The World According to Garp

9 Reviews

• *** This comment contains spoilers! ***

  

  This took me quite a while to read, and I'm still not quite sure what to think of it.. I like John Irving's writing style, the story was quite amusing, strange, and also very sad at times. But it was rather long and dragged a bit in the middle (with all those stories inside the story too), and not s ... (continue)

  This took me quite a while to read, and I'm still not quite sure what to think of it.. I like John Irving's writing style, the story was quite amusing, strange, and also very sad at times. But it was rather long and dragged a bit in the middle (with all those stories inside the story too), and not sure what to whole point was (just that everyone dies..?).
  It was funny to see that both Garp and Irving are annoyed by the question whether their work is autobiographical (something I usually don't care about. But there seemed to be some similarities in The World According to Garp/Garp's life and The World According to Bensenhaver (the reviews/blurbs as well - feminist book by a man or something like that) and perhaps Irving's life as well? Or maybe he just made everything up :p).
  Anyway, I guess I enjoyed the story overall, even if it could have been a bit shorter.
  Seems there is a movie too, am quite curious to see how they've managed to capture Garp's whole life in a couple of hours..

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  Tsjara said on Mar 27, 2012 about the Mass Market Paperback edition | Add your feedback

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  I loved this book from the start. Then I felt unconfortable, then I loved it again. In the end I would describe it as eccentric, a grotesque family saga seasoned with independent short stories. Although I could never relate to any character in the story, because of their grotesque qualities, and the ... (continue)

  I loved this book from the start. Then I felt unconfortable, then I loved it again. In the end I would describe it as eccentric, a grotesque family saga seasoned with independent short stories. Although I could never relate to any character in the story, because of their grotesque qualities, and therefore never really feel for them, I found their sad lives ecceptionally realistic in their improbability. A very modern look at the society we still live in.

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  Sourcreamandonions said on Apr 28, 2011 | Add your feedback

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  LOVE IT

  i love irving 's work. this one is simply brilliant

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  bu3asalli said on Mar 30, 2010 | Add your feedback

• 

  No matter how hard I tried, I could not finish it. I found it dry and it did nothing but drag on.

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  Betherie1 said on Mar 6, 2010 about the Mass Market Paperback edition | Add your feedback

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  I know this book is a bestseller and that Mr. Irving is well thought of, but I personally hated this book. It started off very good. It made me laugh a lot, but after a while esp. about the time I got to "The Pension Grillpazer." It upset me that Irving violated a general rule in writing; do not un ... (continue)

  I know this book is a bestseller and that Mr. Irving is well thought of, but I personally hated this book. It started off very good. It made me laugh a lot, but after a while esp. about the time I got to "The Pension Grillpazer." It upset me that Irving violated a general rule in writing; do not under any circumstances write a book about a writer writing a book.The book just dragged on, and though I understood that it was supposed to be about Garp's life, I wanted it to wrap up already. The book stopped being interesting about the time Jenny Fields was made into a feminist hero. I do have to say there were a few well written parts beyond that esp. the affair that Helen has, but I found it all and all tedious. It angered me completely that I had to ask someone else who had read it what the book was about, even though I was reading it. It was seriously not my cup of tea. I wanted to read more of his work originally, but now I think I need a rest break.

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  Charley Snipe said on Jul 2, 2008 about the Mass Market Paperback edition | Add your feedback

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  Strange, but intriguing and compelling, as I often find of Irving.

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  sid_rw said on Jun 30, 2008 | Add your feedback

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Book Details

• Rating:
  (170)
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• English Books
• Paperback 570 Pages
• ISBN-10: 0552111902
• ISBN-13: 9780552111904
• Publisher: Corgi Books
• Pub date: Jan 01, 1979
• Dimensions: 1161 mm x 710 mm x 194 mm Just how big is that?
• Also available as: Mass Market Paperback, Hardcover, Audio CD, Audio Cassette, Library Binding, Others and eBook
• In other languages: other languages Libros en Español, Libri Italiani, Nederlandse Boeken, Svenska böcker

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