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Summary: Quite possibly one of the best books ever written!!
Review: I first read this book in 1982 when I was stationed on a submarine and was out at sea. One of my fondest memories is of other crewmembers chiding me for laughing out loud as I read in my bunk. I can not think of another author who so fully develops characters as John Irving. At times, I am not so sure I would want to live in one of his rather strange worlds, but visiting is certainly a memorable experience. I have since reread "Garp" and found it every bit as enjoyable the second time. Do yourself a favor and read this book.
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Summary: Memorable Scences, Deep Characterization, Great Setting
Review: What more could a contemporary reader want? There was suspense, background, adultry, evil sex, death, and pain. All the elements of an entertaining read are in this book.I must say the characters are some of the best I've read. Garp WAS a weird dad, and would have made a cute husband. Helen was an intelligent, blunt, bookish, but also sexy, alluring, and dominant woman. The children were the best of all, how Duncan and Walt were instructed by their father to say "He's Still underwater" on the count of three, then taking that up for their own good use. I love the characters, most of all I love this book.
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Summary: One of the ten best books I've ever read!
Review: I conducted a survey in my newsletter regarding the best book of the 1980s. Since those surveyed could choose anything, it's surprising that ANY book got more than one vote. Out of 25 respondents, four chose GARP. Even more amazing, the book came out in the 1970s, but it stuck with people like nothing else. Amazing book! A+++
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Summary: One of the best books I have ever read.
Review: This was such a great book, i couldn't put it down. I read it in one sitting. There were countless times that I laughed right out loud. - FJM from Boston
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Summary: To know Garp is to love Garp
Review: I have read Garp about 8 times. Each time I enter Garp's world, I come away with a new truth. Garp's assertion that"life is an x-rated soap opera" is apt and telling.It takes Irving a full chapter after the accident to acknowledge Walt's death, and then by Garp's one sentence "I misth Walt." Like real life, the death of a loved one is something to deny and in the end, can only be stated in one handicapped sentence. Garp's life is our life; the tears we shed for Walt are our own.
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Summary: wonderfully eccentric!!
Review: i may not be a writer, or a student of literature, or anything else related to all these other "reviewers", but i am an avid reader. John Irving has had me spellbound since i picked up A Prayer For Owen Meany years ago, for a project in high school. i've gobbled up everything else he's written....only to find myself wishing that he'd publish something else soon!! The World According to Garp was such fun to read, although i won't hesitate to say a little shocking, at times...i lost and regained my respect (and hope) for Garp several times throughout the novel, but i was absolutely thrilled with the ending...this book was excellent, just one step behind A Prayer For Owen Meany...
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Summary: Another male-chauvinist masquerading as sympathetic
Review: Come on. Garp can fool around with college-age babysitters and Alice, but when Helen has an affair, she looses Walt and Duncan looses his eye. That was almost enough to make me burn this book. I have to admit I'm getting quite tired (after four Irving books) of the repeated themes...male obsession with sex, private boys schools, Viennese prostitutes, and flat female characters. For someone who's so popular, you'd think he could tell an original story once in a while. Don't waste your time.
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Summary: One of the best I can ever remember reading
Review: What is my measure of a great book? One that completely takes over your world while you are reading it. One that screams, "DON'T YOU DARE SET ME DOWN!" One that makes you feel that you know it's characters so well, you could easily fit into the story yourself. One that when you finish it, you have a deep sense of loss that you will never encounter these great characters again. And you immediately begin to reread the book, just to keep them in your life a bit longer. There have only been two that I can say fit into this characterization for me. Those are: To Kill a Mockingbird, and The World According to Garp! Read it and judge for yourself. You will be amazed!!
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Summary: Garp: A Hilarious and Ironic Tale
Review: First of all, let me just state that John Irving is the best author alive today. His books, I am certain, will be reguarded as classics for years to come. A Prayer for Owen was a book of symbolism and irony.. but Garp was a book of irony, plain irony. I loved the book. I thought that the characters were extremely well-developed, the story was clear and concise, and the book was significant and impacting.
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Summary: Garp is fresh, relevant and brilliant, even after 11 years!!
Review: Not being an ardent reader, I silently grimaced at the sheer weight of the book I was being encouraged to read. The thought of trudging through the seemingly endless reams of text, did not appeal to me. Garp, is simply a magical description, analysis and evaluation of life. For the entire time I lived and breathed Garp, and was stunned at way Irving manages to portray every human emotion in a single text...in fact this is more than text this is life presented brillantly. Everyone should read this book.
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