--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I read John Irving's novel 'The World…" description: "\"I read John Irving's novel 'The World According To Garp' when I was about 14 or 15. It was the first grown-up book that I had read. It is the story of ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f3b/glen-duncan-1307_about_i-read-john-irving-s-novel-the-world-acc_425148.png" --- # I read John Irving's novel 'The World According To Garp'… ![“I read John Irving's novel 'The World According To Garp' when I was about 14 or 15. It was the first grown-up book that I had read. It is the story of a young man who grows up to be a novelist. I finished it, and I wanted to write a book that made the reader feel the way I felt at the end of that…” quote by Glen Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f3b/glen-duncan-1307_about_i-read-john-irving-s-novel-the-world-acc_425148.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f3b/glen-duncan-1307_about_i-read-john-irving-s-novel-the-world-acc_425148.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f3b/glen-duncan-1307_about_i-read-john-irving-s-novel-the-world-acc_425148.png) > “I read John Irving's novel 'The World According To Garp' when I was about 14 or 15. It was the first grown-up book that I had read. It is the story of a young man who grows up to be a novelist. I finished it, and I wanted to write a book that made the reader feel the way I felt at the end of that, which was sort of both bereft and elated.” [Glen Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-duncan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Reading a mature novel inspired the author to write a book that evokes complex emotions, blending loss and joy. **In simple terms:** A powerful book can inspire similar creative work. Key Takeaway Seek stories that move you deeply. Themes literature inspiration growth emotion writing Mood introspective hopeful motivated Type reflective creative When to use this quote - writing workshops - literary analysis - personal journaling Key Concepts narrative impact emotional resonance creative motivation Questions to Reflect On - What emotions do you want your writing to provoke? - How does reading mature literature shape your own voice? A Different Perspective The novel may not capture the same feeling for everyone. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [About](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/about/) [According](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/according/) [According Garp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/according-garp-772101/) [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Both](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/both/) [Elated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/elated/) [End](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/end/) [Feel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feel/) [Felt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/felt/) [Finished](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/finished/) [First](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first/) [Grown Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grown-book-2926185/) [Grown up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grown-up/) [Grows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grows/) [Had](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/had/) [Irving Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/irving-novel-3760469/) [John](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/john/) [Made](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/made/) [Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man/) [Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel/) [Novel World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel-world-1016495/) [Novelist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novelist/) [Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/read/) [Reader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reader/) [Reader Feel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reader-feel-867838/) [Sort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sort/) [Story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/story/) [Up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/up/) [Wanted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wanted/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) [Which](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/which/) [Who](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/who/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) [Write](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/write/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/young/) [Young man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/young-man/) ## Related quotes > [The first grown-up book that I read on my own was a nineteenth-century edition of 'Tales from Livy' that I'd found in my grandfather's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/the-first-grown-up-book-that-i-read-on-my-own-was-a-nineteenth/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > ['Rebecca' by Daphne du Maurier was the first grown-up book I read, when I was aged about 12.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-nightingale/rebecca-by-daphne-du-maurier-was-the-first-grown-up-book-i-read-when/) [Mary Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-nightingale/) > [In the world according to Garp, we are all terminal cases](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/in-the-world-according-to-garp-we-are-all-terminal-cases/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [“When (The World According To) Garp was published, people who’d lost children wrote to me. ‘’I lost one, too,’’ they told me. I confessed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/when-the-world-according-to-garp-was-published-people-who-d-lost/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [Other people have often had more faith in me than I had in myself - I never thought I could pull off Roberta Muldoon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lithgow/other-people-have-often-had-more-faith-in-me-than-i-had-in-myself-i/) [John Lithgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lithgow/) > [“A novel must show how the world truly is, how characters genuinely think, how events actually occur. A novel should somehow reveal the true…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-novel-must-show-how-the-world-truly-is-how-characters-genuinely/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A novel must show how the world truly is. Somehow, reveals the true source of our actions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/a-novel-must-show-how-the-world-truly-is-somehow-reveals-the-true/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [I don't know how to write a novel in the world of cellphones. I don't know how to write a novel in the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/i-don-t-know-how-to-write-a-novel-in-the-world-of-cellphones-i-don-t/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [The 'stuff' in novels touches on every aspect of the world and people's lives. 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Again, whether it's nonfiction or fiction, I think writers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynne-tillman/i-m-bothered-as-a-reader-when-i-feel-the-writer-is-filling-in-too/) [Lynne Tillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynne-tillman/) > [Fiction works when it makes a reader feel something strongly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/fiction-works-when-it-makes-a-reader-feel-something-strongly/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [“Sensory experience should not be draped on top of the story as sort of a last-minute decoration. Done right, it is woven into the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-wilson/sensory-experience-should-not-be-draped-on-top-of-the-story-as-sort/) [Douglas Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-wilson/) > [I try to be aware of what I'm concerned about, aware of how I feel about myself in the world, aware of how I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chang-rae-lee/i-try-to-be-aware-of-what-i-m-concerned-about-aware-of-how-i-feel/) [Chang-Rae Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chang-rae-lee/) ## More by Glen Duncan > [Nineteenth-century English literature I know; 19th-century sewage systems, not so much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-duncan/nineteenth-century-english-literature-i-know-19th-century-sewage/) [Glen Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-duncan/) > [“For the longest time the romantic explanation for low rates of female infection endured: Possession of a womb, it was supposed, conferred a gentleness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-duncan/for-the-longest-time-the-romantic-explanation-for-low-rates-of-female/) [Glen Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-duncan/) > [“The question 'What was there before creation?' is meaningless. Time is a property of creation, therefore before creation there was no before creation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-duncan/the-question-what-was-there-before-creation-is-meaningless-time-is-a/) [Glen Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-duncan/) > [“The beauty spot by her lip was one of a dozen or so scattered over her body. My new constellations.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-duncan/the-beauty-spot-by-her-lip-was-one-of-a-dozen-or-so-scattered-over/) [Glen Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-duncan/) > [Fairy tales read before bed tend to make me dream. They're all quite violent stories, as are my dreams.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-duncan/fairy-tales-read-before-bed-tend-to-make-me-dream-they-re-all-quite/) [Glen Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-duncan/) > [I don’t know where the universe came from or what happens to creatures when they die. I don’t know if the whole thing’s an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-duncan/i-don-t-know-where-the-universe-came-from-or-what-happens-to/) [Glen Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-duncan/) > [In a fit of pique, I said to my agent, 'I'm going to write something you can sell.' The idea was to write a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-duncan/in-a-fit-of-pique-i-said-to-my-agent-i-m-going-to-write-something-you/) [Glen Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-duncan/) > [“The Mortals are free, Lucifer. What they've done they've done from within themselves. - Raphael”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-duncan/the-mortals-are-free-lucifer-what-they-ve-done-they-ve-done-from/) [Glen Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-duncan/) > [One day the ordinariness will be terminally punctuated by the extraordinary full stop of death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-duncan/one-day-the-ordinariness-will-be-terminally-punctuated-by-the/) [Glen Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-duncan/) > [When I see gurgling retarded children (that's God's doing, by the way, not mine) happily styling their hair with their own stinking mards, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-duncan/when-i-see-gurgling-retarded-children-that-s-god-s-doing-by-the-way/) [Glen Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-duncan/) > [“She understood the genre constraints, the decencies we were supposed to be observing. 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