John Irving explores fate and memory in his new novel, Avenue of Mysteries, which follows an old man on a journey to the Philippines and back into the dreams of his childhood.
“It’s impossible to imagine the literary landscape without John Irving,” wrote Time magazine. “He is as close as one gets to a contemporary Dickens.”
In Avenue of Mysteries, Juan Diego—a fourteen-year-old boy, who was born and grew up in Mexico—has a thirteen-year-old sister. Her name is Lupe, and she thinks she sees what's coming—specifically, her own future and her brother's. Lupe is a mind reader; she doesn't know what everyone is thinking, but she knows what most people are thinking. Regarding what has happened, as opposed to what will, Lupe is usually right about the past; without your telling her, she knows all the worst things that have happened to you