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The World According to Garp (Black Swan)
 
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The World According to Garp (Black Swan) (Paperback)

by John Irving (Author)
4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (41 customer reviews)
RRP: £7.99
Price: £5.99 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
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Frequently Bought Together

The World According to Garp (Black Swan) + A Prayer for Owen Meany + Cider House Rules - The Novel
Price For All Three: £19.97

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Product details

  • Paperback: 591 pages
  • Publisher: Black Swan; New edition edition (1 Jul 1986)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0552992054
  • ISBN-13: 978-0552992053
  • Product Dimensions: 19.4 x 12.8 x 3.2 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (41 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 16,092 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category:

    #4 in  Books > Fiction > 20th Century Classics > Irving, John

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  • See Complete Table of Contents

Product Description

Product Description
'Like all extraordinary books, "The World According to Garp" defies synopsis', wrote the "Chicago Sun Times" when "Garp" was first published in 1978. It is a marvellous, important, permanent novel by a serious artist of remarkable powers. "Garp" is a book that captivates all who read it. Peopled with the most extraordinary characters you will ever meet, here is a novel that will make you laugh, make you weep, and, above all, make you think.

From the Back Cover
'Like all extraordinary books, The World According to Garp defies synopsis...' wrote the Chicago Sun-Times when Garp was first published in 1978. It is a marvellous, important, permanent novel by a serious artist of remarkable powers...

Garp is a book that captivates all who read it. Peopled with the most extraordinary characters you will ever meet, here is a novel that will make you laugh, make you weep, and, above all, make you think.

See all Product Description

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What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

The World According to Garp (Black Swan)
86% buy the item featured on this page:
The World According to Garp (Black Swan) 4.5 out of 5 stars (41)
£5.99
A Prayer for Owen Meany
7% buy
A Prayer for Owen Meany 4.7 out of 5 stars (90)
£6.99
Cider House Rules - The Novel
3% buy
Cider House Rules - The Novel 4.7 out of 5 stars (27)
£6.99
The Hotel New Hampshire (Black Swan)
3% buy
The Hotel New Hampshire (Black Swan) 4.1 out of 5 stars (16)
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Customer Reviews

41 Reviews
5 star:
 (32)
4 star:
 (4)
3 star:
 (2)
2 star:
 (1)
1 star:
 (2)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.5 out of 5 stars (41 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars "Imagining something is better than remembering something.", 29 Dec 2000
By jr@tesson.demon.co.uk (Dorset, United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
That is, if you have as good an imagination as John Irving.

I had heard great things about John Irving, and had it not been for this fact I would have never launched myself into a 600 page novel. I am easily bored. Even despite its recommendations I was still unprepared for how I would react to The World According to Garp.

The novel begins by narrating the unusual circumstances surrounding Garp's entrance into the world, i.e. from the perspective of his mother. Although its is a long book, I really felt that every word was necessary, and points are woven together throughout the novel. The story climaxes towards the end, by which time you are grateful for the extra pages.

Garp is a writer, and this book is about writing, and the world 'according to a writer,' and especially a father. Irving writes in his afterword that his book is about a father's fear of losing his children. He says: "I'm just a father with a good imagination. In my imagination I lose my children every day."

The fun thing is we get to read Garp's writing, too, and his best work, a short story called The Pension Grillparzer (don't ask!) has actually been published as a separate book in its own right. We get to know Garp through his writing and through the other characters, as well as through Irving's voice. A very inventive novel, pushing the boundaries of fiction, not just its shape, but its subject too.

This book made me laugh. The comedy is so closely intertwined with the tragedy that you feel personally involved with the joke. You experience pain with humour, tragedy with farce, and warmth all the way through. You never know what is going to happen next. I know what I'm going to do next: read some more Irving!

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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful book!, 30 Jun 2000
By A Customer
This really is a wonderful book; alternately hysterically funny and surreal, and at one point heartbreakingly sad. From the very first page, you are drawn into Garp's peculiar world. The characters are fully-developed and the plot races along at a cracking pace.

It's a bit of a cliché to say that a book can make you laugh and also make you cry, but in this case it's true. If this is the first John Irving book you read, it certainly won't be the last.

Set aside a couple of completely free days to read it - once you start, you won't want to put it down.

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13 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A blockbuster of hilarity, 17 Oct 2005
By Mr. D. PMartin (London, UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This is an incredible book. It has a LOT of black humour which is characteristic of John Irving. If you have an ironic, dark sense of humour then this book is definitely for you.
This is the first and best Irving book I have read. It covers the life of Garp (who was conceived in a funny way...no, maybe I shouldn't get into that! Just buy the book and you'll get what I mean!)
Anyway, if you want a book that will make you laugh out loud and covers the following topics with such humour it's almost genius:
1) A bitten-off penis (ouch!)
2) A society of women with their tongues cut out
3) Several transvestites
3) A prostitute with cancer
4) An assassinated nurse
Now you may be looking somewhat disgusted
or you may be amused and a little curious.
Either way - get the book. It is sooooooo funny I can't emphasise it enough!
A lovely thick read, ideal for sun-kissed holidays.
PS - can i just add my total contempt for so called 'reviewers' who simply write how crap the book/film/cd is, and how it's the worst thing they've ever read/seen/heard. Guys, that's not a review, that's just a slagging off session! You have to ANALYSE the book's good and bad points, not just say 'It's crap.' That's not reviewing. Ignore those creeps who just slag it off, prospective buyers!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars The World According to Garp
Wonderfully bizarre read. Absorbing, different and all I expected from the title.The World According to Garp (Black Swan)
Published 1 day ago by Ms. M. Jane Bethell

3.0 out of 5 stars Maybe a classic but not my favourite
I know this book is popular amongst readers, especially Irving fans, but I read it twice (10 years apart) and still felt the same. Read more
Published 3 months ago by French reader

3.0 out of 5 stars Great in parts but on a whole does start to bore.
I know that I am in the minority with my rating but I really wanted to love this book and at times I did. Parts of this novel are genuinely hilarious. Read more
Published 6 months ago by noggy1810

5.0 out of 5 stars garp wrote...
the humour in this is what captivates every one of it's readers. irving creates a special kind of relationship between his characters and his readers, you care about what happens... Read more
Published 16 months ago by Sybil Trelawney

1.0 out of 5 stars It isn't as bad as Owen Meany...
A grotesque 'comedy' by a writer who thinks he's an awful lot better than he actually is, and boy does he want you to know it. Read more
Published 19 months ago by beccajwp

5.0 out of 5 stars New to his books
I only picked this up after being recommended it- and having read no John Irving books before, had no hopes for this book. Read more
Published on 9 Mar 2007 by Roxy le foxy

5.0 out of 5 stars The Dickens of our age
John Irving has a talent that every writer on Earth wants: he is able to create characters powerful enough to make the reader draw breath, powerful enough to make the reader leave... Read more
Published on 12 Feb 2007 by Tahir Nasser

5.0 out of 5 stars The first book I've bought by John Irving, now he's my favourite author
I really like this book. I'm a very young reader as I'd like to put it.
I find that this book has a pretty good humour and amazing, unforgetable characters and events... Read more
Published on 15 Oct 2006 by Pim

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful
This is one of my favourite books ever! What a way to start reading Irving.
If you've never read Irving, start here. If you don't get it, then leave the others! Read more
Published on 19 Jul 2006 by Mr. S. Moulster

4.0 out of 5 stars A weird and wonderful world according to Garp
A superbly enjoyable book, the insight into Garp's struggles and anxieities as both a writer and a father kept me as a reader enthralled. Read more
Published on 16 Mar 2006 by Mr. T. Keen

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