Preview
  • The Imaginary Girlfriend

  • By: John Irving
  • Narrated by: Joe Barrett
  • Length: 3 hrs and 23 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (64 ratings)

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

The Imaginary Girlfriend

By: John Irving
Narrated by: Joe Barrett
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $14.95

Buy for $14.95

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

Dedicated to the memory of two wrestling coaches and two writer friends, The Imaginary Girlfriend is John Irving's candid memoir of his twin careers in writing and wrestling. The award-winning author of best-selling novels from The World According to Garp to In One Person, Irving began writing when he was 14, the same age at which he began to wrestle at Exeter. He competed as a wrestler for 20 years, was certified as a referee at 24, and coached the sport until he was 47. Irving coached his sons Colin and Brendan to New England championship titles, a championship that he himself was denied.

In an autobiography filled with the humor and compassion one finds in his fiction, Irving explores the interrelationship between the two disciplines of writing and wrestling, from the days when he was a beginner at both until his fourth wresting-related surgery at the age of 53. Writing as a father and mentor, he offers a lucid portrait of those - writers and wrestlers from Kurt Vonnegut to Ted Seabrooke - who played a mentor role in his development as a novelist, wrestler, and wrestling coach. He reveals lessons he learned about the pursuit for which he is best known, writing. And, as the Denver Post observed, "in filling 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."

©1996 Garp Enterprises Ltd. (P)2014 Audible, Inc.
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Critic reviews

"Laugh-out-loud moments abound in this writing and wrestling memoir…Narrator Joe Barrett affects an empathetic tone and pleasing rhythm that allows listeners to relive the moments that turned a dyslexic reader and mediocre athlete into a celebrated author and successful wrestling referee and coach." ( AudioFile)

What listeners say about The Imaginary Girlfriend

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    32
  • 4 Stars
    22
  • 3 Stars
    6
  • 2 Stars
    4
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    35
  • 4 Stars
    15
  • 3 Stars
    4
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    31
  • 4 Stars
    15
  • 3 Stars
    5
  • 2 Stars
    3
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Irving Is A Legend

If you enjoy one book by John Irving, then you love everything he writes. This book gives you insight into where so many of his novels stem from, his life.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

great story, narration too soft

Loved the story and narration, but when listening in a loud environment, the narrator's voice get's easily swallowed.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

amazing

Joe Barrett reads John Irving in the most wonderful way. I love listening to him read anything Irving. This book is like sitting down and listening to John tell you the story of his life. Amazing, enlightening, and enchanting. I loved it.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

John Irving did it again memoir nonfiction and to

I love every bit of it John Irving is one of my most favorite American authors where this Memoir is autobiographical to so many of his fiction lies books with fantastic imagination and characterizations funny whip with cynical and sardonic tones always a must-read for him

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful