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Summary: A Pastoral Intellectual in a PoMo Field of the Fractured
Review: Lifting Tensions: The Pastoral Intellectual plays in the Postmodern Field of the Fractured Narrative
As I finished the last few pages of A Prayer for Owen Meany, I was left more perplexed than resolved. A fractured novel, the chronology of the narrative does follow a conventional pattern. Irving uses a postmodern fractured approach to the narrative - almost Kunderan in its polyphonic technique of multiple plots and subplots, which crescendo REALLY back in the start - where the story ends. Kunderan also in the sense that there is this tension of the looming presence of sex - or in Johnny's case, the lack thereof.A Bildungsroman of small town proportion, the novel unfolds (as mentioned, in a non-conventional narrative chronology) more and more details are revealed to the reader. This novel, I feel, can be classified as a Bildungsroman because it is the untangling of the knots, as it is the musings of an adult Johnny Wheelright that we are listening to - or is it REALLY. We are asked to ponder - just as Johnny does - to consider religious convictions and the malaise - that Irving through Johnny - that is the America political horizon. The political considerations aside, I was drawn to the deep friendship of Owen and Johnny in their quest to lift rather than resolve the mysteries of Johnny's life. However, we are left to grapple with the miracle of Owen Meany. The question now stands: What is faith? A disturbing novel that is really book-ended by death - the story opens with the death of Tabitha Wheelright, and is predictably concluded by the death of Owen Meany, Irving almost has a pastoral obsession with family, respect for elders, and friendship. One could almost picture the white picket fences of 80 Front Street and at any moment Atticus Finch and Scout would come rolling in explaining to Johnny (and seeking commentary by THE VOICE) on the trials and tribulations of Boo Radley. Anyway, it seems like Irving is warning us about urban malaise - that home is a big house with dark corridors and secret rooms with tons of memorabilia from past generations and that the Wheelwrights are a celebration of functionality in a sea of dysfunction. There are a few lasting impressions that the book left and a few disturbing contradictions. In the case of the former, Owen's voice and Owen as THE VOICE. Owen functions as Irving's second mouthpiece - a source of irony. Owen is the counterpoint to Johnny's almost resigned yet stabilizing position. The juxtaposition of the two is one of the great combinations in literature as Irving explores issues of identity (which I will tackle in some detail later). In the case of the latter, one glaring contradiction that jumps out is the case of Owen assisting Johnny to evade the draft. If Owen is as sure of his dream as he is - to die in a heroic circumstance in Vietnam - and Johnny is to play a part in this, as he does in the dream - why is Owen fighting so hard to go to Vietnam while at the same time helping Johnny avoid the draft? Owen helps to ensure that Johnny does not get drafted by using his father's diamond saw to relieve Johnny of the use of his right index finger - to which Irving uses with such skill to infuse humor later on in the book. This seriously calls to question one of Irving's sub-plots - the one of free will versus determinism. If Owen is destined to die in a heroic fashion in Vietnam and directs all his energy to such an end (yes, pun intended) - Why is changing Johnny's destiny so important? Johnny is marked in Owen's dream - should Johnny not have been in Vietnam as well? Would it be logical to think that is Owen saw Johnny in his dream that he would try to get Johnny to Vietnam and not out? Who knows? We are also left to wonder about the issue of identity. One of the fulcrums of the book is the need to find out the identity of Johnny's father. The miracle child Owen possesses the Reverend Mr. Merrill and forces him to admit to Johnny that he is his father. Tension resolved, right? Wrong. The real question of identity escapes most, as the question rests mostly, once again, on Owen Meany. Mr. Meany reveals to Owen, at about the time of the death of Tabitha Wheelwright, a shocking fact: that Owen is a result of a virgin birth. Irving uses this incident to draw attention, via Owen's rage and Johnny's vitriol against a cherished tenet of the Catholic Church - the birth of a child to a virgin. Loaded with accusatory language of superstition and ignorance, Irving juxtaposes this scenario alongside one of his main character - in this case Owen - whose very foundation is the notion of a miracle - yet another contradiction. What is Irving REALLY saying here? What is his agenda? Moreover, if Mr. Meany did not DO Mrs. Meany - who did? The virgin birth of Owen puts him alongside Johnny in the illegitimate category - does it not? Who is Owen Meany's REAL father? Why bring this up and then leave us hanging? It is a dense book that makes us consider issues of the subaltern and notions of normality. It celebrates the Other - as Owen, the one with the high pitch voice is a hero. We are compelled to consider issues of imperfection in Irving's use of and the lack of arms and finger as well as high-pitched voices and diminutive stature. Who is perfect now? A Prayer for Owen Meany is beautiful book full of irony and pathos. However, it fails in several places as Irving rambles in minutiae as calls to question the notion of faith and normality. Irving lifts rather than resolves in this experiment with the fractured narrative. Miguel Llora
