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The World According to Garp

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The World According to Garp

By: John Irving
Narrated by: Adam Sims
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About this listen

A masterpiece from one of the great contemporary American writers.

Anniversary edition with a new afterword from the author.

A worldwide best seller since its publication, Irving's classic is filled with stories inside stories about the life and times of T. S. Garp, struggling writer and illegitimate son of Jenny Fields - an unlikely feminist heroine ahead of her time.

Beautifully written, The World According to Garp is a powerfully compelling and compassionate coming-of-age novel that established John Irving as one of the most imaginative writers of his generation.

©2020 John Irving (P)2020 Orion Publishing Group Contemporary Fiction Fiction Genre Fiction

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Critic reviews

"A wonderful novel, full of energy and art, at once funny and heartbreaking...terrific." (Washington Post)

"A diamond sleeping in the dark, chipped out at last for our enrichment and delight...As approachable as it is brilliant." (Cosmopolitan)
All stars
Most relevant  
Having read this book when younger, the beautiful characters which Irving wrote come out in this audiobook. Well read with loads of feeling and character voices.

Superb

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I'm not an academic and not a regular reader of novels. This is the 4th John Irving I have read and I loved it.

Brilliant as Always

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I loved Adam Sims’ telling of an all-time favourite novel. Still relevant after 45 years. What a talent for accents and pace.

Outstanding narration of a timeless classic

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A classic, a masterpiece and frighteningly as relevant as ever.
Beautifully narrated, a completely captivating epic story.

Brilliant and as relevant as ever.

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This was a sprawling saga about the life of Garp and his family. It wandered off into his own stories along the way but it still somehow keeps the reader interested enough to stay along for the ride even though it wanders far far from the story sometimes
It was worth sticking with it though and would recommend.

Sprawling saga

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Wonderfully written!
Thoroughly engaging set of characters and an underlying theme that is especially relevant in 2022, 40ish years after it was first published. I rarely re-listen to books but this has the potential (after a bit of time) to be an exception. Nothing speaks more for a story than the sense of loss after finishing it.
Adam Sims has a fantastic narration voice.

Totally engaging!

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This is one of the best novels I have read. As Garp says “A writer must love and worry each detail” (he writes.) Irving has fulfilled Garp’s instruction.

Beautifully written, poignant, creative.

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Irving shouldn't need any introduction: he is obviously a masterful storyteller. Like Paul Auster, he isn't exactly a stylist, but for narrative drive and human observation he can go the rounds with almost any writer (O.K., maybe not Nabokov, Bowles, Mishima or Mary Gaitskill...). Adam Sims' reading is quite simply superb: he manages to modulate every character's dialogue or interior monologue with ever-so-subtle inflections without ever being arch, self-conscious, or irritating. (Would have to go a long way to beat Jeremy's Irons' reading of 'Lolita', but that's a very high bar). Should be noted that, previously, the ending of two chapters were lopped off, but Audible reacted and have restored the full intended unabridged version.

Maiming is the name of the game

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I saw the film a long time ago but it never really registered. This was awesome- from the story, the subject, the performance - all on top of their game. Right up there with the Book thief. Well done all involved

Loving it

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I read this book years ago, now revisiting on audible. absolutely loved it, even more this time. The voice performance brought nuance I had missed the first time.

Classic John Irving

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