bJohn Irving, one of the world's greatest novelists, returns with his first novel in seven years--a ghost story, a love story, and a lifetime of sexual politics.b pIn Aspen, Colorado, in 1941, Rachel Brewster is a slalom skier at the National Downhill and Slalom Championships. Little Ray, as she is called, finishes nowhere near the podium, but she manages to get pregnant. Back home, in New England, Little Ray becomes a ski instructor. pHer son, Adam, grows up in a family that defies conventions and evades questions concerning the eventful past. Years later, looking for answers, Adam will go to Aspen. In the Hotel Jerome, where he was conceived, Adam will meet some ghosts in iThe Last Chairlifti, they aren't the first or the last ghosts he sees. pJohn Irving has written some of the most acclaimed books of our time--among them, iThe World According to Garp iandi The Cider House Rules. iA visionary voice on the subject of sexual tolerance, Irving is a bard of alternative families. In iThe