A Quick Note On This Review: This article includes affiliate links to Bookshop.org as a way of supporting both local bookshops and my own ability to write.
The World According to Garp by John Irving follows the lives of a family from New Hampshire who try to make sense of life through the lens of creativity. Beginning with the conception of T.S. Garp, the story’s main protagonist, the book explores the ways that writers and artists can feel about the professions that they choose out of love and then quickly become disillusioned with.
The book’s exploration of the arts is rooted in the concepts of eccentricity and humor, which is a way of engaging with the problem that isn’t always seen among artists. While some writers reckon with the idea that words and images don’t have enough weight to live a meaningful life, they rarely laugh about it the same way that Irving’s book seems to be doing. Garp could easily have been written as a nihilistic meditation on the meaninglessness of the arts, and there are times when the book points out that life can have moments when it’s hard to keep moving forward on the set path, but these are often tied together in bizarre incidents of seeming chance presented as humorous.
However, what value could anyone today derive from a book written in 1978?
The answer to that question is something that the book itself could answer because it wants others to understand that life is about connection and humor more than it is about endings and ambition. The characters of The World According to Garp are frequently ambitious and want to see the world changed, but it’s when these ambitions become all-consuming that unhappiness frequently follows, and are often only resolved when characters like Garp and Helen decide that their careers and personal needs shouldn’t take priority over the family and friends who they care most about.
The characters are undoubtedly flawed, and there are points in the story where it’s hard to decide just how accepting Irving is of the changing landscape of the world in which Irving was likely writing. Whether it’s Garp and Helen’s multiple infidelities, the treatment of Jillsy (one of the few characters of color) as a supporting character in a “help” role at a publishing house, or the portrayal of multiple LGBTQ characters, there are times when The World According to Garp seems like a half-hearted embrace of the social changes that have come to dominate society in the 21st century. However, there are elements of Garp that push the idea that people shouldn’t have to conform to the traditional roles society has set down for them if it’s not what makes them happy, like the inversion of traditional gender roles in Garp’s marriage, the way anti-feminist sentiments are caricatured, and the style Irving uses to gloss over groundbreaking social issues as if they were common sense rather than major sticking points in the public discourse.
Writers who are interested in exploring ways of representing traditionally marginalized communities or discussing social issues in a way that embraces change could use Garp as a starting point, though other, more modern worlds written by members of those communities would need to be read to ensure that the intent of inclusivity isn’t undermined by literary devices from a time when the idea of acceptance had a different definition. But if you’re looking for a book which talks about the absurdity of life and does so with a tongue-in-cheek humor that’s reminiscent of Kevin Hearne, Christopher Moore, or even Dickens, then it’s worth picking up a copy of The World According to Garp.
If you’re interested in reading the book and want to support local bookstores as well as my work, consider using this affiliate link: The World According to Garp.
What’s Next?
I am an avid reader and have quite a few thoughts on how some books could benefit both people that want to be entertained and those looking to sharpen their literary skills.
If you’re interested in finding out more about what I’ve been reading – and how it could benefit you – I will be publishing those thoughts on Fridays on a weekly basis. Check back next week for a discussion of John Connelly’s The Book of Lost Things!
The Writerly Review 