How does my brother do it?

Here I am posting away about children's books, discussing first lines of novels, admitting to submitting a manuscript to children's book publishers, and referring to John Irving as one of my favorite authors, when Tom refers me to "A Widow for One Year," the only John Irving novel I don't actually own and one of only two that I haven't read (the other being, "A Son of the Circus," and that one already on my bookshelf).

So naturally, "A Widow for One Year" turns out to be about a writer; specifically, a writer of children's books; and one who has written--we learn within fifteen pages--a children's book entitled, "The Mouse Crawling Between the Walls," that according to just about everyone in the novel has a terrific first sentence.

In fact, so much is made of that first sentence--we are told that one character (another writer) will always envy it and that the main character holds the opinion that "there was no better beginning to any story than the first sentence of The Mouse Crawling Between the Walls"--that one begins to doubt whether Irving would ever dare to attempt crafting it.

It's a pretty bold setup and one Irving addresses quickly. And when he does, frankly, he knocks one out of the park. I'll come back to that sentence later, and have more to say about Irving's successes and excesses, but for now I'm still shaking my head trying to figure out how I missed this book so conveniently for Tom to have the chance to recommend it.