Post written by Laura Cococcia. You can follow Laura on Twitter.
I recently saw a post on Facebook that said “my personal goal is to read all of John Irving’s books by the time I die.”
I want to steal that goal. Is that allowed?
Are you a fan of The Cider House Rules, A Prayer for Owen Meany, A Widow For One Year, The Hotel New Hampshire? Me too. And I’m just diving into John Irving’s latest, Last Night in Twisted River. Loving it.
As a child, I remember seeing The World According to Garp in my father’s library. Since I couldn’t read much more than 10 pages at six years old, I wasn’t tempted to take it down, but always thought it was a cool title.
Not too long ago, I picked it up. More like lifted it up. It’s more than 570 pages of the best fiction I’ve ever read.
Luckily, I was on holiday in Grand Cayman when I read it, so had plenty of time to lounge in my hammock and soak up one of my Top Ten favorite books of all time. All Top Ten books demand a review.
Writing, Death and Lust
Garp is a fascinating character. Do a little research after you read the book and you’ll see that much of Garp’s narrative reflects Irving’s own life. Garp takes us on his sequential life journey, which tackles themes like death, feminism, being a writer and (gasp!) lust.
The feminism and lust themes include a few interesting tangents. Garp’s mother, a self-proclaimed asexual character, writes a novel entitled “A Sexual Suspect,” which quickly becomes an acclaimed best-seller. Garp also seeks out a number of experiences with prostitutes, which end up providing him ‘that type’ of education his mother couldn’t offer.
Also, Garp’s wife and her indiscretions represent the complete opposite of this mother’s sexual philosophies, a juxtaposition that at first glance, might seem trite. But Irving flaunts a bit of his word magic to make the subject matter diverse and keep the reader entranced.
I could write a thesis about Irving’s character development skills and the philosophical merits of his other thematic insights and impact on American literature.
Actually, that sounds like a really good thesis title.
Even if the length of The World According to Garp seems daunting, I encourage you to invest a bit of time in Irving’s masterpiece.
I will, however, discourage you from watching the movie, which was produced five years later. I thought it would enforce my Garp infatuation, but all it did was make me sad. And it even starred Robin Williams. Who always made me happy. Bummer.
But the book rocks.
Have you read The World According to Garp or any other John Irving works? What did you think? Viewpoints of all colors, shapes and sizes welcome.
Also be sure to check out the series “10 Questions on Reviewing” over at Lemon Hound. A variety of perspectives on book and poetry reviews, approaches and lessons.
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{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
Really good read, nice to read a good blog at last!
Great review on Garp! I just finished the book last night and did a short write-up on it on my blog as well. I am skeptical about seeing the movie, because they never end up as good as the book, plus I’m afraid it would change my mind about it. I’ll check out the rest of your website. The topics seem interesting. Cheers!
.-= Marjana´s last blog ..The World According To Garp =-.
Thanks Marjana! And I loved what you had to write as well! Yes, the movie wasn’t all I thought it would be…so stick with the book. Thanks so much for your comment!
I ran across your blog immediately after making a search in Bing and yahoo, and I have got to state it does include a lot of very good material that I found equally fascinating and helpful.
Thanks so much Brenna – very much appreciated!
Hi, I love the Shrek movies, very good film!
Fantastic write-up, one of the best publish I read so far. I am want to know, had you ever before read any professional business photography publication by Allworth Press? Possibly you could write a evaluation for it, this looks like a great publication to read.