A Prayer for Owen Meany

love john irving. took me forever to get through, but such a great read. the plot itself is tragic but at the same time... there are so many little one liners that made me laugh outloud and ask "did he really write that? thats hilarious." not necessarily funny, a bit dry but so witty. bizarre chain of events that all lead up to the conclusion when it all finally makes sense. made me...more

love john irving. took me forever to get through, but such a great read. the plot itself is tragic but at the same time... there are so many little one liners that made me laugh outloud and ask "did he really write that? thats hilarious." not necessarily funny, a bit dry but so witty. bizarre chain of events that all lead up to the conclusion when it all finally makes sense. made me think about knowing ones fate or destiny and choosing to follow it, accept it, or to rebel against it. would recomment.   hide

I am not quite sure why this book gave me a deeper understanding of life...the simplicity of Owen's faith and a belief in his intrinsic blessedness...yes, but there was more. It's been many years since I read this so I might put it on my reread list . On the other hand I have such a strong feeling about this being inmportant to me that why do I need to test that...umm.

One of my top favorite books

My favourite of all of John Irving's books. I cried buckets at the end and for weeks after reading it I would see and hear Owen's voice in my head. I gave it to my daughter to read and it is one of her all time favourites as well. Irving is a genius at making you laugh and then breaking your heart at the same time. My favourite John Irving although the saddest. I cried buckets.

A Prayer for Owen Meany is compellingly readable, the idiosyncratic character, Johnny Wheelwright’s friend’s strange appearance and voice and his intellectual gift is amazing the story intertwined with most serious political and religious themes, exploring issues such as faith and doubt, predestination is marvelous. With a spirited story line Irving proved as a master story-teller. Dear all,...more

A Prayer for Owen Meany is compellingly readable, the idiosyncratic character, Johnny Wheelwright’s friend’s strange appearance and voice and his intellectual gift is amazing the story intertwined with most serious political and religious themes, exploring issues such as faith and doubt, predestination is marvelous. With a spirited story line Irving proved as a master story-teller. Dear all, the movie 'Simon Birch' released in 98, was very loosely based on A Prayer for Owen Meany.I must thanks ... my 'dearest', who told me to read it... last night i finish it second time.   hide

This novel is John Irving's best. He has REALLY lost it in the last decade; The Fourth Hand and Until I See You Again or whatever it was called were really tedious reads. But the world created in Owen Meany is one that you'll be sad to read. The plot is terrific and all the threads are sewn together splendidly at the end . It's hard to believe that such a simple technique as having the title...more

This novel is John Irving's best. He has REALLY lost it in the last decade; The Fourth Hand and Until I See You Again or whatever it was called were really tedious reads. But the world created in Owen Meany is one that you'll be sad to read. The plot is terrific and all the threads are sewn together splendidly at the end . It's hard to believe that such a simple technique as having the title character speak IN CAPITALS could be so effective. I'm always buying this novel for top students and people I like. My favourite novel of all time. Read it and be changed. Or at least highly entertained.   hide

This started out kind of slow, b/c there really isn't much plot to speak of. However, Irving is quite a good writer so the lack of plot never really bothered me, the slowness was due to the time it took to get to know the characters and, since this is a character-driven story, once that was done, I actually enjoyed the 'slowness' and the time I spent with these wonderful characters. The prose...more

