An Extraordinary Novel, Perhaps The Best Known And Most Loved Of Irving's Books, And Rightly Hailed As A Modern Classic._x005F_x005F_x005F_x000D_ Like All Extraordinary Books, The World According To Garp Defies Synopsis', Wrote The Chicago Sun Times When Garp Was First Published In 1978. It Is A Marvellous, Important, Permanent Novel By A Serious Artist Of Remarkable Powers.nngarp Is A Book That Captivates All Who Read It. Peopled With The Most Extraordinary Characters You Will Ever Meet, Here Is A Novel That Will Make You Laugh, Make You Weep, And, Above All, Make You Think._x005F_x005F_x005F_x000D_ John Irving Was Born In Exeter, New Hampshire, In 1942, And He Once Admitted That He Was A 'grim' Child. Although He Excelled In English At School And Knew By The Time He Graduated That He Wanted To Write Novels, It Was Not Until He Met A Young Southern Novelist Named John Yount, At The University Of New Hampshire, That He Received Encouragement. 'it Was So Simple,' He Remembers. 'yount Was The First Person To Point Out That Anything I Did Except Writing Was Going To Be Vaguely Unsatisfying.'nnin 1963, Irving Enrolled At The Institute Of European Studies In Vienna, And He Later Worked As A University Lecturer. His First Novel, Setting Free The Bears, About A Plot To Release All The Animals From The Vienna Zoo, Was Followed By The Watermethod Man, A Comic Tale Of A Man With A Urinary Complaint, And The 158pound Marriage, Which Exposes The Complications Of Spouseswapping. Irving Achieved International Recognition With The World According To Garp, Which He Hoped Would 'cause A Few Smiles Among The Toughminded And Break A Few Softer Hearts'.nnthe Hotel New Hampshire Is A Startlingly Original Family Saga, And The Cider House Rules Is The Story Of Doctor Wilbur Larch Saint, Obstetrician, Founder Of An Orphanage, Ether Addict And Abortionist And Of His Favourite Orphan, Homer Wells, Who Is Never Adopted. A Prayer For Owen Meany Features The Most Unforgettable Character Irving Has Yet Created. A Son Of The Circus Is An Extraordinary Evocation Of Modern Day India. John Irving Is Also The Author Of The International Bestsellers A Widow For One Year, The Fourth Hand And Until I Find You. Nna Collection Of John Irving S Shorter Writing, Trying To Save Piggy Sneed, Was Published In 1993. Irving Has Also Written The Screenplays For The Cider House Rules And A Son Of The Circus, And Wrote About His Experiences In The World Of Movies In His Memoir My Movie Business.nnirving Has Had A Lifelong Passion For Wrestling, And He Plays A Wrestling Referee In The Film Of The World According To Garp. In His Memoir, The Imaginary Girlfriend, John Irving Writes About His Life As A Wrestler, A Novelist And As A Wrestling Coach. He Now Writes Fulltime, Has Three Children And Lives In Vermont And Toronto.