A review of The World According to Garp

I have recently finished reading "The World According to Garp" by John Irving. It took me two months to read this. I started it at the beginning of January and didn't finish it until now. Okay, so I took my time with it. I wasn't exactly on the edge of my seat while reading this one, but that isn't the same as saying that I disliked it.

I don't know what to say about this novel. It is difficult to say something that hasn't probably already been said. It is academic literature, which I am not used to reading on my own. When I read fiction I read stories that are grand, epic, and dramatically heroic. There is Drama with a capital "D" in Garp and there are heroics, but the fate of the world does not hang in the balance. Garp isn't one of those stories. It doesn't have a grouping of characterizations or an allegorical plot. It's good, but in ways that I am not used to experiencing.

Garp, the title character, is a writer who starts out the son of a very independent minded young woman. His mother, Jenny Fields, is from a comfortably classed family, but chooses to raise her son on her own. Jenny, I think, is the strongest character of the story. She is a woman who takes action, which is something that not many men or women do in our culture. I believe that one of the worst problems with our culture is that many individuals leave too much undone in their lives or do not do enough in general. I believe that because so much is never resolved in our lives that many of us begin to feel as if we are powerless, which puts people at the mercy of others who ARE willing to take what they want from the world. Jenny doesn't allow herself to be used for anyone else's agenda, because it is her choice to not act as if she is powerless. There is no trauma that forces Jenny to live her life a specific way, but there is a willingness to act how she desires and pride enough to reach for what she wants. She decides that she wants a child, but not a husband, so she manages exactly that. She has Garp and raises him on her own, because that too is what she wants. I wish that Garp was as strong a character.

Garp is many different things in the story. He's a wrestler, he's a writer, he's a husband, he's a father, he's a cheater, and he even fights crime (not professionally, its one incident in one chapter). I think that because he is so many different things that it he doesn't get to stand up as anything specific. As a character he does not embody any single ideal or aspect of our psyche, which would make him very easy to understand. Instead he is very human, which makes him complicated. Real people, not the ones in books, are never about any one thing. Real people are about a lot of different ideas and a lot of different circumstances that push us and bend us and even break us to different behaviors and actions. I never felt as though I understood Garp as I read the story. I understood the actions that he took, but I never felt like I was relating to the character. I liked him, but I never felt a connection with him. When I read I do it to try and piece together a puzzle. I try to form an understanding oh how things fit. Garp is not a puzzle piece, he doesn't have clearly defined edges that let you place him exactly where he should be.

The story leads through many dramatic twists. Events take an abrupt turn. There is not a lot of time spent considering life's crossroads in this story. The characters do not spend time deciding where they want to go. A lot of the time they are forced into confrontations. True to life, but this is a novel. Stories, usually, have a plot, and I am not embarrassed to confess that if this book has a plot then I missed it.

I enjoyed all of the characters. I respect the quality of the writing. The story never moves into areas that are beyond comprehension. John Irving does not play games with this novel. He does not try to push fiction to do any new tricks. My issues with this novel is that, personally, it was a little blah. There wasn't anything that excited me about it. There wasn't a shiny toy at the bottom of the box. This story is corn flakes. There is nothing wrong with corn flakes, they can be a very healthy part of one's diet. I think this is a very good story to use to introduce people to what literature is. I'd like to recommend this novel to a reader who is a young woman, maybe someone who is about to start college or who has just started reading to expand her mind and not only entertain it, because I think it could have a positive affect on a female mind that wants more than she has had. I would also like to recommend it to any reader who is displeased with the state of their life and doesn't realize that they could have personal satisfaction if they would just go for it.

I rate The World According to Garp with a three out of five. Three what out of what? I don't know. Basically, if you are interested in a book that is about people and troubles and pains and some of life's good moments then give Garp a shot. At the worst you will be bored with it, but I doubt anyone could be bored with the whole of it. If you are looking for good guys and bad guys and battles then you better pass on Garp. If you are looking to train your mind to appreciate good writing then you better give Garp a shot, because Irving seems to be a writer who has the basics down and can do something with them.