This started out kind of slow, b/c there really isn't much plot to speak of. However, Irving is quite a good writer so the lack of plot never really bothered me, the slowness was due to the time it took to get to know the characters and, since this is a character-driven story, once that was done, I actually enjoyed the 'slowness' and the time I spent with these wonderful characters. The prose flows so nicely, and I've read quite a few very poorly written books lately, so this one was a real treat!There was a recent thread in the forums over at <a href="http://www.bookcrossing.com">bookcrossing.com</a> which asked people to choose either plot or character development if they could have only one or the other in their reading. I come down decidedly on the side of character, but if you would put yourself on the side of plot, you may be frustrated while reading this book, but I would advise it anyway. Of course, Owen Meany himself is the most strongly developed and interesting character, but Irving doesn't let his supporting cast languish. Even people with small roles are defined to the point that you feel you know everyone that Owen and Johnny know and even when people are annoying or even unlikeable they're still <i>interesting</i>.A major theme is faith and spirituality... and even pre-destination, although not in the sense of whether a person is saved or unsaved. It's more in the sense of Ephesians 2:10, "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them." Irving quotes much literature and several Bible passages, so I was a little surprised not to encounter this one as it is the passage I was left pondering. A major question raised is "What part does doubt play in faith?" Irving shows us several characters who answer this question for themselves in diverse ways. To me, he never preaches about what he thinks is correct. Even though Owen Meany is pretty adamant about his answer, it's never clear what Irving really thinks. The reader is left to find his/her own answer.Another theme is anti-Americanism, which I'm sure has the potential for putting many off. Johnny (the narrator and Owen Meany's best friend) is very anti-American, but he does have pretty good reasons, as you will see by the end of the story. It never really bothered me, mostly because it is relatively interspersed with the rest of the story and the passages that deal with it are pretty short, although they get more and more frequent as the story draws to a close. Also, I mostly agree with his sentiments - especially that our politicians are corrupt - so it wasn't all that annoying to me. It did make me wonder about other countries, though. Irving seems to imply that other countries don't have the problems that America has, and I guess I was always under the impression that we were all pretty much in the same boat. I may never know for sure, unless I move, which is highly unlikely!In short, I highly recommend this book. Don't try to rush it, though. Just savor it.Quotes from this source: "NEVER CONFUSE FAITH, OR BELIEF - OF ANY KIND - WITH SOMETHING EVEN REMOTELY INTELLECTUAL.""But it was what a summer wedding should be - sultry, something momentarily pretty, giving way to a heat that is unrestrained."   hide

Oh if you wish a good summer read this older book is fantastic. I had not read any John Irving before yet was familiar with him and of course the few movies made from his novels. This story will touch all of you - any of you who have ever felt different, like you didn't fit in, or didn't belong - well you will love it. I highly recommend it to anyone. All 617 pages will be welcomed. Now if...more

Oh if you wish a good summer read this older book is fantastic. I had not read any John Irving before yet was familiar with him and of course the few movies made from his novels. This story will touch all of you - any of you who have ever felt different, like you didn't fit in, or didn't belong - well you will love it. I highly recommend it to anyone. All 617 pages will be welcomed. Now if only someone could bring this book to the big screen.   hide

I liked this book which is surprising considering the themes and topics on which it centres. I have famously low tolerance of religion and fate in novels but for some reason I can’t nail I don’t mind it here. A long, winding story brought together beautifully at the end, I think I like this because it has depth and substance and because it made me laugh, cry and think. While it...more

I liked this book which is surprising considering the themes and topics on which it centres. I have famously low tolerance of religion and fate in novels but for some reason I can’t nail I don’t mind it here. A long, winding story brought together beautifully at the end, I think I like this because it has depth and substance and because it made me laugh, cry and think. While it has a story to tell and points to make it is not a slave to either and is happy to wander into Dickensian character portraits and Tolstoian (?) informative asides. When discussing this in my book group many other people said they found all this irritating and superfluous. Sure, I am always irritated by the superfluous too but this wasn’t, it served to add to the picture of the characters and of the setting and that’s something I often miss in modern literature. I have only two criticisms and neither is too big. Firstly, perhaps it was slightly too folksy and gimmicky in places but to be honest this was nothing compared to what I expected. I thought it was going to irritate the hell out of me for that reason but it really didn’t. Secondly, it is quite difficult to identify a central point. In defence of it, though, I don’t think this is because there isn’t one, I think it’s because there are more than one and that they are subtley conveyed and buried in complexity. For the record I think it’s about; faith and doubt, faith and friendship, personal identity, America’s place in the world (and, specifically, its foreign policy), and about how the past creates the present. And it’s about Owen Meany who alone is worth the effort. A few people in the group gave up because they said they ‘didn’t have time for this type of book’ and I think that’s very telling. We really don’t think we have the time anymore to sink into something and to spend time getting to know different facets of it or to be lead down little alleyways parallel to the main road. I think that’s a shame and I for one intend to make plenty more journeys of this kind. I may be busy but I’ve learned that making the time is almost always worth it. Full review and more at http://scatterbrainlibrarian.co.uk/category/book-reviews/   hide