John Irving - World According to Garp: A Novel

Pros: Beautifully written, meaningful and moving
Cons: Some small stretches of the imagination, plus, one large section of Garp's own writing that is a little difficult to get through.

I was turned off to John Irving's writing due to an irrational prejudice developed several years ago based upon seeing snippets of the horribly castrated movie version of the novel presently under review, and after seeing and loathing the film, The...

Pros: Engaging and entertaining book.
Cons: The hideous movie adaptation.

I'll confess: I have a love/hate relationship with John Irving. Two of his books ("Garp" and "Owen Meany") are on my all-time favorites list...even after 600+ pages, I found myself wanted more when I finally turned the last page of those two Dickensian ...

Pros: Absurd but immensely entertaining characters.
Cons: Chapters that showcase Garp's writing.

Surprisingly, this is probably the least smutty book you'll ever find that's largely about sex.

No, that's not really fair. John Irving's The World According to Garp is really about the life of T.S. Garp . (It's just T.S. It...

Pros: Amazingly written
Cons: I hated every character, and everything that happened to them.

I hated it.

I despised it.

I wanted to tear out the pages of this infuriating tome. I longed to set fire to it and dance around it in some sort of pagan rite, freeing me. I wanted to do away with this, this thing, lest I be...

Pros: A great book, with interesting characters
Cons: Starts off a little slow

"The World According to Garp" is a semi-autobiographical book in the tradition of "Tom Jones" and "Moll Flanders" chronicling the life of a man, his friends, and his family.

The book begins by describing the way...

Pros: Plot is furiously fast paced. At turns hilarious and poignant.
Cons: Overlong and too plot-driven for a book that aspires to address so many themes.

Before you Garp-devotees get too up in arms over the title of this epinion, please understand that this is a good novel and certainly an entertaining one. However, The World According to Garp has some substantial flaws which, in my feeble estimation,...

Pros: Has depth with good humor
Cons: some content not appropriate for younger audience

Oh I know it's old, and sure,I know the movie sucked,yet, I remember reading The World According to Garp during our silent reading period.I was a seventh grade English teacher at the time.We were required to read 15 minutes every day.(getting kids to do...

Pros: wonderful story and great book
Cons: a bit dry at times

The World According to Garp by John Irving is defiantly one of my favorite books. It tells the life and times of T.S. Garp, so named after his father, Technical Sergeant Garp, who died as a result of injuries during the war. In his last days, all he can...

Pros: real
Cons: not for the weak

The World According to Garp is an absolute CLASSIC. This is a heart felt tale of Garp, from conception to the end of life. Irving's writing style is smooth and real to life, as if he himself were talking to you. This book can be a difficult read for...

Pros: This is a great book to learn many of life's lessons.
Cons: None

I was 15 years old when Garp and Irving entered my life and they taught me many things that will hopefully, never be forgotten.

Life lessons in no particular order:
1. Don't have sex with your kids babysitter.
2. Don't have sex...

Pros: Interesting from cover to cover, grabs you and holds you, leaving you wondering what's next
Cons: Can be a bit shocking, but that can also be a good thing

The first time I read this book was in high school. The second time I read this book I was 23. It meant much more the second time. With good literature it's easy to get distracted by the surface events of the story. If anything is obscene or ...

Pros: Great characters and a rich story
Cons: not one darn thing, although its not for kids

If you saw the movie The World According to Garp trust me the old adage about the book being better than the movie has never held more true. I read this book as a 12 year old because a friend of mine had a copy and told me it had some "dirty...

Pros: I now think there may be such a thing as perfect.
Cons: None

The World According to Garp is a truly well written, touching, beautiful, and clever, book that anyone human can relate to at some point in their lives.I would not recommend reading this book to a child. It is 609 pages and is not meant for someone...

Pros: Great narrative structure and character focus shift.
Cons: Garp's nested writing tends to detract from the novel's theme and plot.

When reading _The World According to Garp_ we see a world quite similar to our own. Irving presents several themes to his audience that succeed in both driving the plot and eliciting reader sympathy. Lust, one of the dominating themes, appears in each...

Pros: fabulous story
Cons: a bit risque

I loved this book! I love John Irving! The life of a man, an ordinary man brought up under extraordinary circumstances.... I'll admit, I'm not the best at writing opinions, but just hear me out. If you've ever had a science class in your life, you've no...