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4.03 AVERAGE
4.03 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape
Moderate: Child death
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Zat echt te twijfelen tussen 4 en 5 sterren maar ik vond Owen Meany wel nog een tikkeltje beter. John Irving’s schrijfstijl bevalt me zo goed en er gebeuren zoveel onverwachte dingen in dit boek, ik heb er echt van genoten. Dealt ook met veel thema’s als transseksualiteit, feminisme en seksueel misbruik op een manier die ik in 1978 niet van een mannelijke schrijver had verwacht
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I really liked this one. I debated giving it 5 stars. Definitely one of my favorites on the year this year. And it even took me a bit to read, too. (Which for me is great, because I tend to read really fast and fly through books. Reading gets expensive...)
My first* Irving read after seeing the movie and the one with Lowe...
It was like discovering a whole new universe! Been hooked since.
*Must've been back in the mid-80s.
It was like discovering a whole new universe! Been hooked since.
*Must've been back in the mid-80s.
It seems I have been stumbling upon heart-breaking books lately. I thoroughly loved this book, but I also kind of hated it, because it caused me to cry on the train. I was wiping away tears with one hand, holding the book in another, and stifling sobs with just my mouth.
Although Garp, a sometimes frustrated writer, suffers from a surplus of lust (which normally makes me, as a female reader, and, I've heard, many female readers of this novel dislike the male protagonist), Garp becomes undeniably endearing - especially in his later years, after he has a family of his own. His worries for his family are completely empathetic, as are his concerns about being a failed writer, husband, and father - a failed human in general. It was the second half of the novel that made me adore Garp, and I had a hard time letting this story go.
The more fatalistic the story became, the more I didn't want it to end, for my love of the characters and my fears about what would become of them. As Jillsy Sloper says of Garp's THE WORLD ACCORDING TO BENSENHAVER, Irving's book rings true. And that is what, perhaps, makes it most heart-wrenching of all.
There are so many more things that could be said, and discussions to be had about the many themes in this book, but as I don't want to go into all of them in depth, I shared my overall feeling toward the book instead.
Although this is my first time reading Irving, I don't want it to be my last, but I think I need some time to recover from this one before I pursue another.
Although Garp, a sometimes frustrated writer, suffers from a surplus of lust (which normally makes me, as a female reader, and, I've heard, many female readers of this novel dislike the male protagonist), Garp becomes undeniably endearing - especially in his later years, after he has a family of his own. His worries for his family are completely empathetic, as are his concerns about being a failed writer, husband, and father - a failed human in general. It was the second half of the novel that made me adore Garp, and I had a hard time letting this story go.
The more fatalistic the story became, the more I didn't want it to end, for my love of the characters and my fears about what would become of them. As Jillsy Sloper says of Garp's THE WORLD ACCORDING TO BENSENHAVER, Irving's book rings true. And that is what, perhaps, makes it most heart-wrenching of all.
There are so many more things that could be said, and discussions to be had about the many themes in this book, but as I don't want to go into all of them in depth, I shared my overall feeling toward the book instead.
Although this is my first time reading Irving, I don't want it to be my last, but I think I need some time to recover from this one before I pursue another.
Something about this book was too pretentious and unsettling. I think I may have enjoyed this in high school but not now.
I liked the prose quite a bit. I don't get to read a lot of third person omniscient and Irving has a nasty sense of humor that gelled with me. It's just that none of the characters in this book seem to really care about anything beyond their personal safety? For a book supposedly about feminism and political extremism there are very few direct references to any of that? The book is far more insightful about Writing and Parenthood than it is about any of the actually interesting themes. Garp (the character) worries about bad things happening to his loved ones, but really only freak accidents. Makes sense because that's all that ever seems to happen to these rich white folks, but no one (particularly not Irving) stops to consider why that is. Frustrating.