A Wonderful World

If you saw the movie The World According to Garp trust me the old adage about the book being better than the movie has never held more true. I read this book as a 12 year old because a friend of mine had a copy and told me it had some "dirty parts". Well yes it did, but it also had a story so engrossing that I would take a flashlight into my bedroom and sit up under my covers til late into the night to keep reading it. I have probably read it ten times since and I love it on new levels each time.

It is the story of T.S. Garp, the son of a reluctant feminist named Jenny Garp. His mother's unique world view leads Garp to have a most unusual life and we get to follow along. Garp is a child of a single mother in a time when this wasn't a common experience and this too shapes who he becomes. The story is filled with discovering the mysteries of relationships, families, and sexuality. As preposterous as some of Garp's actions are, we can all identify with many of his feelings. As a teen I could feel the things he felt as an awkward youth and as an adult I relate to the man simply trying to deal with life on terms he can handle.

There are many other wonderful characters to fall in love with, such as Garp's brilliant wife Helen and his friend Roberta Muldoon (who's name used to be Robert and we'll leave it at that). The story is alternately hilarious, sad, fanciful and poignant. Its been 17 years since I first read The World According to Garp and I don't think I've ever been so consumed by a novel since. I give it my strongest recommendation.