John Irving

John Irving was born in Exeter, New Hampshire, in 1942, and he once admitted that he was a 'grim' child. Although he excelled in English at school and knew by the time he graduated that he wanted to write novels, it was not until he met a young Southern novelist named John Yount, at the University of New Hampshire, that he received encouragement. 'It was so simple,' he remembers. 'Yount was the first person to point out that anything I did except writing was going to be vaguely unsatisfying.'

In 1963, Irving enrolled at the Institute of European Studies in Vienna, and he later worked as a university lecturer. His first novel, Setting Free the Bears, about a plot to release all the animals from the Vienna Zoo, was followed by The Water-Method Man, a comic tale of a man with a urinary complaint, and The 158-Pound Marriage, which exposes the complications of spouse-swapping. Irving achieved international recognition with The World According to Garp, which he hoped would 'cause a few smiles among the tough-minded and break a few softer hearts'.

The Hotel New Hampshire is a startlingly original family saga, and The Cider House Rules is the story of Doctor Wilbur Larch - saint, obstetrician, founder of an orphanage, ether addict and abortionist - and of his favourite orphan, Homer Wells, who is never adopted. A Prayer for Owen Meany features the most unforgettable character Irving has yet created. A Son of the Circus is an extraordinary evocation of modern day India. John Irving's latest and most ambitious novel is A Widow for One Year.

A collection of John Irving’s shorter writing, Trying to Save Piggy Sneed, was published in 1993. Irving has also written the screenplays for The Cider House Rules and A Son of the Circus, and wrote about his experiences in the world of movies in his memoir My Movie Business.

Irving has had a life-long passion for wrestling, and he plays a wrestling referee in the film of The World According to Garp. In his memoir, The Imaginary Girlfriend, John Irving writes about his life as a wrestler, a novelist and as a wrestling coach. He now writes full-time, has three children and lives in Vermont and Toronto.

If you like John Irving you might also like to read books by Tim O'brien, John Updike and Jonathan Safran Foer

In One Person John Irving May 2012 Book of the Month. Picking up on the term 'a sexual suspect' Irving first used in his landmark novel The World According to Garp, In One Person is the tragic,... Format: Hardback - Released: 10/05/2012 Lovereading Price: £14.24 - Saving £4.75 (25%)

Last Night in Twisted River John Irving John Irving does not disappoint in this tale of a father and son, spanning 50 years of their relationship at the end of the twentieth century. This is his twelfth novel and although familiar Irving themes are there it is... Format: Paperback - Released: 16/09/2010 Lovereading Price: £5.99 - Saving £2.00 (25%)

The World According to Garp - Special Limited Edition John Irving A family saga and a half! Garp’s world is unusual and surreal and incredibly normal all at the same time but this is a trick John Irving manages to bring to many of his novels. A brilliant read, it will... Format: Hardback - Released: 02/07/2009 Lovereading Price: £9.74 - Saving £3.25 (25%)

The Cider House Rules John Irving One of John Boyne's favourite books. Following Homer Wells as he grows up in an orphanage and finds himself learning the skills of cider making. Another gem from the pen of one the quirkiest and heartfelt authors of our time. May... Format: Paperback - Released: 01/07/1986 Lovereading Price: £6.74 - Saving £2.25 (25%)

The World According to Garp John Irving This is an extraordinary book, funny, surreal and, at times, heartbreakingly sad. It’s long, some 600 pages, and truly compulsive. Even if at times you are not sure quite what is happening, it has you spellbound. It’s about fatherhood, writing,... Format: Paperback - Released: 01/07/1986 Lovereading Price: £6.74 - Saving £2.25 (25%)