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The World According to Garp by John Irving

By Teabelly | Posted Under Book Reviews | Comments (25)

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I should start this off by saying I love John Irving. He’s up there with my all time favourite authors ever. And I have read Garp before, years ago, and I loved it and was heartbroken by it and couldn’t really bring myself to read it again until now. I don’t think I enjoyed it as much this time around, which is a shame, but I still love the writing and the story for the most part.

So, the story of Garp. He’s born T. S. Garp after his mother, Jenny Fields (a nurse), sleeps with a patient known only as Technical Sergeant Garp. Jenny is strong willed and wants a child, but doesn’t want to conform to the day’s standards and marry to do so. The patient has shrapnel in his brain and can do little but say his own name and get constant erections. And thus, Garp is born.

His childhood is spent at an all boys’ school, and we follow his formative years there and encounters with girls leading eventually to Helen Holm, whom he marries. After Garp finishes school he and his mother go to Vienna, so Garp can focus on his writing, and it is during this time Jenny Fields writes her autobiography A Sexual Suspect, and she becomes a feminist icon. Garp is a successful writer in his own right, and he returns to the US and marries Helen, and they have two sons. As a father he is terrified of all the bad things that can happen to his children, and is often over protective.

Although he loves Helen, Garp does have affairs with other women, including babysitters and the wife of Helen’s friend. But it is Helen’s own affair that leads to one of the saddest parts of the book, an accident from which they will not all fully recover.

There’s so much more that goes on, especially in regards to Jenny Fields and her work with women, and a group called the Ellen Jamesians, but I’d be here all day. On this reading I found Garp to be a bit more of an asshole than I remembered him, even though he is basically a good guy. I guess he’s somewhat superior. And although I liked it last time, the extended epilogue which goes in to detail about everyone’s lives after the main story is finished felt a bit unnecessary to me now. I just didn’t need to know it all and would have been happy to imagine it for myself. But that’s a small quibble. I still got sad at the sad bits and laughed at the more twisted, humorous parts. And I fear the Under Toad.

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Comments

The movie version of Garp led me to be an avid reader of John Irving. This one I haven't given a second chance in a long time. It was up there with Son of the Circus; okay, but not my favorite. He gets long winded in the strangest places sometimes. I love, however, A Prayer for Owen Meany and Cider House Rules, both of which have been adapted to the screen. I refuse to see either one.

Posted by: slower lower at May 14, 2009 9:11 AM

I do love the movie..never read the book.

Posted by: wsapnin at May 14, 2009 9:45 AM

I saw the movie when I was nine. Needless to say, I vervently avoid a certain act in a certain place. I'll be in the corner weeping if you need me.

Posted by: Kballs at May 14, 2009 9:59 AM

–==Seekingtall.Co m== --.Where you can meet tall and sexy girls

Posted by: gate green at May 14, 2009 10:07 AM

One of my favorite books of all time. The movie was not bad but was only a pale shadow of the book.

Posted by: ed newman at May 14, 2009 10:07 AM

The Cider House Rules is actually a very good movie, and a nice adaptation, but it cuts out a hell of a lot. I think that helps, because when they try to put too much in it's just impossible to do well.

The Prayer for Owen Meany movie was AWFUL! Do no watch.

Posted by: Carrie (aka Teabelly) at May 14, 2009 10:24 AM

I read the book when i was 14. Scarred me, in good and bad ways. A lot of it went over my head, but enough information was stored that allowed me to understand it years later, piece by piece. One of the reasons I love it so much is precisely because as I get older, certain elements become clearer to me and the story gets richer. It's like the book has followed me and that's oddly comforting.

Posted by: courtney at May 14, 2009 10:25 AM

John Lithgow as a transsexual. EWWWWWWW!

Posted by: BWeaves at May 14, 2009 10:36 AM

One of my all time favourite books.

Posted by: Maryscott O'Connor at May 14, 2009 10:41 AM

"I found Garp to be a bit more of an asshole than I remembered him, even though he is basically a good guy."

This pretty much sums up how I feel about most of Irving's protagonists. I do love them, though.

Man, this story was a big part of my growing up! My parents let me watch the movie when I was 7. It became my favorite movie until high school, when I would see The Fisher King. (By the way, Robin Williams: what went wrong?) Since reading this book in high school, it's held a steady place on my favorites list, though I do like A Prayer for Owen Meany and Cider House Rules a little more.

A warning to anyone thinking of seeing the film version of Owen Meany. Don't. Seriously, don't. It's hands-down the very worst adaptation of a book I have ever seen. If you're anything like me, you will want to find the people involved and hurt them badly.

The Cider House movie was actually quite good, though! :-)

Posted by: ShinyKate at May 14, 2009 10:48 AM

Really? I found the movie adaptation of the Cider House Rules to be a bit watery. Although I probably expected a lot. My parents had seen it premiere at TIFF and, as is expected in that setting, loved the pants off it.

I refuse to ever see the Owen Meany adaptation solely because of the unnecessary name change. Simon Birch??? I ask you!

I haven't read Garp and based on this review I think I shall as soon as I finish Son of the Circus.

Posted by: Ling at May 14, 2009 10:54 AM

They also did a good job with The Door in the Floor (part of A Widow for One Year), by focusing on only part of it and not trying to cram in the whole thing.

