Archive for July 2018
Forty years later, The World According to Garp remains ‘a treasure beyond scope’
“The World According to Garp is, to me, the best-written example of whatever elusive literary quality makes a human being capable of sobbing and laughing simultaneously. Those are each extraordinarily difficult emotions to elicit; to do so in tandem is remarkable, but requires the kind of evocation that critics might call outright provocation instead. They…
Read MoreHere Come the Ghosts Again
I think the early signs of my interest in ghosts are the epilogues I’ve written to many of my novels — I love epilogues. They are a way to keep the dead alive. The first draft of the Epilogue to The World According to Garp was twice as long as any of the other chapters.…
Read MoreThe World According to Garp: A Note from John Irving
This year I’m celebrating the 40th anniversary of the publication of my novel, The World According to Garp. I remember thinking the title of my fourth novel would change; The World According to Garp was always just a working title until something better came along…
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