One thing that rings true about John Irving books is that
you really never know what you are going to get when you crack open the first
page. The only thing I knew about this book other than reading the back cover
was that it involved high school wrestling in some way. I learned about that in
Frank Deford’s sports writing memoir “Over Time” where Deford mentioned that
Irving sent complaint letters to Sports Illustrated about its lack of wrestling
coverage.
Garp is a book that at times seems preoccupied with sex and
other times with the frustration of writing/publishing. Mostly, one seems to
interfere with the other. The other jarring thing is the number of lost limbs
and appendages. Just off the top of my mind, characters in this story lost:
eyes, arms, and a penis (two actually – one bit off, the other by choice),
numerous tongues, probably part of a head, and most of the people seem to
battle with keeping their minds.
Irving’s books are never dull, and he always takes risks. He
blends humor with tragedy brilliantly. He even prints full versions of a short
story and a first chapter of a novel written by the fictional Garp. I’ve read
two other Irving books and have two more in my to-read stack. I’d place this
one above “A Widow for A Year” and below “A Prayer for Owen Meany” in terms of
my preference.
Up next: The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman
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