Customer Reviews

A Prayer for Owen Meany

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1 star:		(48)

 

 

"A Prayer for Owen Meany" is NOT your typical book. Of course, that could be said about any of John Irving's novels; his is one of the most unusual voices I've ever read. But this one is especially unique. Owen Meany is probably the most memorable character that I've ever come across in a book of any genre. A dwarf with a voice so striking and strange that his dialogue is WRITTEN IN ALL CAPITAL LETTERS, he also believes (rightly!) that he is an instrument of God. It is sometimes confusing to follow the jumps in time; the narrator, Owen's best friend Johnny Wheelwright, alternates the story of his growing up with Owen with anecdotes from his "present" life in the late 80's.

Predestination, faith, doubt, politics, love, hate, family, friendship...these are all themes that make appearances in this book. Furthermore, it is a page-turner that is impossible to put down, right from the start. I read the entire second half of the book in one marathon reading session, wasting an entire morning because I couldn't bear to stop, knowing that more revelations were in store. I've read some of Irving's other novels, and loved them all, but I think "A Prayer for Owen Meany" has been the best so far.

This is undoubtedly the best book I have ever read. The plot is so complicated and intriguing that when you reach the end, and you finally see how John Irving ties together all of the intricate details, you are left dumbstruck. Despite the many carefully crafted foreshadowing clues, it's impossible to figure this one out until the end. If you've loved other books by Irving, you'll find the same quirky characters, rich symbolism, and literary craft.
Un..forget..able!

I started reading A Prayer for Owen Meany at the urging of a friend, part of our on-going reading program. She had just started the novel, and said it was funny and I would enjoy it. I never expected that it would move me so. John Irving has written a profound novel of faith, friendship, and fate.

It took me one or two sections to understand Irving's style. He likes to jump around a lot, and as the story is written as a memoir, that is certainly understandable. But Johnny Wheelwright (the narrative voice of the story) wants to tell us too much, too fast, and it doesn't all make sense at first. Only one thing is clear from the beginning: Owen Meany is destined to change Johnny's life.

Owen and Johnny are friends in New Hampshire in the 1950s. They have a unique bond which due in part to Owen's extraordinary presence. The dwarfed child has a strange voice that chills most people (including Johnny's grandmother), but he also has an adult-like wisdom and understanding. The bond between Owen and Johnny is sealed by a freak accident when Owen hits a baseball, killing Johnny's mother.

As they grow up, it becomes clear to Johnny that Owen thinks he is guided by God. The accident with Johnny's mother is just one incident that ultimately will lead Johnny to find his own faith.

There are moments of biting humor in the novel as well as moments of sadness. Although the majority of the story centers on Johnny's childhood, it continues through his high school and college years. As expected for the setting, Kennedy and the Vietnam War become important themes throughout the story.

There are also moments when Johnny -- writing the novel in 1987 -- steps out of character to tell the reader in a diary-like fashion about his life in the present as a teacher. These "present day" episodes were the only thing about the novel I didn't like. Irving seems to be using the novel to criticize American politics (certainly a theme throughout the novel), but it never quite fits with the main plot, that of Owen and his influence on Johnny. I think the story would have been less bitter - and certainly shorter - if Irving had left out this editorializing.

I will always remember the stunning foreshadowing of the novel and the beautiful imagery that Irving writes. The story not only challenged me on an intellectual basis, but also on a spiritual one.

Coincidence is important in John Irving's books, whether it's being parked in the driveway at the wrong time, or finally connecting with that baseball and killing your best friend's mother. Usually I find these plot elements disconcerting, but I must say I was completely swept up with Owen Meany.

I love Irving's use of words and Owen gives him a wonderful vehicle to use this gift. I can hear Owen's voice whenever I read the book, and I have read it several times. I will always remember Owen's description of Johnny Wheelwright's grandmother "screaming like a banshee".

This is a story about a boy with faith so strong he allows it to kill him. But he accepts his fate because he knows he exists for one higher purpose and he accomplishes it. I feel a strange sympathy with Johnny and losing Owen is like losing my best friend as well.

I have re-read this book just to laugh. The humor is wonderful! I always tell myself I'm going to stop before the story turns sad, but I never can. I can't help myself.