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Summary: Owen is the most interesting character I've ever known
Review: This is the only book by John Irving that I've read, so I can't compare it to his others. I can say that out of all the books I've read, this is one of the most memorable. Owen is unforgettable, being small and passed around the classroom like a trophy, having to shout at the top of his lungs just to be heard at all. All of Owen's speaking is printed in capital letters and it just adds to the genius of his character. The fact that Owen knows the exact date of his demise in advance is intriguing. John Irving leads you to the end with a fascinating tale of best friends thrown together in hard situations, showing the humor that is inherent in all humanity, the hope of us all to save the world, and the depths that some will swim to save a friend. This novel is rich with colorful characters and surprises around every turn. "A Prayer For Owen Meany" is a true original, unlike any story I've ever read. I highly recommend it.
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Summary: A book for all
Review: A Prayer for Owen Meany is my favorite novel. This is a book that I think should be included on many more reading lists in college and even high schools. Irving has an uncanny way of getting into the meat of all his characters. Even when you don't completly understand where the story is heading you can be assured that it is going to all come together at one point, and fully transport you into his world. This is an easy enough read, but one with life long lessons inside.
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Summary: Still Praying After All These Reads
Review: It's not often my son--a well read young man in his early 20's--recommends a book to me with such effusive enthusiasm. How could I not read "A Prayer for Owen Meany" with that kind of encouragement? Granted, son and I have very different tastes in tomes. But Irving is actually an author more my style, and the novel I just finished prior to this one, "Da Vinci's Code," was more his style. I'm always willing to stretch. We traded books. Ah, what a refreshing pause! I had been somewhat disappointed in Dan Brown's literary style (or lack of) and so John Irving's much more complex, much more nuanced, much more intellectual approach to storytelling was renewed pleasure in words. I gave a nod of approval to my offspring even as I turned the first pages. Alas, I turned them more slowly as chapters wore on... Irving has indeed created an odd couple of characters: Owen Meany, the dwarfish youth with high-pitched voice of stunning self-importance that wavers between arrogance one moment and self-sacrificial lamb of God the next, and his sidekick Johnny Wheelwright, illegitimate child of a striking, freespirited woman soon killed off by a baseball Owen accidentally slams across the baseball field during a Little League game to hit its killing blow against her temple. Not that this would destroy the odd friendship of these two. Indeed, it bonds them for life. As for Owen, he doesn't believe in accidents, especially not this one. What transpires through the remainder of the story, tracing the lives of these two from children into adulthood, is a complex weave of seeming circumstance into eventual climactic conclusion that rather neatly ties many loose threads together into a tight knot. Owen has foreseen his own death by a visionary dream, and he never doubts, at least not until the final days of his life, that this dream is the beacon guiding him home (home being, for Owen, heaven for those who would enter through the gates of martyrdom). In the process of these two strange lives, topics of destiny and fate, religion, American politics and foreign policy, various rites of passage from childhood into adulthood, and other miscellaneous lighter and deeper issues are undertaken. These, too, all come together into the neat knot at the book's end. I won out in the book exchange with my son, no argument there. Irving is a quality writer. But, although I have yet to read his other works, I suspect this one is not his best. The ideas he undertakes are fascinating enough, yet I found myself unmoved by either Owen's fate or Johnny's somewhat victimized standing by. Perhaps we all need more of a mirroring of our own experiences to truly lose ourselves in a book, and while I did not have those experiences that might bond, my son obviously did. One vote this way, one vote that.
