The 158-Pound Marriage, author John Irving's third published novel, revolves around an unidentified narrator, a college professor, and a mediocre novelist. The narrator met his wife Utch, an orphaned survivor of WWII, in Vienna while doing research. They are a relatively happy couple; their family rounded out by two children. At a faculty party, they meet Severin Winter, a Viennese-born professor and coach of the college wrestling team, and his wife, Edith. The couple's interests (Edith is an aspiring fiction writer, and Severin has a commonality with Utch's upbringing in Austria) and resulting infatuations between the couples lead to after-dinner partner-swapping. At first, the swinging goes smoothly, but eventually, uneven feelings and obsessions throw the couples off track. The title, The 158-Pound Marriage , refers to the 158-pound weight class in wrestling, which Severin, the coach, feels is the most competitive. The book is small, only 176 pages, compared to Irving's later weighty tomes, like the 610 page The World According to Garp ( 1978) and The Cider House Rules (1985), which is 973 pages.

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Bookseller: Sixth Chamber Used Books/Fox Den Books (US)
Bookseller's Inventory #: 1434137
Title: 158 pound marriage
Author: irving, john
Format/Binding: Mass Market
Book Condition: Used
Binding: Paperback
ISBN 10: 0671468111
ISBN 13: 9780671468118
Publisher: POCKET
Place of Publication: New York, New York, U.s.a.
This edition first published: October 3, 1982

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