The World According to Garp

"Dr. Larch, the saintly abortionist in “The Cider House Rules,” and Jenny Fields, Garp’s mother in “The World According to Garp,” have sex only once and stop for life."

"I just fell for him hard when I first read the book in my early 20s."

"This was given to me by a schoolfriend who told me that the character, Garp, really reminded her of me. I wasn’t quite sure what to make of that once I’d read it, but I could relate to this guy. I’d like to think I have an easy-going outlook on life – you don’t have to agree – and I was brought up by a single mum and I think John Irving is very much on the side of women. He takes a strong look at feminism in this book and its pros and cons, at how when it gets to extreme levels of hating men it creates its own problems, but he looks also at how women become victims. He marries his childhood sweetheart and they endure a lot, infidelity, the loss of a child, terrible things. Garp is a strong character and it’s even funny the way he was conceived. His mother was a nurse and she notices that this airman on his deathbed has got a huge erection, so she decides to get on and have a ride and have a child because she wants a child and not a husband. But really it’s about Garp meeting and marrying his wife and how their love survives trials and difficulties, how love can persist and be strong through tough times. Again this was made into a film with Robin Williams playing Garp and there’s a wonderful moment showing how quirky Garp can be – Garp and his wife are looking at this beautiful house and an aircraft crashes into it, and Garp says: ‘We have to buy it! It’s been pre-disastered!’"

"I read “The World According to Garp” when I was 16, and it changed my life. I was an avid reader at the time and a would-be guitar player, but “Garp” allowed me to articulate a new ambition: I wanted to be a writer."