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The World According to Garp
- A Novel
- Narrated by: MacLeod Andrews, John Irving
- Length: 20 hrs and 54 mins
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Publisher's Summary
A special 40th anniversary edition of the bestselling coming-of-age classic novel by John Irving, with a new introduction by the author.
"He is more than popular. He is a Populist, determined to keep alive the Dickensian tradition that revels in colorful set pieces...and teaches moral lessons." (The New York Times)
The opening sentence of John Irving's breakout novel, The World According to Garp, signals the start of sexual violence, which becomes increasingly political. "Garp's mother, Jenny Fields, was arrested in Boston in 1942 for wounding a man in a movie theater." Jenny is an unmarried nurse; she becomes a single mom and a feminist leader, beloved but polarizing. Her son, Garp, is less beloved, but no less polarizing.
From the tragicomic tone of its first sentence to its mordantly funny last line -- "we are all terminal cases" -- The World According to Garp maintains a breakneck pace. The subject of sexual hatred--of intolerance of sexual minorities and differences--runs the gamut of "lunacy and sorrow."
Winner of the National Book Award, Garp is a comedy with forebodings of doom. In more than thirty languages, in more than forty countries--with more than ten million copies in print--Garp is the precursor of John Irving's later protest novels.
Critic Reviews
“The most powerful and profound novel about women written by a man in our generation.... Like all extraordinary books, Garp defies synopsis.... A marvelous, important, permanent novel by a serious artist of remarkable powers.” (Chicago Sun-Times)
“Nothing in contemporary fiction matches it.... Irving’s blend of gravity and play is unique, audacious, almost blasphemous.... Brilliant, funny, and consistently wise; a work of vast talent.” (The New Republic)
"A large talent announces itself on practically every page." (The Book-of-the-Month Club News)
Featured Article: 30+ Quotes About Creativity to Inspire Your Process
No matter what field you’re in—be it art, writing, science, tech, or sales—coming up with creative ideas can be frustrating. But here’s the reassuring truth: every single creative has struggled with the same fears. Fortunately, many have documented their experiences, leaving us the words we need to hear when we really feel stuck. We’ve compiled this handy list of creativity quotes from people in all different fields to help guide and inspire you.
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What listeners say about The World According to Garp
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Juleshm
- 05-10-19
My 2nd favorite Irving novel so far
Irving has such a gift for capturing the irreverent, awkward, and eccentric in every day moments through characters not afraid to ask lifes tough questions. Humor and tragedy side by side as in life. The novel first published in the 1970s was very apt for the times. It remains so in 2019. Jennys beginning was from old family money and puritanical parents. To their horror she became a nurse rather than marrying. During WW II Jenny Fields consciously decides to impregnate herself via circumstances which are bizarre to say the least. Irving an important American talent and I look forward to his gems haven’t read yet. This title and The Cider House Rules created literary characters for the times The 40th anniversary Audible edition features John Irving reading a forward. He had thought of Garp as a period piece and expressed disgust that sexually based hatred and its crimes are still so prevalent. I discover more with each reread.
Favorite Quote
All men are liars, said Roberta Muldoon, who knew this was true because she had once been a man
11 people found this helpful
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- Bill Z
- 03-08-19
Authentic and relevant complexity
In The World According to Garp, you will encounter complex and authentic representations of having, raising, and losing children, building, destroying, and rebuilding romantic relationships, sexuality, gender, and fanaticism. Of the many aspects of this novel that I will carry with me, perhaps the strongest is that no matter how hard you try, you are likely to be misunderstood, especially if you grow.
7 people found this helpful
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- Frank Donnelly
- 04-10-20
A Very Well Read Audiobook - An Very Different Story
First as an audiobook, this is a very professional product. The narration is excellent. The audiobook starts with a forward by the author. I have a hard copy that has the same as an afterword. I preferred this the way it appears in my hard copy; reading it afterward.
As for the story itself, the writing is often brilliant. It is not "light" reading. It is more of a thoughtful work. There were times the story moved slowly and I had to preserve. There is, at times, very dark violence that one may find distasteful. As a former police detective I was often repulsed by the episodic violence.
On the other hand much of this book is really well constructed. The author made me care about characters. This made the end of the story as well as the epilogue particularly poignant.
"Garp" the character is a writer who seems to have disdain for reviews. Perhaps I should take the hint and stop here. Thank You...
6 people found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 09-02-19
STILL great.
I've read this book 3 times, and listened to it once. John Irving is the only author I RE-read. Now I have a new narrator to seek out. MacLeod Andrews reads one of my favorite Irvings exactly as it should be read.
6 people found this helpful
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- andrew
- 05-27-21
Part of my life
I saw the movie as a boy and read the book as a man. It’s been an important story to me most of my life. I believe it’s the greatest fiction I will ever experience.