I'd recommend Widow if anyone hasn't read it.

I'm looking forward to Irving's new book, due later this year, too.

Posted by: Carrie (aka Teabelly) at May 14, 2009 10:55 AM

My cousin raves about The Cider House Rules movie, but I was still concerned. You see, she has never read the book, and she loves Julia Roberts (whom I loathe), rom coms, and Forest Gump. Her taste is suspect, in my book. I may have to break my rule and give it a try. My first clue with Owen Meany was when they changed the title, and I knew that they were just going to fuck up the rest, especially with all the faith-related themes. Irving is one of those rare authors who got even better with time. I love two of his more recent works, A Widow For One Year and Until I Find You, more than some of his earlier pieces. He creates some of the most amazing characters, all tremendously flawed, but certainly complex and memorable.

Posted by: slower lower at May 14, 2009 10:56 AM

I think they had to change a lot of Owen Meany/Simon Birch because Irving wasn't happy about it being made into a film. I'd say he was dead on there.

Posted by: Carrie (aka Teabelly) at May 14, 2009 10:57 AM

Ling, I think sometimes expectations can play a huge part in how we feel about a movie. I went in as a cynic (after the Ninth Circle of Hell that was Simon Birch) and was therefore pleasantly surprised. Maybe if I'd gone in more hopeful, I would have come out more in agreement with you! :-)

Posted by: ShinyKate at May 14, 2009 11:18 AM

I like John Irving's writing a lot, but I always suspect boyfriend had some wimmin issues. That being said, I've always enjoyed "Garp" and really like the movie. "A Prayer for Owen Meany" is terrific as is "Hotel New Hampshire."

Posted by: samantha t at May 14, 2009 11:58 AM

One of my favorite parts of Garp is the section where an entire chapter of Garp's book is excerpted. I thought it was fascinating to hear the writer's voice change and to see a glimpse of what made Garp a controversial figure (beyond being Jenny Fields' son). I loved the book and the movie. Hard to say that very often.

And thanks for reminding me about The Door in the Floor. Fascinating movie. Really found the heart of what A Widow for One Year felt like.

Posted by: Clarence Boddicker at May 14, 2009 12:23 PM

Before hitting his stride with Garp, Irving wrote The 158 Pound Marriage and The Water Method Man. Both are very enjoyable and while they only hint at the greatness to come later on, they still have much to offer.
If you've not yet entered the world of TS Garp, please do. When I sat down to read the book many long years ago, I had no idea that I was being introduced to a writer who would become my idol and all-time favorite author.

Posted by: Spender at May 14, 2009 2:56 PM

Love this book. But can't read any more Irving because I feel all of the plot twists and turns were given away in this one novel (those short stories Garp writes). Maybe too autobiographical? He re-addresses themes in every story. I Read A Widow For One Year about 5 years ago and predicted every turn. There will be a bear. Someone will be raped. I may have read too much John Irving growing up; my parents didn't know the meaning of young adult literature, apparently. I should re-read my dog-eared copy of A Prayer for Owen Meaney soon (hey, there's a movie to re-make), that was always my favorite. I think I noticed the character Kate from the Drew Carey Show reading it on a couch in Drew's apartment in one episode.

Also, I did a book report on Cider House Rules when I was 14. My teacher saw the movie and was surprised I talked about abortion and shit when all that stuck with him from the movie were the sex scenes. Not that I blame him.

Posted by: Audrey at May 14, 2009 9:04 PM

I was very mixed on The Door in the Floor. As an adaptation, I applauded the decision to use only the first third of the book. Yet I still felt really unsatisfied at the end. It wasn't the missing plot, but... missing something. Maybe I should give it another watch.

I love Garp and just re-read it, but Owen Meany is definitely my favorite. I also think Hotel New Hampshire is right up there; in my opinion, too many people leave it out when listing Irving's best books. It is hard to read too much of him at once, though, especially with all the recurring themes, as Audrey mentioned.

Posted by: Pistachio at May 15, 2009 1:18 AM

I really love this book...I can't help that feel that this is the Wikipedia entry for the book though. I would have liked a bit less of retelling of the story and more of your opinion.
Sorry, I'm a high school English teacher ;op

Posted by: Garp Fan at May 15, 2009 3:22 AM

Garp Fan: Thanks for the critique there but since I'm not a professional reviewer it's not really necessary. I found it hard to add anything much to this other than 'oh yay I kinda love this book you should read it'. Works for me. :)

Posted by: Carrie (aka Teabelly) at May 15, 2009 6:12 AM

He re-addresses themes in every story.

This. I mean, all great (and not-so-great) authors do this, but I find the constant revisiting of sexual assault in Irving's books a bit...I don't want to say "creepy," but it's a bit off-putting.

That said, I've read all of his books because he's such a great storyteller. It's clear that pretty much everything he's ever written is pretty much autobiographical (I assume he spent time in Viennna, yes?) and yet his characters are fasinating and well-drawn.

Posted by: the essence of fanciness and class at May 15, 2009 1:14 PM

garp was great and owen meany even better. they are must reads and the advice about avoiding the movies is right on the money.

Posted by: snake at May 17, 2009 12:08 PM

John Irving is the greatest. Take a look at these amazing collectible John Irving books
My favorite book is A Prayer for Owen Meany!

Posted by: Susan at May 28, 2009 10:33 AM