1New York Times bestseller -- 20th anniversary edition with a new afterword from the author -- A wonderful novel, full of energy and art, at once funny and horrifying and heartbreaking.- The Washington Post

This is the life and times of T. S. Garp, the bastard son of Jenny Fields--a feminist leader ahead of her times. This is the life and death of a famous mother and her almost-famous son; theirs is a world of sexual extremes--even of sexual assassinations. It is a novel rich with lunacy and sorrow; yet the dark, violent events of the story do not undermine a comedy both ribald and robust. In more than thirty languages, in more than forty countries-- with more than ten million copies in print--this novel provides almost cheerful, even hilarious evidence of its famous last line: In the world according to Garp, we are all terminal cases.

Praise for The World According to Garp

John Irving, it is abundantly clear, is a true artist. - Los Angeles Times

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

A social tragi-comedy of such velocity that it reads rather like a domestic sequel to Catch-22. - The Observer (London)

A large talent announces itself on practically every page. - The Book-of-the-Month Club News