There are so many themes (and I had a metric ton of bookmarks that I have already discarded) that it's a hard choice where to begin.

Meaning a lot of pages describe how to write, what to write, the publishing world, the critics, even the readers reactions. There are plenty of answers between the many pages of the present novel, and of the novels within a novel included in the text, since Garp the protagonist of the story is also a writer. I had a similar reaction to Owen Meany, another BIG novel from Irving, which makes me wonder a little why I feel both stories are manipulative of the reader and more than a little conceited, while my favorite remains 'A Son of the Circus'. But I cared little for Garp and his tragicomic life rarely moved me beyond intellectual stimulation. I have a confession to make : I have great admiration and respect for the talent of John Irving, and this novel is one of the finest examples of the heights his art can reach. In short, all that is body is as coursing waters, all that is of the soul as dreams and vapors. 'A diamond sleeping in the dark, chipped out at last for our enrichment and delight.In the life of a man, his time is but a moment, his being an incessant flux, his sense a dim rush-light, his body a prey of worms, his soul an unquiet eddy, his fortune dark, his fame doubtful.

Garp, struggling writer and illegitimate son of Jenny Fields - an unlikely feminist heroine ahead of her time.īeautifully written, THE WORLD ACCORDING TO GARP is a powerfully compelling and compassionate coming-of-age novel that established John Irving as one of the most imaginative writers of his generation. 'A wonderful novel, full of energy and art, at once funny and heartbreaking.terrific' WASHINGTON POSTĪnniversary edition with a new afterword from the author.Ī worldwide bestseller since its publication, Irving's classic is filled with stories inside stories about the life and times of T. 'BRILLIANT' Cosmpolitan 'ABSOLUTELY EXTRAORDINARY' L A Times A masterpiece from one of the great contemporary American writers.Īnniversary edition with a new afterword from the author

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