John Irving/Garp

[Evariste Euler Gauss]

Extraordinary book. And utterly brilliant, I thought. Very glad I got round to reading it (on holiday, a few weeks ago).

So, is Irving's other stuff as good? Which of his novels should I go for next?

[Amor de Cosmos]

John Irving/Garp

I think I enjoyed A Prayer for Owen Meany at the time it was published. I wasn't moved to read anything else of his though which suggests it wasn't a life-changer.

[Jon]

John Irving/Garp

Yes, Prayer for Owen Meany was the favourite of my ex, who'd read just about all of them.

[Guest]

John Irving/Garp

The Big Ones are the Cider House Rules, Garp, and especially A Prayer for Owen Meaney. It was six goes before I managed to get to the end of that without actually crying. It's majestic.

The Cider House Rules bears only a passing resemblance to the anodyne film version, so don't be put off if you've seen it, it's all the sentiment without any of the oddity of the book.

The Hotel New Hampshire is good too.

Avoid Son of the Circus - even as the hardcore Irving fan I was at the time it came out I thought it was poor. He had an apparent slide after that, although as I remember Widow for One Year has shades of former glory.

Trying to Save Piggy Sneed is a collection of short stories (one, I think, previously unavailable apart from in the multi-million selling The World According to Garp) but it's got a great piece about Great Expectations which is a defence of his own style of writing as much as a hymn of praise to Dickens. Fascinating if you like either author, and it contains the memorable point about their sentimentality: "you could write an account of a meal from the point of view of a fork. It would not offend you but it might not mean very much to you, either."

[Andy C]

John Irving/Garp

I thought the film of The World According To Garp was an abomination. One of the worst I've ever seen. On this basis I haven't entertained the remotest possibility of reading any of Irving's stuff or of watching any more films based on his work, possibly unfairly.

[Evariste Euler Gauss]

John Irving/Garp

I haven't seen that film (nor any other films of Irving novels).

As a general proposition, surely it is almost impossible to estimate the quality of a book by seeing the film of the story told by the book. A huge part of the quality of any novel is in how the story is told, not what the story is.

Having said that, if the film was rubbish, Irving has lost credibility by taking a cameo role in it.

[Guest]

John Irving/Garp

Lord Mauleverer wrote:

As a general proposition, surely it is almost impossible to estimate the quality of a book by seeing the film of the story told by the book. A huge part of the quality of any novel is in how the story is told, not what the story is.

Absolutely, yes. Some films do get the texture of a book right - off the top of my head I'd say No Country For Old Men got not only the character but the atmosphere of the book uncannily well.

Mice and Men, though, the one with Joh Malkovich in, has some good qualities but makes ranch life look very Ralph Lauren, which in the book it is definitely not.

The Irving adaptations are just sickly.

[Reed John]

John Irving/Garp

I've only read A Prayer for Owen Meany and thought it was excellent. I'd be open to reading more of his stuff but not really compelled.

I liked the films of The World According to Garp and Cider House Rules but I imagine the books are much better.