A Prayer for Owen Meany

Rating:
Summary: A review for Owen Meany
Review: Owen Meany starts off as a good humorous read without neccessity for deep thought and insight and makes a enjoyable start. However, the reason I did not give it a full five stars was because as the book continues near to the end, the humor wanes into an increasingly serious tone of voice as the characters undergo maturity. The focus of Owen Meany is strong throughout the book, except for occasional lapses in time to which, as of this day, I still haven't fully understood why the author would diverge to the present day to explain a story about his past.The narrator, of course, goes through some complex changes as well as the other key characters, however everyone else, as expected, seem rather flat overall. Despite a somewhat lack-luster ending, the book does do a good job of closing all it's seams and leaving no "cliff-hangers" for the reader. Overall, a good book, with some great reads at the beginning.

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Summary: Humorous story that will have you praying for Owen
Review: The background is like a common house hold name: two boys, Owen and John, young, meet and grow accustomed to eachother's companionship. As the years go by, the two grow closer and closer, and as they do, they discover a part of eachother that is crucial to the direction their relationship will travel to. And as Owen comes to realize that he is to be used by God for some purpose, that he will be a hero, John tries hard to look past Owen's word and find truth to anchor in. If only he could have seen what owen had....

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Summary: Great book: Funny, Provocative, Well-written
Review: I chose to read this book because i had heard of the humor that was involved in it. I can tell you that i have never laughed out loud at any book before A Prayer for Owen Meany. All of that changed when i opened this book, it is full of laugh-out-loud literature (which is rare in this day and age). From a child's perception of sex, to beetle skins, to childish observations, this book keeps your mouth open and the tears streaming down your face. This book also, besides being a funny book, had several mysteries that were presented in the book that caused me to keep reading, in hopes that the next page would solve the puzzle. However, the next page simply developed the mystery a step further, so that when the mystery was finally revealed, u was completely awestruck at Irving's literary genius. The style he uses with his writing is not at all drab or boring. He uses a unique way of characterizing Owen MEany's obscure voice, using capitalized letters, which i believed as a very nice touch to Owen's personality. This, aside from Black Hawk Down, is the best book i've read, and although its six hundred and change pages may seem lengthy or a bit much at first glance, this book is an extremely easy read, and Irving uses each and every one of his pages to demonstrate his story telling expertise.

Rating:
Summary: Comical and Entertaining
Review: This book presents readers with a relationship between Owen and John; a relationship based upon strong pillars of trust, reliability, and securtiy. One may find that the story provides a sense of comical relief and humor that keeps the reader intact. The style chosen by author John Irving is both a unique and quizzical prose that entertains readers by all means. An experience that relates the readers to the lives of Owen Meany and John Wheelwright, the stong bond of friendship that exists between two boys, and the unique detailed background of each boy. Giving the book 5 stars, I recommend that anyone looking for a good laugh and striking entertainment, should read John Irving's A Prayer for Owen Meany.

Rating:
Summary: Irving does it again!
Review: John Irving writes yet another winner. Just as The Cider House Rules, A Prayer for Owen Meany is an excellent novel. Irving once again is able to captivate readers in a very unconventional style. His twisted, shocking, and slightly disturbing scenes and situations both pique a reader's interest and lead to greater thematic development. While exploring adolescents' sexual curiosity through the eyes of young Owen, he manages to intertwine such disturbing and yet very real thought with the supernatural.
Irving's techniques work magic. His characters are very appealing, his plot enthralling, his details shocking and his message divine. Unlike those of most tales, most of the main characters in A Prayer for Owen Meany are well rounded. They are very human in that any reader feels the effects of corruption and conscience on each. Young Owen, the boy prophet, is a deformed undersized child. While upon appearance Owen seems a little kid Owen is deep at heart, and is especially so due to his prophetic abilities. The narrator John Wheelwright's tone changes from situation to situation according to his emotional state in the narrated event. It changes from a fondness for Owen, to a hatred of American politics, to an almost subverted, yet reminiscent sexual desire for his own cousin Hester. The characters' emotional reactions are heavily lined with ethical implications.
This story deals with faith, love, fate, belief, sacrifice as well as friendship. Common beliefs are questioned and a new take on belief is explored. Irving raises unexpected and yet extraordinary questions about life and ethics. Stunned readers will be unable to remove the tale from their thoughts even after having finished the book. Beliefs about ethics and morality taken for granted are put to the test in this tale and culminate in the climatic ending in which the concept of faith itself is revisited.
The plot is curious and yet hair-raising in that the issues dealt with in the novel are so real and yet so unimaginable that it sends chills up the spines of readers. Irving gives the readers a real sense of what it is like to be one who can foresee his own future and fate, one whose destiny is already shaped for him, one who is God's instrument.

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Summary: Unique and touches your heart!
Review: The one thing that struck me the most while reading this novel was its originality. There is no other book that I have ever read quite like this one, and that is a major reason why it is so worth reading. Irving creates a very unique character in Owen Meany: A child who possesses a deranged voice and believes he is an instrument of God. Throughout the book, he can be annoying, rude, and cynical, yet I have come to love him for his character. The book has a very interesting style of writing in that the first 8 chapters were pretty much spent by the narrator rambling and reminiscing on past incidents and experiences he has had with Owen Meany. The only criticism I would have is that there should be more significance in the beginning parts of the novel. Yet, the ending was extremely powerful and made the entire sitting very worthwhile. Irving is exceptionally funny in this novel, yet I have found myself falling out of my chair laughing as well as crying. This book is definitely something to be read.

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Summary: An enigma wrapped in a puzzle.
Review: "A Prayer For Owen Meany," despite being better than expected, is a tedious book to read. It is true the book is cynical and fun, but the fun quickly ends. The chapters are long and filled to the brink with random narrations and uninteresting scenes. Though Irving makes a habit of catching the reader's attention with ... innuendo before an abundance of religious allusions, the pattern does not repeat as often as is needed to renew a defeated interest in the book. If the book had an excellent theme or something to that effect, I would still recommend the book (albeit, after much hesitation). However, the novel's theme is difficult to find and many long, dull chapters can be read without any idea of what to analyze. Only in the end of the book is the theme noticible and even then, Irving could have emphasized such a cliche theme from the beginning.

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Summary: Not meant to be a quick read...
Review: Although extremely lengthy and made even more so by plenty of tangents and jumps between the past and the present, A PRAYER FOR OWEN MEANY is a profound book. Its central theme is the blind faith that is demonstrated by Owen Meany and observed by his best friend, John Wheelwright. One of the things that make this book both good and irritating is the style of the narration. By recording all the memories or opinions that come to him as he remembers or thinks of them, John connects and relates everyone and everything with each other, creating a complete picture for the reader. For impatient readers, the style may be irritating, but I believe the book as a whole is well worth the time spent reading it. The themes are well developed, and the ending is very conclusive and final--i.e. you're not left with the feeling that it's incomplete or that you want more. Overall, a very good book but somewhat difficult to read straight through.

Rating:
Summary: good book
Review: I really enjoyed A Prayer for Owen Meany mainly because of Irving's characters. This is the type of book that once you have finished it, you feel as if you really know the characters. The characters of the book have become your friend. Owen Meany's character really seems to jump off of the page and become YOUR best friend, YOUR proof that miracles exist, and YOUR reason for faith. The narrator and Owen Meany's best friend, Johnny Wheelwright, presents humorous, admirable, and uncanny tales of Owen's life.
The only critcism I have for this book, is that the ending is a little bit TOO clean. The strings all came together as a pretty little bowtie and every single piece of the puzzle fit together TOO perfectly. Irving had purposely written each detail throughout the book, and each detail came together in the ending. Overall, this is a great book, in which you will be taken on a journey where your own personal faith in destiny and God are tested.

Rating:
Summary: I know there are already 500 reviews saying this but...
Review: John Irving achieves something completely unique. He creates a real person, a life, someone to be cherished. This is the most incredible book I have ever read, and I am sure will ever read. Magnificent.