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Summary: A Friendship We All Could Use
Review: John Irving - as the narrator, John Wheelwright - tells an astonishing story of his friendship with the unusual character Owen Meany. Owen in an abnormally small child with a high-pitched, nasal voice and is easily distinguished as the center of this book's plot. Most readers (including myself) will agree with Owen that he is God's instrument, but it is most amazing when you read what happens yourself. From the incident when Owen accidentally kills John's mother to the time they spend together trying to find the identity of John's father, not only does their friendship hold strong, but everyone sees Owen as having the presence, respect and knowledge of a superior being. However, no one can easily claim that the theme of this story is how Owen brings religion and faith into everything he does. Rather, John presents the experiences from his perspective as an average person with doubts about the existence of God and the importance of believing in Him. This person is one that almost everyone can relate to. The friendship this person (John Wheelwright) is a part of, though, is like a privilege - inspiring to anyone who reads about it. And that is what Irving uses to drive the plot. Just as Owen believes that "...any good book is always in motion - from the general to the specific, from the particular to the whole, and back again," John moves quickly. He combines events from his childhood and youth with journal entries from the present, never in chronological order. Eventually you have a pool of pictures and stories floating around your head, which all get pulled together in the last one hundred pages of this excellent book. Even though there is not your typical "happy ending," the way the story end is intellectually satisfying. This is definitely a novel I would recommend to anyone looking for a challenging yet reassuring story they can relate to for the rest of their life.
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Summary: My favorite book of all time!!
Review: This book has it all, a terrific story as told by a gifted storyteller that will span the time years before the Vietnam War of two boys that are different both physically and come from very different backgrounds and tells the story of their profound friendship. It will make you laugh out loud and move you to tears, and then make you laugh again. Owen is a memorable character that I will never forget.
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Summary: Irving's Best
Review: I like pretty much everything Irving writes, but I think this one is the peak of his creative output. The stuff he wrote before just led up to this one, and although some of the books after it ("A Widow for One Year" for example) have been very good, nothing else has moved me like this one.
The comedy is hilarious (the Xmas pageant in particular), the characters are memorable and the mood of the book (which is one of his longest) is maintained throughout at a high level of religious mysticism and anticipation. I even got used to the fact that Owen's dialogue is in all capital letters (a fact that annoyed me at first). And the last few chapters are so well done that it's worth the long trip to get to them.
I can't say enough about this one, so I won't go on and on. Just, suffice to say that, if you've never read an Irving book, read this one.
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Summary: An Awesome Book!!!
Review: I recently read this and all I can say is WOW!!!
Owen is unlike the other boys. And he knows why. His parents informed him when he was younger. He's the second
Christchild. I'd definitely recommend this book:)
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Summary: A Must Read
Review: A Great Book! Powerful! A Prayer for Owen Meany is original, beautifully done, and it inspires thought. Even after you are done with the story, the images will still haunt you (in a good way, of course). Very deep, A Prayer for Owen Meany is simply worth reading. 'Nuff said.
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Summary: Fiction as it ought to be written
Review: This book was my introduction into John Irving. Irving is a compelling and enthralling writer, he demands your attention but he does not flood you with difficult writing and too many details. He writes what is necessary, and this is evident by the ending of this book. The book is a fascinating montage of contradictions and a powerful story about fate and will. It is tragic and yet will make you laugh out loud throughout. It may also produce goose-bumps and tears. Owen Meany is an unforgettable character. The writing is so crisp that the pages turn themselves. The book itself may, simply put, become an instant favorite for anyone who reads it. I don't know how else to recommend it.
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