The World according to Garp by John Irving

The World according to Garp by John Irving

So, The World According to Garp!  Um, what can I say about this book?  I loved the beginning and then I slowly lost interest.  I am disappointed that I’m not more enthusiastic about John’s writing because he’s such a renowned writer but, alas, he appears not to be my cup of joe.

T.S Garp is the illegitimate son of Jenny Fields, a wooden character who is portrayed as a feminist ahead of her time.  She sexually assaults (my interpretation) a dying soldier in order to fall pregnant:  she wants a baby but doesn’t want the complication of a husband.  Wikipedia, however, will have you believe she’s an almost saintly and practical character who ‘used’ the injured soldier ‘out of kindness’! :

“Jenny nurses Garp, observing his infantile state and almost perpetual autonomic sexual arousal. As a matter of practicality and kindness in making his passing as comfortable as possible and reducing his agitation, she manually gratifies him several times. Unconstrained by convention and driven by practicality and her desire for a child, Jenny uses Garp’s semen to impregnate herself…”

I think Jenny is nothing more than a sanctimonious sexual deviant who has no qualms about passing judgement on all men, including her own son, about their lustful ways.

T.S Garp himself is a simpering, weak character who is constantly led by the nose by the various women in his life including his mother, his wife and a group of prostitutes he encounters whilst living in Vienna with his mother.

I am only going to give the book ONE COFFEE CUP ☕  but don’t take my word for it.  It’s claimed that this book has been a “worldwide bestseller since its publication in 1978“.