Honestly, if you pick up a copy of The Cider House Rules John Irving wrote back in the mid-80s, you might expect a dusty period piece. You’d be wrong. It’s actually a wrecking ball of a book. It’s messy, sprawling, and deals with things that feel ripped right out of today’s headlines—even though most of it happens in a bleak Maine orphanage during the first half of the 20th century.
It’s about rules. Not just the ones written on a piece of paper in an apple orchard that nobody bothers to read. It’s about the rules we invent to keep ourselves from losing our minds.
The Heart of St. Cloud's
The story starts in St. Cloud's, a town so "charmless" it makes you want to put on a sweater just reading about it. Here, we meet Dr. Wilbur Larch. He’s a saintly ether addict. Yeah, you heard that right. He runs an orphanage and performs illegal abortions because, in his words, women are "trapped." He wants to give them a choice: an orphan or an abortion.
Then there’s Homer Wells.
Homer is the orphan who wouldn't leave. He gets sent back from foster homes like a defective piece of mail until he basically becomes Larch’s apprentice. He’s a natural at medicine, but he has one big rule for himself: he won't perform abortions. He thinks they're wrong. He doesn't judge Larch, but he just won't do it.
Why the Apple Orchard Matters
Eventually, Homer leaves the "clouds" for the coast. He meets Wally and Candy, a golden couple who look like they belong in a movie. He moves to Ocean View Orchards. It’s idyllic. It’s sunny. It’s full of cider.
But here’s where John Irving gets you. He doesn't let things stay pretty.
The "Cider House Rules" themselves are a list of instructions posted in the bunkhouse for the migrant workers. They say things like "Don't smoke in bed" and "Don't crawl on the roof." The catch? Most of the workers can't read them. And even if they could, they don't care. They have their own rules.
It’s a massive metaphor for how society tries to govern people from the outside without understanding what’s actually happening on the ground. You’ve got these "official" laws, and then you’ve got the reality of human survival.
The Love Triangle and the War
Wally goes off to World War II and gets shot down. Everyone thinks he’s dead. Homer and Candy fall in love, and things get... complicated. They have a kid named Angel. They lie to everyone. They basically live a double life for fifteen years.
It’s not some cheap soap opera plot, though. It’s a slow-burn study of what happens when good people are forced to lie because the "official" rules don't leave room for the truth.
The Turning Point: Mr. Rose and Rose Rose
If you’ve only seen the movie, you’re missing the darkest, most pivotal part of the book. The subplot involving Mr. Rose, the leader of the migrant workers, and his daughter Rose Rose.
It’s a story of incest and violence.
When Rose Rose gets pregnant by her own father, Homer realizes his abstract "rule" against abortion doesn't work in the real world. He sees that by refusing to help, he’s leaving her to suffer something much worse.
He performs the abortion.
This is the moment Homer grows up. He realizes that "being of use"—a phrase Dr. Larch hammers into him—sometimes means breaking your own moral code to help someone who has no other options.
What the Book Gets Right (and Wrong)
John Irving is basically a modern-day Charles Dickens. He loves orphans, weird coincidences, and characters with specific, strange habits.
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The Pros:
- Emotional Depth: You will cry. You will also probably laugh at the weirdness of Dr. Larch’s letters.
- Complexity: It doesn't give you easy answers about abortion or "family values."
- Setting: You can practically smell the fermenting apples and the hospital ether.
The Cons:
- Pacing: It’s a long book. Some of the background stories for minor characters feel like they go on forever.
- The "Irving" Tropes: If you’ve read The World According to Garp, some of the beats will feel familiar. He has a "type" when it comes to storytelling.
How to Approach the Story Today
If you’re looking for a way to actually engage with the themes of The Cider House Rules John Irving presented, start by looking at the history of reproductive rights in Maine and the U.S. Irving didn't just make this stuff up; he researched the "back-alley" era extensively.
Actionable Steps for Readers:
- Read the book first: The movie is great (Michael Caine won an Oscar for a reason), but it cuts out Melony, a character who is essentially the "dark mirror" to Homer. She’s vital to the story's soul.
- Compare the "Rules": Write down the literal cider house rules vs. the personal rules the characters live by. It’s a great way to see what Irving was really trying to say about authority.
- Look at the Historical Context: Research the Comstock Laws. It’ll give you a lot of perspective on why Dr. Larch was so terrified of being caught.
At the end of the day, the book asks one massive question: Who gets to decide the rules for someone else’s life? Whether it’s a doctor in an orphanage or a boss in a cider house, the answer is usually "someone who doesn't have to live with the consequences."
It’s a story about choosing to be kind instead of being "right." In a world that loves to argue in black and white, Homer Wells and Dr. Larch remind us that most of life happens in the gray areas. And honestly, that's where the most important work gets done.