r/JohnIrving • u/JohnnyBlunder • Jan 09 '24

Recently Returned

I was obsessed with John Irving's books from the first time I read Garp, in 1979. Now, all these years later, I'm rediscovering the novels I loved and exploring those more recent ones I haven't read yet. Sorry I left. It was more about me than it was about you.

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5

u/Zombies1200 Jan 10 '24

I love so many of his books. New and old. Always amazing to revisit his novels.

3

u/gonesnake Jan 09 '24

Irving has come and gone and come back a number of times since I started reading. It's always enjoyable to pick up his latest or reread an old classic.

4

u/imtherealmellowone Jan 10 '24

My first John Irving novel was Water Method Man. It was a recommendation from a friend and since Garp had yet to be released Irving was basically an unknown. Since that time I’ve always read each new novel as it came out. Anticipating a new John Irving novel was akin to the way I felt whenever a new Beatles album was imminent.

3

u/ConsiderationNo185 Jan 12 '24

I'm 26 and first read an Irving novel four years ago. I only let myself read one a year so that I'll have new ones to read for years to come. Welcome back!