior Space." In 1992, Mr. Irving was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in Stillwater, Oklahoma. In 2000, he won the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay for The Cider House Rules-a film with seven Academy Award nominations. In 2001, he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

For more information about the author, please visit www.john-irving.com

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
3,533 global ratings
Book Arrived In Perfect Condition
5 Stars
Book Arrived In Perfect Condition
I bought this paperback because it was inexpensive. The blurb said it was in such good condition it must've been a library copy. I agree. I doubt anyone ever read this copy before. I was super satisfied with this seller.
Hide
Thank you for your feedback
Sorry, there was an error
Sorry we couldn't load the review

Top reviews from the United States

Lorrie S.
5.0 out of 5 stars A FULL AND BEAUTIFUL STORY WRITTEN WITH GREAT CARE. --- REMOVES A SPOILER. VERY FEW. 5 STARS ALL THE WAY!
Reviewed in the United States on February 16, 2015
Verified Purchase
An amazing account of an orphanage where the children are truly loved and adopted away with trepidation from the small staff. Although quite different than the movie, which is also terrific, this book has a lot of depth in its characters and nothing is ridiculous.

The main character is a lovable baby whom the doctor takes to loving like a son. The child, Homer, has a rich thirst for knowledge as well as a desire to see the world outside the confines of the orphanage, set in Maine.

When an opportunity arises to accompany a couple his age to join them back to the --------business, the z Doctor believes it quite beneath him, despite the happiness he finds.

Homer's happiness the reader will riot for, because it's written so well, it's impossible not to. His experiences with love, fear, betrayal and other experiences, as well as his deep feelings about------------ will give the reader something unexpected to ponder in their own belief systems.

Irving's gift of giving almost every character a unique personality. Some pleasant, some despicable, but all believable...like it or not.

Insofar as the orphanage itself, it's written so you'll want to rush there and spend time with all the kids or take a couple home.

All in all, if you enjoy the story as much as I did, you'll wish Mr. Irving had written more. Enjoy the book, and even though different, the movie is one of my favorites.

I sincerely hope you got something from this review. I'm almost too careful not to include spoilers, I'll wind up not giving enough. Enjoy and Good bless.
37 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Pablogirard
5.0 out of 5 stars Prescient, Thought-Provoking, Powerful
Reviewed in the United States on July 12, 2023
Verified Purchase
John Irving will not disappoint if you are looking for something to challenge your thinking, entertain you with its artful presentation and immerse you in its powerful emotion.
One person found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Joe Nuccio
4.0 out of 5 stars Review of Cider House Rules
Reviewed in the United States on May 20, 2022
Verified Purchase
It was sometimes hard to read as it pertains to the subject matter, yet it was very well written and a good story. I loved where the story took us and especially the ending. Joe N
One person found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Review
Reviewed in the United States on April 24, 2024
Verified Purchase
I enjoyed the book after the first 100 pages.
Helpful
 Report
Miranda Nahmias
5.0 out of 5 stars Everybody Should Read This Book!!!
Reviewed in the United States on April 16, 2013
Verified Purchase
While the name of this book sounded vaguely familiar when I first saw it on Goodreads, I had no idea what this novel was about and had virtually never heard of it before. Now that I've read the book, I'm seriously confused as to why (a) I've never heard anybody mention it before, and (b) how it's possible that I've never read it before.

I absolutely LOVED this book. Even though it was fairly long, I had a very hard time putting it down. And there were only one or two parts that I thought may have been lagging a bit. I was actually quite surprised by how fast-paced it was, considering that it is 600 pages. But I became enthralled with the world of Wilbur Larch and Homer Wells. Their relationship with each other, as well as their own separate worlds, were so captivating.

I loved that a huge part of this novel is its focus on abortion, especially because I had previously never read any novels on this topic before. Besides just reading about the different characters' opinions on the subject, I learned so much about abortion culture in the US back in the early 20th century — which, honestly, I didn't even know existed.

On top of being a fast-paced read on an intriguing topic, it was also extremely well written. The characterization was my favorite part of the novel. I felt like I truly got to know each and every one of the characters, and I became very attached to them. Irving also made some narrative style choices that I thought were really interesting. At one point (obviously I won't say when), the novel skips forward fifteen years, at a moment when you really, really want to keep reading and find out what's going to happen. I was so surprised by this choice, but I think that it added a lot of depth to the novel. We are able to see how the characters were affected by their decisions and actions in the past, even though we didn't get to experience those things with them at the time. There are a few other choices Irving made that surprised me as well — I definitely appreciated how different and unexpected it was at times.

