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Summary: The Mark Twain of our time has truly fed my imagination.
Review: One hundred years from now, when many of the modern books are forgotten, Garp will make the syllabi of college literature classes next to Mark Twain. It is possibly the book that has most shaped my literary theory and has changed the way I read a novel. Could this be the most important North American book written in the last thirty years? I only hope I'm around a half a century from now to find out. Those who question the believability of the characters and situations need to ask why and they will see what this novel says about the American thought process. Fortunately or unfortunatly for him, Irving has created a monster in Garp that has exceeded his intentions and has been placed on the shelf of timelessness.
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Summary: No masterpiece
Review: Garp is a good read, but no masterpiece. Some of the storytelling is good, and then suddenly the irony becomes so forced it's almost unbearable. But the book does posit many interesting theories about writers and writing, which makes it more than worthwhile. Some characters are wonderfully well developed, others are flat. Some concepts are rich, others (the "Under Toad?" Please.) are forced. But overall, a good book. Not as good as Cider House Rules, but will definitely keep me coming back for more Irving.
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Summary: Intriguing, Entertaining, Intelligent, Simple
Review: I thought the World According to Garp was a phenomenal novel. I had seen the movie beforehand, but the book added more character to the story. Speaking of character, that is where this book is strongest. With Garp, his feminist mother, transsexual "stepmother" and intriguing friends, you won't be able to put this novel down!
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Summary: An excellent book.
Review: I picked up this book not knowing what to expect. After just a few pages, I found myself unable to put it down. The characters came to life for me. I felt I knew them. It is cliche to say this, but I laughed, I cried. What can I say? This book moved me. It is very well written. The prose flows so easily, and so comfortably that you forget you are reading and truely feel you are in Garp's world. There are also lines of pure genius. What follows is one line that will stay with me for a very long time: "In this dirty minded world, you are either somebody's wife or somebody's whore - or fast on your way to becoming one or the other. If you don't fit either category, then everyone tries to make you think there is something wrong with you." There's something so painful, yet so true about that line. That could be said for the whole book, I suppose. Yet, this book isn't just about that line. It's not just about feminism. It's about life; about strug! gle; about fear. It is an excellent, well-written book that everyone should read.
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Summary: A turning point in my life as a reader and an artist
Review: At nineteen, at the beginning of the first serious relationship of my young life, I stumbled across Irving's novel. This was 1983, long after the hype and a year or so after the movie. I was so moved by the characters, the scenarios, the undercurrent of young lust that undercut many of Garp's best intentions, and particularly by the fierce, bearish devotion he had for his loved ones. Fourteen years of marriage left, I still doggedly avoid the undertoad, knowing all too well that we're all terminal cases...
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Summary: A simply great book
Review: I finished this book in 5 days. I could not put it down. It is engrossing and powerful and I recommend it to anyone. At the end you will love Garp and his friends (and enemies) and will wish the book will never end.
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Summary: A miraculous book that will stay with you forever!
Review: What can I say that hasn't been said? The World According to Garp is just such a beautiful, touching, wonderfully written book that touches you in places you weren't even aware of. John Irving's style of writing cannot be captured in words. It's simply amazing how he can take a far-fetched group of people and make them seem ordinary, yet extraordinary at the same time. I feel like I'm committing a crime by not mentioning the most sensational character of the book: Roberta, the transexual football player who sometime's seems the strangest of the characters, yet somehow manages to be the person who keeps everyone together. Roberta ranks up there with Inspector Javert and Lestat de Lincourt as the greatest literary characters of all time.
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Summary: I couldn't put it down!!!!
Review: I loved this book. Maybe it was how Garp seemed so lifelike and his problems developed as everyone's does. Each character had their own problems and his life taught so many lessons. Highly recommended.
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Summary: awesome! sad, happy, damn hysterical all rolled into one!
Review: This book is really phenom. Garp has a wonderful sense of humor - things happen in this book that happen in everyone's lives but no other author would write about them! I think this is easily Irving's best book......I was glued to it and laughed the whole way. If, however, you have no patience for the zaney and sometimes unrealistic, then don't read this because this book can be both.
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Summary: He's written better
Review: Irving's sense of drama and justice is compelling and original. I liked this book, but I definitely didn't think that this was his best book. It started off with a alot of energy and drama, but it just wasn't maintained throughout. The epilogue section was interminable. I thought it would never end.
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