Join the Peace Builders’ Reading Circle in cultivating a foundation for peace one book at a time. Click the heading for this month’s title and more information.

This month’s book: The World According to Garp by John Irving

Information: Fiction, 516 pages, Winner, National Book Awards 1980 for Fiction, 2018 Holbrooke Award Winner

Summary: Although John Irving’s first three novels were relatively well-received by the critics, he was basically unknown to the general public until The World According to Garp became an international bestseller when it was published in the United States in 1978. The novel features the memorably eccentric characters, outlandish situations, and moments both joyous and heartbreaking that so many readers cherish. It is the tragicomic life story of author T. S. Garp, son of the controversial feminist Jenny Fields. Garp’s world is filled with “lunacy and sorrow.” His mother is a radically independent nurse who conceives him by taking advantage of a brain-damaged soldier. His best friend is a transsexual who was formerly a tight end for the Philadelphia Eagles. Garp struggles vainly to protect the people he loves. His life is both hilarious and ultimately tragic.

Review: “A brilliant panoply of current attitudes toward sex, marriage and parenthood, the feminist movement and – above all – the concept of delineated sexual roles… Irving’s characters will stay alive for years to come.” – Chicago Tribune