5 people found this helpful
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- Sharon Ames
- 10-02-20
A review Garp would hopefully enjoy
Some background - This book was first suggested to me by my parents. They both claimed it was one of their all-time favorites and that they had read it many years ago. This was somewhat surprising because they each have very different taste in what they enjoy to read. I ordered the book off Amazon, not giving it much attention. When my copy arrived, it had a toad on the front and it made no sense to me then. I’m not sure what finally made me pick it up but I’m glad I did, when I did.
My review - John Irving is a fantastic writer and not too clever for his own good. I loved the layers of writers and writing, and how seamlessly Irving navigates between each tense, perspective, and new narrative. I loved the call backs and references he made for readers who paid attention. Irving’s use of language brought me into this world and I loved it. I believe Irving’s foreword is an important addition to the novel as well. It helped me understand this wasn’t a book about Garp. Letting go of that expectation allowed me to enjoy and focus on all of these rich characters and how they grow. On the note of characters - I hated Jozy Slopper’s dialogue and it felt like it was disrespectful and insensitive. Otherwise, I was happy with everyone else, flaws and all. This book will stay with me for a long time and I’m grateful to Irving for the lessons ingrained.
5 people found this helpful
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- Wyatt
- 06-12-19
A roller coaster of emotion
This book was an amazingly colorful story with fascinating characters with lots of depth. Truly worth reading again
3 people found this helpful
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- caroline thomas
- 05-17-22
Returned
Its ok you have strong political views. I won't be paying to hear them. Why add that intro? I don't care if you hate Trump or that YOU feel he is solely responsible for our divided country (try the media). I know you lean left but don't pontificate when selling entertainment to the general public. We are a two party country. it's what makes America great. I'm so sad I can't enjoy your books anymore. Wrong platform.
2 people found this helpful
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- Chris10587
- 07-17-20
perfect
story was amazing, Irving is the most skilled writer I have ever read. the book feels like it could have been written today. its so far the best Irving book I have read, I plan on reading all his books. the narrator was amazing. if Irving edited it for a stage performance it could be even better.
2 people found this helpful
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- Amanda Hickey
- 11-08-19
Sigh...💯
My first Irving novel that I actually finished. I couldn’t get through Owen Meany, Owen Meany’s narrated voice gave me a headache. This novel was so entertaining! I really like Irving’s satire and crudeness, I giggled quite a bit throughout. Although some heartbreaking events and my disagreement with the politics, Irving has a beautiful way of writing. Roberta/Robert was by favorite character!
2 people found this helpful
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One summer day, Margaux Fragoso meets Peter Curran at the neighborhood swimming pool, and they begin to play. She is seven; he is 51. When Peter invites her and her mother to his house, the little girl finds a child’s paradise of exotic pets and an elaborate backyard garden. Her mother, beset by mental illness and overwhelmed by caring for Margaux, is grateful for the attention Peter lavishes on her, and he creates an imaginative universe for her, much as Lewis Carroll did for his real-life Alice.
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Gripping, unflinching and very, very brave.
- By Susan on 05-24-11
By: Margaux Fragoso
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The Cider House Rules
- By: John Irving
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 24 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
From one of America's most beloved and respected writers comes the classic story of Homer Wells, an orphan, and Wilbur Larch, a doctor without children of his own, who develop an extraordinary bond with one another.
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Wonderful listen
- By Michelle on 10-22-11
By: John Irving
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A Widow for One Year
- A Novel
- By: John Irving
- Narrated by: George Guidall
- Length: 24 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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Story
Ruth Cole is a complex, often self-contradictory character — a "difficult" woman. Her story is told in three parts, each focusing on a crucial time in her life. When we first meet her, Ruth is only four. The second window into Ruth's life opens when she is an unmarried woman whose personal life is not nearly as successful as her literary career. The novel closes in the autumn of 1995, when Ruth is a 41-year-old widow and mother — and about to fall in love for the first time.
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More than a door in the floor
- By Grace on 05-24-09
By: John Irving
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Children Playing Before a Statue of Hercules (Unabridged Selections)
- By: Edited by David Sedaris
- Narrated by: David Sedaris, Mary-Louise Parker, Cherry Jones
- Length: 2 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Children Playing Before a Statue of Hercules is a collection of short stories, some classic, others impending, selected and introduced by David Sedaris.
