The Fourth Hand
Encyclopedia
The Fourth Hand is a 2001 novel
written by American
novelist John Irving
. It was his tenth published novel.
In Boston, a renowned hand surgeon, Dr. Nicholas M. Zajac, awaits the opportunity to perform the nation’s first hand transplant. After watching video of Patrick, Dr. Zajac contacts the journalist and pledges to find a suitable hand donor for him.
Doris Clausen, a married woman in Wisconsin, wants to give Patrick Wallingford her husband’s left hand—that is, after her husband dies. When her husband later dies from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, Doris immediately rushes the hand to Boston. In the waiting room prior to the procedure, Doris has sex with Patrick, explaining that she had always wanted to have a child but was unable to with her late husband. The hand is then successfully attached by Dr. Zajac, with unorthodox visitation rights for the hand granted to Doris.
Patrick quickly falls in love with Doris, who has his baby, Otto Clausen Junior. Doris, however, will not return Patrick's love, and only allows him to touch her intimately with her late husband's hand, now Patrick's.
One year after the surgery, Patrick's body rejects his hand. After repeated visits with both Doris and his infant son, Doris again has sex with Patrick and, while at a Green Bay Packers game, agrees to marry him.
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
written by American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
novelist John Irving
John Irving
John Winslow Irving is an American novelist and Academy Award-winning screenwriter.Irving achieved critical and popular acclaim after the international success of The World According to Garp in 1978...
. It was his tenth published novel.
Plot summary
While reporting a story from India, Patrick Wallingford, a New York television journalist, has his left hand eaten by a lion. Millions of TV viewers witness the accident, and Patrick achieves instant notoriety as "the lion guy".In Boston, a renowned hand surgeon, Dr. Nicholas M. Zajac, awaits the opportunity to perform the nation’s first hand transplant. After watching video of Patrick, Dr. Zajac contacts the journalist and pledges to find a suitable hand donor for him.
Doris Clausen, a married woman in Wisconsin, wants to give Patrick Wallingford her husband’s left hand—that is, after her husband dies. When her husband later dies from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, Doris immediately rushes the hand to Boston. In the waiting room prior to the procedure, Doris has sex with Patrick, explaining that she had always wanted to have a child but was unable to with her late husband. The hand is then successfully attached by Dr. Zajac, with unorthodox visitation rights for the hand granted to Doris.
Patrick quickly falls in love with Doris, who has his baby, Otto Clausen Junior. Doris, however, will not return Patrick's love, and only allows him to touch her intimately with her late husband's hand, now Patrick's.
One year after the surgery, Patrick's body rejects his hand. After repeated visits with both Doris and his infant son, Doris again has sex with Patrick and, while at a Green Bay Packers game, agrees to marry him.
External links
- One Hand Clapping: NY Times book review
- No Hand for Irving: review by Tony Buchsbaum at January magazine
- http://www.john-irving.com/The_Fourth_Hand.asp