After reading "Cider House Rules," I can't wait to read more from Irving. This novel is now one of my very favorite modern classics. It's a book that everybody should read. As somebody who is pro-choice, I would be interested in seeing how a pro-life reader would react to the story. I don't doubt that many pro-life readers would probably skip over this book, due to its content, but they (and everybody else) should know that there's a lot more to this novel than just its focus on abortion and medicine.
25 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Lover of Peace
5.0 out of 5 stars Subtly written but truly powerful
Reviewed in the United States on March 21, 2013
Verified Purchase
"Cider House Rules" has some of the best character development I've ever come across in a novel; even the more sinister ones are fully developed. And one of the things I love most about this book is that not one person in it is one-dimensional; the heroes are flawed and the villains have virtues (only two minor ones go unredeemed). I ended up loving and grieving for nearly every single one and doubt I'll ever forget any of them. It's so rare for an author to humanize characters to this extent!

This is a slow-moving, almost languid book. Yet I didn't feel that it was dragging in the least. And it has probably the most skilled crossing and enmeshing of time lines I can ever recall. Note: The first few pages seemed utterly flat. I kept thinking "I can't believe anyone wanted to make a movie of this book". But someone did and it was nominated for Oscars, so I stayed with it and it quickly ignited into the smoldering burn which continues all the way to the last chapter, where it catches fire and flames quickly to conclusion. (Now I have to decide whether to see the movie, which I never have done.)
6 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report

Top reviews from other countries

Translate all reviews to English
Bob
5.0 out of 5 stars And the debate rages on . . .
Reviewed in Canada on September 6, 2022
Verified Purchase
If you have seen the movie, be prepared to discover a much more involved, enticing, and interesting tale in the novel’s 600 pages. John Irving notes in his brief “Afterword” at the end of the book that the plot of book is far more complicated than the compressed version he adapted as a screenplay, and that compression resulted in some rather significant alterations and omissions. Among the alterations are the relationships between Homer and Wally, between Homer and Candy, and the matter of time passage. Omitted were an Angel and the book-length character of Melony (who would have been a Melody but for an errant key stroke), and their roles in the novel are of a nature that changes the complexion of the story in a substantial way.
Another thing worth noting is that that this story has two main characters; the ether-addicted Dr. Wilbur Larch and orphan cum-doctor Homer Wells. While this may possibly create focus issues for the reader, it is unlikely to inhibit enjoyment of this marvelous literary work that is marked with humanity, kindness, and wisdom. Iriving is a powerful storyteller.

Now, if you have not seen the movie but are contemplating purchasing this book, be aware that it deals frequently with abortion and in most of those from a decidedly pro-choice perspective. John Irving, writing “Rules” in the mid-80’s (about a much earlier period), was very cognizant of the legalization debate brewing, escalating, in the U-S and elsewhere, and it is likely (I strongly believe) that this book served as an eye-opener for many. But, as my headline to this review emphasizes the debate has again erupted, and I am personally saddened, nay angered, that (in the U-S) women are once more being denied dignity and the fundamental right of choice.
3 people found this helpful
 Report
Vixsteel
5.0 out of 5 stars Lovely book
Reviewed in Sweden on February 24, 2023
Verified Purchase
Probably one of my favorite books of all time. I read this 3 months ago and I still think about it. Would recommend!
Report
Roberta
5.0 out of 5 stars una grande libro
Reviewed in Italy on June 15, 2022
Verified Purchase
Sincero, schietto, profondo, con descrizioni fulminanti, una prosa moderna e personaggi non tagliati con l'accetta ma dalla psicologia estremamente complessa. Ci si sente vicini a tutti, alle ragioni dell'uno e dell'altro, anche se opposte, iscritte in valori etici agli antipodi. L'ho amato moltissimo.
Report
gilbert63
5.0 out of 5 stars Lu en anglais
Reviewed in France on March 4, 2020
Verified Purchase
Excellent. Un peu déconcertant. Différent. Le sujet et son traitement sont inédits.
Report
Alejandro Uribe
5.0 out of 5 stars :)
Reviewed in Spain on January 15, 2019
Verified Purchase
Bueno
Report

Report an issue


Does this item contain inappropriate content?
Report
Do you believe that this item violates a copyright?
Report
Does this item contain quality or formatting issues?
Report