The life of author T.S. Garp, all the way from his unconventional conception. Includes all the requisite Irving story staples: New England, sex, bears.
My thoughts
I’ve read four of John Irving’s books now, and every time I pick one up I have to psych myself up to start it—and then I always enjoy the hell out of it. I get fatigued just thinking about reading 700 pages of anything, but more than that I can never quite connect with his characters. They don’t seem like they should be all that different from the people I interact with on a daily basis, but they find themselves in absurd situations that are always a few notches removed from my experiences with reality. (Maybe my life isn’t exciting enough.)
Despite that, Garp has one element that was only too easy to relate to—fear for the people you love. And that's what makes this book particularly difficult to get through, even though the looming sense of tragedy is laced with laugh-out-loud comedy.
Despite that, Garp has one element that was only too easy to relate to—fear for the people you love. And that's what makes this book particularly difficult to get through, even though the looming sense of tragedy is laced with laugh-out-loud comedy.
What I enjoyed the most, as always, is Irving's genius for writing vivid characters and weaving seemingly unrelated people and events into a cohesive narrative. What you think is a humorous tangent slowly and organically becomes integral to the plot. In Garp, the Ellen Jamesians mostly disappear for 200 pages after a relatively brief introduction. They do get a few one-line shout-outs, and that’s more than enough to keep them fresh in your memory so you’re not surprised when they come back with a vengeance halfway through the book. Irving ups the ante by introducing Ellen James herself, which would have felt manipulative if anyone but Irving had done it, but since it is Irving it just flows (although at that point, I was also blindingly distracted by Garp’s turquoise jumpsuit).
Side note: I know this has already been made into a movie, but am I the only person who read about Roberta Muldoon and pictured Tyler Perry as Madea? I am, aren’t I? (For what it’s worth, I also pictured Ellen Page as Ellen James and my college roommate’s dad as Garp.)
Bottom line
It’s not a beach read. But it’s the perfect to get you through the next nor’easter.
Fine print
The World According to Garp, by John Irving
Genre: Fiction
Photo from Goodreads
I borrowed this book from the library.
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