World According To Garp

Thematically there's a lot to unpack here, including gender roles, writer's creativity and sexuality. Tonally it is a little all over the place, sometimes struggling to make a smooth transition between absurdity and tragedy. Yet the book is an interesting character study on Garp himself, showing how life events can change a person like his son Walt's death. The story is ambitious, showing a person's story from conception to death. Irving has cited his admiration for Dickens before, and I can definitely see the narrative parallels.

It didn't always work for me, but after reading 30% of Hotel New Hampshire and finding it insufferable, not to mention A prayer for Owen Meaney was largely dull in its execution, meaning Garp is probably my favourite of Irvings so far.