We Are All Terminal Cases
Reviewed:
by John Irving
Ballantine Books, 624 pp.
Publication Date: 11/3/90
Packed with affable characters and stomach-cramping humor, The World According to Garp effortlessly pulls readers into the compelling, absurd life of T.S. Garp. Skillfully weaving in prominent political movements and ambiguous social questions, Irving forms a narrative that makes the somber and macabre in life more approachable. Softened with comedic timing, readers are given a direct, raw glimpse into discomforting experiences surrounding infidelity, death, and rape, while simultaneously examining their own worldview.
Through a mix of fictional autobiographical quotes and an assortment of perspectives, Irving carries us through the peculiar life of T.S. Garp. Born out of unconventional circumstances to a renowned Feminist, Garp seems destined to live a strange life full of complications with women. Through his twists and turns he battles with his own carnal impulses as he attempts to understand masculinity and make sense of the ridiculous world around him. As a struggling writer and husband, his search for identity and desire to care for those he loves leaves him vulnerable and flawed.
Written in the midst of second wave Feminism, Irving tackles the social inequality of the 1970s head on with illuminating satire and memorable moments. The story’s comical and historical qualities gives readers a ‘Forrest Gump’ type of experience and provides a shield for engaging with perturbing scenes presented in the work. Jenny Fields, Garp’s mother, acts as a prominent voice of the essential components of Feminism and kicks off the novel with strong declarations, “In this dirty-minded world, she thought, you are either somebody's wife or somebody's whore—or fast on your way to becoming one or the other. If you don't fit either category, then everyone tries to make you think there is something wrong with you. But, she thought, there is nothing wrong with me.“ Beyond Jenny, readers also view into other shades of Feminism through Helen Holm, Ellen James, Roberta Muldoon, and others.
Throughout the book, Irving introduces readers to a wide cast of characters meant to contradict expectations: a woman who wants to live independently from a man, a prostitute who offers motherly love and deserves sympathy, a son/man who is happy to play the role of the homemaker, and a man who’s transitioned into becoming a trans woman. Each circumstance challenges readers beliefs around norms and establishes a grayness in a world that desires black-and-white realities. Garp’s life showcases the complexity of humanity and the equality we share in death expressing in the end that “we are all terminal cases.”
The novel paces well for most of the work with a brief slow down in the middle where Irving mixes in supposed published stories from Garp. In my experience, these sub-stories within the novel served minimal purpose along with a tedious chapter dedicated to a bedtime story told to Garp’s son; however, Irving ingeniously folds the novel upon itself in the last hundred pages by bringing back old characters and revisiting settings from earlier chapters.
Accessible and amusing for the serious reader as much as the casual reader, The World According to Garp is simply a delight. It’s the kind of book that can be read and understood in a variety of fashions while containing distinct characters/concepts (such as the Ellen Jamesians) that can be comically cited like a favorite movie scene. It’s a wonderful fusion of satire, fiction, socio-political commentary solidified within a riveting, witty plot.
