The World According to Garp is a monumentous work of biographical fiction. It tells the story of T.S. Garp, from the tale of his mother's conceiving of him, to beyond his death. It explores the life of this fatherless child as his mother becomes an overnight feminist author sensation. It goes on to tell of his own life as he struggles with her fame, his life as a writer himself, and the myriad of challenges he faces as both a husband and a father.

The novel is as touching as it is tragic; Irving's humor stems from the well-established opinions and unpredictable actions of his characters. Where this novel does best is draw the reader in. Make no mistake, there are times when the novel seems laborious, but it's around those times when the next giant shock is just around the corner. Irving is a master at his craft, causing the reader to loathe or love his characters as he deems fit. Never is a character anything less than human--every word and action is rooted in some honest idiosynchrasy that has its own past. The author also proves himself a master of suspense, in that at the novel's darkest and most heart-breaking moments, the reader sees the outcome three or four pages before it happens. It is as though the reader is about to witness a train wreck and is paralyzed and unable to do anything but watch in horror.

This novel takes time and consideration. The serial reader will likely get nothing out of this, but there is much to say about literature as experience, and to say that "The World According to Garp" is anything but, would be nothing short of a lie.