John Irving writes expansive literary fiction about families, outsiders and the accidents or obsessions that alter a life over decades. The World According to Garp follows a novelist from an unconventional childhood into marriage, parenthood and public controversy, while The Cider House Rules centres on an orphan raised by a doctor in a Maine orphanage and drawn into arguments about abortion and personal responsibility. A Prayer for Owen Meany is narrated by a man looking back on his friendship with a small, unusual boy convinced that his life has a divine purpose. Irving's novels often combine dark comedy with sudden violence, sexual politics and long time spans, returning to subjects such as wrestling, New England, performance and unconventional households. Readers looking for American literary fiction with large families, dark comedy and lives followed across decades may also recognise some of the territory found in Richard Russo and Anne Tyler. Read more Less
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