The author got to know Katharine Hepburn very well over the last decades of her life as he interviewed her. The result is a fascinating portrait of a truly extraordinary woman, and her era. Highly recommended for any of Hepburn's admirers, and the rest of you need to start watching her movies.

I was excited to read Irving's breakout novel as my introduction to his work. It was very colorful, often walking on the border of the absurd, and it still seems very fresh and contemporary, especially in its dealings with feminism and politics. And yet, as is sometimes the case with bildungsromans, I'm left wondering a little what it all adds up to. A lot of Garp's characterization seems to take place after he's gone. But still entertaining.