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Beautiful Stories Great Voices
- By Christine Currie on 02-07-16
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The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
- By: Junot Diaz
- Narrated by: Jonathan Davis, Staci Snell
- Length: 16 hrs
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Things have never been easy for Oscar, a sweet but disastrously overweight, lovesick Dominican ghetto nerd. Oscar dreams of becoming the Dominican J. R. R. Tolkien and, most of all, of finding love. But he may never get what he wants, thanks to the Fuku: the curse that has haunted Oscar's family for generations, dooming them to prison, torture, tragic accidents, and, above all, ill-starred love. Oscar, still waiting for his first kiss, is just its most recent victim.
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Wondrous Book!!!
- By Robert on 06-22-12
By: Junot Diaz
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Our Story Begins
- New and Selected Stories
- By: Tobias Wolff
- Narrated by: Anthony Heald
- Length: 13 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Wolff here returns with fresh revelations - about biding one's time, or experiencing first love, or burying one's mother - that come to a variety of characters in circumstances at once everyday and extraordinary. A retired Marine enrolls in college while her son trains for Iraq. A lawyer takes a difficult deposition. An American in Rome indulges the Gypsy who's picked his pocket.
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Great
- By chris on 04-11-08
By: Tobias Wolff
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Tiger, Tiger
- A Memoir
- By: Margaux Fragoso
- Narrated by: Susan Bennett
- Length: 12 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
One summer day, Margaux Fragoso meets Peter Curran at the neighborhood swimming pool, and they begin to play. She is seven; he is 51. When Peter invites her and her mother to his house, the little girl finds a child’s paradise of exotic pets and an elaborate backyard garden. Her mother, beset by mental illness and overwhelmed by caring for Margaux, is grateful for the attention Peter lavishes on her, and he creates an imaginative universe for her, much as Lewis Carroll did for his real-life Alice.
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Gripping, unflinching and very, very brave.
- By Susan on 05-24-11
By: Margaux Fragoso
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The Girls
- By: Lori Lansens
- Narrated by: Stephanie Zimbalist, Lolita Davidovich
- Length: 6 hrs and 4 mins
- Abridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Meet Rose and Ruby: sisters, best friends, confidantes, and conjoined twins. Since their birth, Rose and Ruby Darlen have been known simply as "the girls". They make friends, fall in love, have jobs, love their parents, and follow their dreams. But the Darlens are special. Now nearing their 30th birthday, they are history's oldest craniopagus twins, joined at the head by a pot the size of a bread plate.
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Terrific material, great presentation:
- By Barbara on 06-24-06
By: Lori Lansens
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Wonderful Town
- New York Stories from The New Yorker
- By: Woody Allen, John Cheever, E. B. White, and others
- Narrated by: Tyne Daly, Timothy Jerome, Joe Morton, and others
- Length: 9 hrs and 20 mins
- Abridged
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New York City is not only The New Yorker magazine's place of origin and its sensibility's lifeblood, it is the heart of American literary culture. Wonderful Town, an anthology of superb short fiction by many of the magazine's most accomplished contributors, celebrates the 75-year marriage between a preeminent publication and its preeminent context with this collection of 44 of its best stories from (so to speak) home.
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Great stories and readers, but technically sloppy
- By Alison on 09-08-04
By: Woody Allen, and others
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This Boy's Life
- By: Tobias Wolff
- Narrated by: Oliver Wyman
- Length: 10 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
This book essentially launched the memoir craze that has been going strong ever since. The story is pretty grim: teen-aged Wolff moves with his divorced mother from Florida to Utah to Washington State to escape her violent boyfriend. When she remarries, Wolff finds himself in a bitter battle of wills with his abusive stepfather, a contest in which the two prove to be more evenly matched than might have been supposed.
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Beautiful, unsentimental memoir of youth
- By Darwin8u on 04-27-13
By: Tobias Wolff
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The Wife
- A Novel
- By: Meg Wolitzer
- Narrated by: Dawn Harvey
- Length: 8 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
The moment Joan Castleman decides to leave her husband, they are 35,000 feet above the ocean on a flight to Helsinki. Joan's husband, Joseph, is one of America's preeminent novelists, about to receive a prestigious international award, and Joan, who has spent 40 years subjugating her own literary talents to fan the flames of his career, has finally decided to stop.
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A bit of a downer
- By Jody Cox on 08-01-18
By: Meg Wolitzer
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Happy Family
- By: Tracy Barone
- Narrated by: Courtney Patterson
- Length: 11 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Story
In 1962 a pregnant girl staggers into a health clinic, gives birth, and flees. A foster family takes the baby in, and an unlikely couple, their lives unspooling from the recent death of their infant, adopts her. Forty years and many secrets and lies later, Cheri Matzner is all grown up and falling apart. Ironic and fierce, she's a former cop turned disgruntled academic, a frustrated wife trying to get pregnant, an iconoclastic daughter bearing war wounds from her dysfunctional family.
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excellent
- By Marie E on 06-05-16