I read the book and am very satisfied. I couldn't create any faces that weren't the actors unfortunately. The short stories that go into the book are as good as or better than the man with the gloves story. The book is so much more vast than the already fantastically viewed movie. The movie however focuses on Garps fascination on flying...not so in the book. If you like the movie take the time and love the novel. You won't regret it.
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The book is a thousand times better than the movie, which I felt was a terrible adaptation of an excellent novel. This movie doesn't flow at all, Robin Williams was miscast as Garp, and what's with the Garp's obsession over his Dad and flying? Nothing about that was in the book.
"There are a million fine girls in the world, but they don't all bring you lasagna at work."
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Back in 1982, I'm not sure who else would have been as suitable to play Garp as Williams was, but they erred, I think, in having him play the role from adolescence on, as he WAS too old for that. There had to be SOME younger actor to do that interim period. And Glenn Close really made a perfect Jenny Fields, but unfortunately was too close in age to Williams and not aged enough as his character was approaching his 30s and the mother was supposed to be in her early 50s when she died. It was a film that was made at the wrong time for the two major players--- one says "what if, what if..."
And I did not care for the change of venue for the prostitution part of the story from Vienna to NYC, but I guess it was an economical decision--- Perhaps if there had been a beautiful, doomed middle-aged American hooker instead of Swoosie Kurtz (who seemed to be doing a riff on Wonder Woman at the funeral), they could have gotten some of the symbolism intact that the Vienna dimension gave to the book.
"Shake me up, Judy!"