The World According to Garp | Essays and Criticism

  • Emotional Responses in The World According to Garp

    In this essay, the author examines the possible reasons why the characters and storyline in Irving's novel, although fraught with tragedy, elicit very little sorrowful or distressing emotional responses.

  • The Wold According to Garp - Review

    In the following review, Griffin discusses The World According to Garp's lack of plot, vulgar comedy, and obsession with "kinky violence."

  • Truths by Exaggeration

    In the following review, Moynahan speculates on the relation of the Irving's fictional world to his real-world experiences.

  • Blood and Ketchup on Mat

    In the following review, the author describes the world of Garp as a "horrendous" but "marvelous " "invented contraption," in which Irving plays the role of master magician similar to that of the Wizard in The Wizard of Oz.

  • Muck, Memory, and Imagination

    In the following review, Drabble focuses both on the novel's presentation of the sense of insecurity and the nearness of death and violence in everyday life and on its counter to the theory of creative writing that sees personal tragedy as material for future stories.