Ten years ago, I read a "Prayer for Owen Meany" for the first time. Since then, I have re-read the book 20 maybe 30 times and, even now, it still manages to impress and move me. (Note: "Owen Meany" is the only book with a religious theme that does not disgust me. Agnostics and athiests need not fear this work; it is neither preachy nor possessing of a saccharine-sweet sentimentality.) Now, "Owen Meany" is indeed the kind of book that people seem to either love or hate. Very few show ambivelence towards this work. I believe, however, that most of those who dislike this book simply lack the patience necessary in order to fall in love with it.

Standard Complaints Made By Many: It's slow to start, has too much detail, not enough "action," blah blah blah. My response to skeptics is this: John Irving is a writer strongly influenced by Dickens and, as such, his storytelling has a leisurely, near-Victorian quality to it. His is old-fashioned writing but never BAD writing. The first chapter of "Owen Meany" consists mostly of historical details. This high level of detail sets up the events outlined in the remainder of the book and is absolutely essential to the storytelling. Having trouble getting through the first 75 pages? Hey, take your ritalin and remember that books require a committment on the part of the reader and are supposed to move at a different, slower pace than that of television or of the movies.

And speaking of movies, if you loved "Simon Birch," you will hate "Owen Meany." That nauseating film--that travesty of a movie--bears as much resemblance to the book as Demi Moore's "Scarlet Letter" does to Nathaniel Hawthorne's masterpiece. "Simon Birch" manages to demistify everything that is magical in "Owen Meany," robbing the story of its power, its unsentimental beauty.

One of the wonderful things about "Owen Meany," is its wealth of images and symbols. Anyone who has read other works by John Irving will be familiar with the way in which he uses symbolism and repetition of motifs in order to express his ideas. The Undertoad. The Mole Man. The way sorrow floats. In "Owen Meany," John Iriving has refined his employment of symbolism and with it has managed to permeate every page of the work. The armadillo, the dress maker's dummy, the armless totem, the Nativity, and the Christmas Carol are not only vivid symbols but necessary elements of the plot.

"Owen Meany" is a funny, intelligent, life-changing book. Every time I finish the novel, I wish the work were twice as long as it is.

It is one thing to rediscover a classic, a novel that people have enjoyed for years and years. It is another thing to read a book that has just been published and come to the realization that you are holding a classic in your hand. I remember finishing "A Prayer for Owen Meany" for the first time and telling everybody I know, "YOU HAVE TO READ THIS BOOK." John Irving is one of the few authors I buy hardback as soon as a new one comes out and I am truly glad I came to this particular book the way I did.

The book has what is probably my all time favorite opening line, but what struck me the most at the end was how everything came together. The recurring themes, images, events all blend together into a memorable climax. It also has several wickedly funny scenes which just reinforces my earlier conviction that Irving and I have the same sense of humor.

The story is about faith on a personal level, which is intriguing since religion in this country is usually presented on a social level. I think it is also a meditation on the nature of heroism, albeit in a most unusual context.

This book can not be made into a film, so it is not surprising that we ended up with "Simon Birch." Irving could not have solved the problems because they are impossible to solve. The voice of Owen Meany, always presented in the book as CAPITAL LETTERS could never survive the transition from novel to film. You can not capture something like that and you should not even try. The only sad thing is that children seemed to like "Simon Birch" a lot and we can only imagine their shock if they get around to reading the novel.

I think the best way to approach this book is through the earlier efforts of John Irving. Specifically I think that you need to read "The World According to Garp" and "The Cider House" rules before you turn to "Owen Meany." I remembering wondering how Irving got from the fantastic absurdity of "Garp" to the more relentless realism of "Cider House." In retrospect I can see how "Owen Meany" is a synthesis of those earlier works in many regards. I forced my students to read the three books in the order they were written and if you have not read any of them, I would strongly recommend you do so as well.

Every time I introduce a new person to the book I find myself checking in with them: How far have you gotten? What just happened? I also find myself rereading my favorite segments of the book and what better testament can you have to the worth of a book? I know there are some people who will not take to "A Prayer for Owen Meany," but I have yet to find one.

