This novel is about the complete life - from beginning to end - of a writer named TS Garp, the son of a famous feminist. Garp struggles to break free of his mother's shadow and establish himself as a respected writer. He cares little about the success of his novels, as long as they are well received and given good reviews. Ironically, with every novel Garp writes, his writing gets worse. His imagination continuously falters as the drama in his own life begins to control him. Although the plot is a little drab and soap-opera-like, it had no problem hooking me in through to the end. Ultimately, the novel is about the fear of losing loved ones, as a result of death or otherwise. It imitates how this fear can control your life and consequently diminish its quality, just as it diminished the quality of Garp's novels. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and while it isn't exactly a thriller, it has some great humour, and an equally good motive. 7/10
I read it a few years back and the most entertaining portions, for me, were the short stories/fantasies of Garp. I thought it dragged on a bit, but was entertaining enough to finish.
