Rating: 
Summary: My fave book
Review: As soon as I finished this book I went to the beginning and began reading again. I felt like I wasn't finished with Garp, Jenny, Helen, or Roberta,(or many others). To the readers who say this book has flat female characters, they are dead wrong. Jenny and Helen were probably the most explored characters after Garp. Some of these(one star) interviews seem like they were written by Ellen Jamesians(read the book and found out what E.J.'s are). This book confronted several moral issues, and the thing many readers nee to know is that unlike other writers, John Irving lets his main characters do wrong things. What Garp, Helen, or Jenny do does not necessarily refelct Mr. Irving's morals. He makes he characters humans, not saints, they make mistakes, they are not always redeemed. That is why his characters are the best in modern literature. We can relate to them because we ourselves are often wrong instead of right, and sometimes we never right our wrongs. Garp is such an excellent book because it doesn't really have a climax. Just like ordniary people's lives(not that Garp is an ORDINARY book) it has it lows and downs, things happen when we don't expect them and don't want them. The last two lines of this book are probably the most memorable of all. "In the world according to Jenny Fields, we are all vitals, externals, absentees, and goners. But in the world according to Garp, we are all terminal cases." NOTE: J.F. is Garp's mother, and the four conditions it mentions are the ways she used to rate soldiers in the war. VITALS are men with organ damage, EXTERNALS are burn victims, ABSENTEES are catatonic, and GONERS are people that can't be saved.
Rating:
Summary: A real treat, plus some food for thought
Review: I was interested in this book from the first sentence. Irving takes great pains to grab the reader and suck him into Jenny and Garp's world, but he is by no means manipulative. As I read the first half of the novel, I was entertained, intriguiged, curious, but I thought this was no more than a pleasant, light novel. However, as Garp and Helen settled into family and married life, I began to see the heart of the novel. By the climax, when I saw how every seemingly minor detail fell into necessary order, I was unable to put this book down. However, the real clincher for me was the way I felt at the end, so unhappy to have Garp end. I have thought about this book and the characters in it often in the 3 months since I read it. I read A Prayer for Owen Meany this week, and while it wasn't nearly as captivating as Garp, I noticed some Irving trademarks--unforgettable characters, the importance of small events, the stranger-than-fiction quality of life. I recommend the World According to Garp to almost anyone. It won't change your life, but it will show you how much fun good writing can be.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful book
Review: A story of three generations in a highly atypical family. Comic to the point of inducing laughter out loud, this book exposes intense psychological issues (such as the need for safety, the position of men and women in society, rape and senseless violence, and the foibles that mark humanity) in a manner that makes the reader feel a little less ostracized from society, regardless of their eccentricity. A really wonderful book.
Rating:
Summary: All that a storyteller should be
Review: This is the third novel of Irving's I have read. Each time I put down one novel my fingers twitch to pick up another. I open his book and have no idea where he will lead me. Reading his book is like living on a constant curve in the road of life. But, you trust your storyteller. Irving gently takes you by the hand and leads you into his world of unsuspecting, quirky characters. You trust Irving in such a way that regardless of what he put in front of you - you can accept it and revel in your acceptance. In Garp, Irving introduces you into a slice of the world a little bit crazy and certainly unusual in a lot of places. And yet in this world one can empathize and relate to practically every character on some level or in some way - Garp, Jenny, Roberta, Ellen James, Mrs. Ralph. These are unforgettable characters. Perhaps the trust emanates from the fact that each of these characters hides somewhere in the webs of our own minds. While we believe Irving is narrating us through a fictional and foreign world, he is really leading through the intricacies of our own thoughts, life, and existence.
Rating:
Summary: A man finds meaning over and over through his bizarre life.
Review: From the minute I picked up this very large book about the very extensive life of fictional T.S. Garp, his family and friends - I couldn't put it down. Moments of just plain bizarre story telling mingle and mix with John Irving's beautiful prose. "Wow!" is all I could say to my friends as I quickly let them borrow my copy. Alough there are a few risque scenes, it all ends up being very important and neccesary in the end. A must read for lovers of the melodrama / tragi-comedy / dramady of our modern literary world. It's book-within-a-book of fun! You fall for all of the characters, including Jenny Fields, Garp's unwittingly feminist mother; Roberta Muldoon, a transsexual football player; and Helen, Garp's practical love. A tragicly funny story of the life of a person that you will wish was real.
Rating: 
Summary: Wonderful But Unlikely Story
Review: John Irving is a very thorough and gifted storyteller. I had familiarity with some of his previous work, but only recently discovered "The World According to Garp". In reality, the story does not have a real life lesson or moral. It is just an interesting and entertaining tale about a strange life. As odd and unlikely as many of the characters may seem, one must suspend disbelief and be entertained. T. S. Garp seemed to doomed to live an abnormal life. Even the manner in which he we conceived is odd to the point where it is not believable. Garp grows up without a father and a mother who describes herself as a "sexual suspect" because she is an unwed mother. Garp grows to maturity at the all boys school which his life seems to revolve around. In his childhood, his mother is a nurse. Through his mother's life, she compiles interesting tales that compile her book. This book makes the reluctant head of the women's liberation movement and vulnerable to radical groups like the ficticious Ellen Jamesians. The alignment with the feminist movements leads to the eventual demise of both Garp and his mother. Along the way, we an interesting cast of charaters. Roberta is the best friend to Jenny Fields, Garp's mother. However, Roberta was once known as Robert or #90. In fact, she once played Tight End in the NFL. Garp also becomes closely associate with Ellen James, the reluctant martyr of a feminist group who cut out their own tongues. Despite an obvious shadow cast by his mother, Garp's goal in life is to become a successful writer. He does finish three stories. All of these stories are included in the book. Each of the stories give a little into Garp's character. The first two stories are a little drab. However, the third story is actually well done. I almost wish I could read the actual product. The stories written by Garp are included in the book. My only objection to this is that they interupt the momentum of the story. The book is very well written. I find in remarkable how thorough John Irving is in his writing. Additionally, many parts in the book are genuinely funny. Once I started the book, I found it hard to put down. It is a great book for dedicated fiction readers.
Rating:
Summary: this book is one of my favorites!
Review: i have lots of mixed emotions while i was reading this book which is what i usually look for in a book... the bizarre characters and even more bizarre events would all make you laugh, mad, fall in love and cry... it's like reading 2 stories in one book--garp's and his mother's... a real page turner... give it a shot!
Rating:
Summary: Loved it!!
Review: This is a book about more or less living life. About The hardship that a family goes though to become a stronger family. How a man strugles hard to find out his identity. John Irving did a masterful job with this book. He puts so much life into everyone in the book. I really loved the last couple of chapters. I never would have guessed how the book would have ended. Its a must read!
Rating: 
Summary: Irritating
Review: More subplots, deus ex machina, and characters whose actions and thoughts defy reason, per-page, than a Tom Robbins novel. Getting the rug pulled out from under you this often is only fun if you're wearing a helmet.
Rating:
Summary: A VERY GOOD BOOK!!!
Review: This was a great book to read because the characters were so real and the story-telling by John Irving was outstanding!! You will not regret buying this one. I am left speechless, and I am urging all of you to definitely read this book before its too late, because remember, "In the world according to Garp, we are all terminal cases."
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