Aili's review
The World According to Garp
by John Irving
I read Garp. then I read A Prayer for Owen Meany. Then I tried to read Hotel New Hampshire and one other, and then I stopped. I have a friend who has read most of Irving's oeuvre, and I think he's nuts. I remain convinced that Irving wrote two books: Garp and Owen Meany. *All* of his other books are re-arrangements of Garp, down to the bears, the wrestlers, the wierd first sexual experiences, and the Irving-as-a-main character.
So with all that said, I recommend A Prayer for Owen Meany. It's still an Irving book, but it's actually a new plot for him, and it's his best book. And then you too should stop reading John Irving.
Fair enough -- Owen Meany is the favorite book of at least one friend of mine. And Ethan has a copy (which he's been trying to get through for months) so it's readily available. I'll try it -- but I may need to rant and rave about it afterwards. :)
i mostly second this. i do think he has some worthwhile things going on in other books, but garp and owen meany are the ones that count for me.
also, aili, i don't know you very well, but from what i do know and your comment about how the whole book should be about jenny, i recommend "james miranda barry." it has very little in common with garp, but i just bet you'll love it.
Aili's review
The World According to Garp by John Irving
Aili's review
rating:
Oh John Irving. You are a twisted man, who writes about twisted sex and violence between twisted characters who are clearly very thinly veiled versions of yourself. I hate you. The only reason I finished your book is that I am obsessive about finishing things.
But maybe I did this backwards -- I read A Widow for One Year first, and THEN WAtG. I think most folks do it the other way around. So all of the issues covered in Widow seemed re-hashed to me, or re-covered, or just basically more of the same: struggling writer (whose crappy stories you are forced to read), his explicit sexual needs and fetishes (I know I sound prudish, but seriously, one of the major themes is Man's Uncontrollable Lust and How It Hurts Ladies), his marital problems, and then, very graphically, the Terrible Things That Happen to His Kids. In Widow the kids are actually killed before the start of the book and the book is all about the main characters dealing with the tragedy. In Garp ...more
But maybe I did this backwards -- I read A Widow for One Year first, and THEN WAtG. I think most folks do it the other way around. So all of the issues covered in Widow seemed re-hashed to me, or re-covered, or just basically more of the same: struggling writer (whose crappy stories you are forced to read), his explicit sexual needs and fetishes (I know I sound prudish, but seriously, one of the major themes is Man's Uncontrollable Lust and How It Hurts Ladies), his marital problems, and then, very graphically, the Terrible Things That Happen to His Kids. In Widow the kids are actually killed before the start of the book and the book is all about the main characters dealing with the tragedy. In Garp ...more
I read Garp. then I read A Prayer for Owen Meany. Then I tried to read Hotel New Hampshire and one other, and then I stopped. I have a friend who has read most of Irving's oeuvre, and I think he's nuts. I remain convinced that Irving wrote two books: Garp and Owen Meany. *All* of his other books are re-arrangements of Garp, down to the bears, the wrestlers, the wierd first sexual experiences, and the Irving-as-a-main character.So with all that said, I recommend A Prayer for Owen Meany. It's still an Irving book, but it's actually a new plot for him, and it's his best book. And then you too should stop reading John Irving.
Fair enough -- Owen Meany is the favorite book of at least one friend of mine. And Ethan has a copy (which he's been trying to get through for months) so it's readily available. I'll try it -- but I may need to rant and rave about it afterwards. :)
i mostly second this. i do think he has some worthwhile things going on in other books, but garp and owen meany are the ones that count for me.
also, aili, i don't know you very well, but from what i do know and your comment about how the whole book should be about jenny, i recommend "james miranda barry." it has very little in common with garp, but i just bet you'll love it.