I mean literally, a joy to read. Irving has chosen to tell the life story of the most unlikely hero. Through Owen, a physically insignificant young boy, we learn the value of human life. We see that sometimes the most moral and courageous voices can come from the most unflattering packages. The lives of Owen's peers, his family, and even the authorities that preside over him, are altered drastically, solely because of his presence. The boy questions life, he challenges religion, strikes back at closeminded people, and even manages to tackle Vietnam. The book contains so much truth. It includes all the perfect details of every American's childhood from little league to Christmas pageants. I found some of the funniest literary scenes I've ever encountered, and also some of the most traggic. By the end, Irving instilled in me an incredible appreciation for the community of family. He made me see the world through the eyes of someone who is wrongly ridiculed. And he also somehow made me believe that miracles can happen.

The book A Prayer for Owen Meany, by John Irving is the best book I have ever read. Irving has made a wonderful and sincere character in Owen Meany. The extraordinary life Owen lived is accounted by his best friend, John Wheelwright. The manner in which he is portrayed, made me honestly grieve Owens departure from this world. My grief was equaled only in the fact that this wonderful piece of literature had ended. I cannot express my feelings, the love I have for this book. Thus, is the poverty of words.
The story itself starts out in a little town called Gravesend, in New Hampshire. There, John lives with his grandmother, and mother in an old mansion on Front Street. Owen lives with his father and mother, outside of the granite quarry that his father runs. John lives a normal life with his best friend, until one day, Owen accidentally hits a foul ball that kills Johns mother. From then on, Johns life is not the normal, picket fence happy ending Americans dream of. His is a story of finding yourself with the lose of all that is important to you.
This book deals a lot with the issue of faith. John finds faith because of Owen, and the way he lived. Owen was so sure of himself. He did everything with a purpose, and that purpose no one could turn from.
Irving asks the question through this book, if it is possible for one person to mean so much to you that even when he is not there, you act as though he is. Joey Cape, lead singer for a band called Lagwagon, put it best in his song, Owen Meany when he said, I learn it's meaning from you in life and death and continue ... but faith is just a silent tribute mine is just desperate act give him back.
I recommend this book with my whole heart. I never thought it was possible for a fiction book to change someones life. Then I read A Prayer for Owen Meany.

Not having read John Irving before, I had to become accustomed to his style of writing. Irving simultaneously develops his characters and moves the plot at just the right pace to let the reader fall head over heels into the story. Upon finishing the book last night, I literally cried because Owen Meany, Johnny Wheelwright and the minor characters in whose lives I had become involved (and almost intertwined!) were no longer there. As a person who has struggled with many aspects of faith and religion, I grew to love Owen Meany and feel him as a friend guiding me to ask questions about myself. This novel is one for believers, non-believers, and anyone who has ever wondered about God or miracles. Owen Meany has been my miracle for the past 600 pages, and I only hope that other readers will take the time to experience such a wonderful masterpiece. John Irving is a genius!

Fiction is not my favorite genre, and what I do read of it tends to be the "classic" stuff: Hemingway, Dostoevsky, Dickens, etc. So, how is it that I'm writing a review of a John Irving novel? Well, I'll also admit a weakness for Irving. There is something wonderfully appealing about the unlikely characters he invents and brings to life. He latches on to the absurd, embraces it with both arms, sets it down before you, and impels you to forge an enduring relationship with it. You come to love his characters. There's something remarkable in what Irving does. He expands you by causing you to love the absurd.

Enter Own Meany. Owen is my favorite among all of Irving's characters (Garp is perhaps second). It is as if Irving had been saving this one all his life, pouring into this one character every contradiction and absurdity he could conjure, then wrapping him up in an impossible little package; and you cannot help but love him.

But this is only the beginning; literally. Irving pulls off something that I can only liken to Dickens in "A Tale of Two Cities". Ivring builds a rich and intricate tapestry around Owen Meany that would itself be worthy of high praise; then he reveals the meaning of that tapestry in a way that I can only describe as haunting. Haunting and beautiful. I literally had dreams about this book after finishing it, it had such a profound effect on me. Irving put magic into this book. Need I add that it is well worth reading?