The Imaginary Girlfriend

"The Imaginary Girlfriendis a miniature autobiography detailing Irving's parallel careers of writing and wrestling. . . . Tales of encounters with writers (John Cheever, Nelson Algren, Kurt Vonnegut) are intertwined with those about his wrestling teammates and coaches. With humor and compassion, [Irving] details the few truly important lessons he learned about writing. . . . And in beefing up his narrative with anecdotes that are every bit as hilarious as the antics in his novels, Irving combines the lessons of both obsessions (wrestling and writing) . . . into a somber reflection on the importance of living well." TheDenver Post

<i>The World According to Garp</i> was the first of John Irving's critically acclaimed novels to achieve international renown, and <i>A Son of the Circus</i> is his most recent. John Irving is married and has three sons, of whom the youngest is too young to wrestle. Mr. Irving lives in Toronto and in southern Vermont.