The World According to Garp is Irving’s fourth novel, and by the time of its publication, he was already well-established as an author of literary fiction. Like Pat Conroy and Tobias Wolff, Irving is associated with depicting mid-20th-century white men who are conscious of their privilege but are unsure or disinterested in their desire to combat it.

Like Garp, Irving tries to reconcile his relationship with fiction and autobiography. He and his eponymous protagonist both never knew their fathers, who fought in World War II. He also grew up in the vicinity of their New England boarding school, a connection enabled because their relatives were on the staff. He also was a wrestler and coach. Both men traveled extensively throughout Vienna.

In the introduction to the 40th anniversary edition of the text, Irving clarifies some explicit autobiographical elements of the novel. He and Garp both endure considerable anxiety surrounding parenthood. At the time of writing Garp, Irving was still married to his first wife, with whom he has two sons (similar to Garp). Irving was born in 1942. He became a Canadian citizen in 2019. Garp’s progressive stance toward gender politics is notable considering that his demographic is usually not associated with progressive views.