Rating: 
Summary: A very creative plot
Review: This book is certainly not what I had expected when I chose to read it for my Literature class, but it was a pleasant surprise to find a novel with so much intricate detail and foresahdowing. The book is written out of chronological order to present only pieces of a plot that is only fully revealed much later. (I give the book only 4 stars because I found the odd chronology a bit annoying and confusing near the end of the novel.)
Irving has also succeeded in creating a novel that can be both extremely funny and extrememly sad at the same time. This combination of tragedy and comedy, mingled together with Irving's political commentary on Vietnam makes A Prayer for Owen Meany a truely touching novel.
Rating:
Summary: Read at least once!
Review: "A Prayer for Owen Meany" is the first book by John Irving that I have read, and I must say, it is worth reading at least once!Owen is an unnatural child who believes he is God's instrument, and Johnny is Owen's best friend. The novel is narrated by an adult-Johnny remembering their hilarious childhood adventures. I think this style fits since it allows Johnny to tell the stories with a developed point of view while still retaining a child-like candidness. The time jumping between scenes can be hard to follow. However, it does not take away from its humor or sincerity. I admire "Owen Meany" because it challenges faith - a main theme - without being too preachy. Granted there are certain passages that felt irrelevant to the plot, but they did add to character insights. (Most of the time though, I simply wanted to skip these sections.) Besides, it forces you to read more to find out what happens! Sometimes sad, other times infuriating, but overall the book was the kind that can keep a smirk on my face while reading.
Rating: 
Summary: A Prayer For Owen Meany Book Review
Review: After reading John Erving's novel "A Prayer For Owen Meany," I learned that one must read the entire novel in order to see if the book is great or not. The introduction to this novel is very eye-catching yet after 100 pages, the novel becomes a bit tedious and somewhat boring. After a very dramatic baseball scene, the events in the novel seem very random. The transitions from past time to the present are very confusing and wonders why this book is considered a best seller. By the time I was at chapter 8 I was reading in pure disgust. Although I have written only negative about this novel so far, I can say that the conclusion to this novel has been the greatest I have ever read in my young existence. Everything in the past chapters that make no sense have a meaning. The surprising twist gives the novel a reason to be a best seller. The heart catching introduction and the magnificent conclusion make the novel very good, yet the tedious 300 pages between them are just a waste of time reading. I would only recommend this book to fast readers because the body of the book is terrible. With the terrible 300 pages the book would have received a 1, yet the conclusion rises its score to a 3.
Rating:
Summary: Great Plot, great characters, above average book
Review: A Prayer for Owen Meany is a very provocative and unique book. The main storyline revolves around a boy named John and his friend Owen Meany. The two are best friends and, throughout the book, witness many miracles. The characters are very well detailed with dynamic personalities. The plot is very addictive although there are some boring parts. The book is very religious and at the same time humorous. My main gripe with the book is the way it is written. Irving jumps through time well explaining the story making it confusing at times. This flaw doesnt take too much away from the book so it earns 4 stars
Rating: 
Summary: One of my most favorite books
Review: I first read A Prayer for Owen Meany five years ago for an English class. It was the first Irving book I'd ever read and I was hooked. Since then, I've read most of his other books, and while I enjoyed most of then, Owen Meany is still the best. I reread it again and finished it last night and was pleased to discover that it was just as good as I remembered it. Irving is a gifted writer and this book is his best written. This will continue to be in my top five list of the best books ever written.
Rating:
Summary: Yes, I DO remember....
Review: I don't know when I ever stopped reading John Irving, but I hadn't read any of his work until I was recently desparate for a good READ, and grabbed A Prayer For Owen Meany at my local used book store. This book made me remember how we felt at the beginning of the "baby boomer" (hate that term)journey. It made me long for a time when people were still allowed to be quirky. There were no regulations against quirkiness back then, in fact it was somewhat smiled upon occasionally. This book is so powerful and so complex, the story so layered, smelling so strongly of personal experience, I believe this is Irving's best work...although as I said, I've missed a few, an error I plan to correct soon. It may not be as entertaining as others, but it grabbed me by the heart and made me grieve for lost dreams; made me homesick. It made me wonder why I stopped looking for someone as idealistic as myself in my youth, and when I became so pragmatic....when my politics haven't changed, and I have never veered from doing the right thing. Owen Meany lives in any of us who were witness to Viet Nam. When John Wheelwrite's character asks me if I remember....
I say yes John Irving, I do.
Great Book!
Rating: 
Summary: Mind-Numbing Pabulum
Review: If you're a religious wackaloon, then this is the book for you. Otherwise, don't bother. Don't get me wrong, the writing in this novel is perhaps Irving's best ever...it's just the premise behind this story that makes it a 1 star read. Even if you're intellectually undeveloped enough to believe in God, you must ask yourself why an omnipotent being would go to such great lengths to accomplish, in Owen Meany, what he could easily do himself simply by waving his magic wand (or whatever it is the Christian God uses to perform miracles)? Then again, I guess it's no surprise that in a nation full of brain-dead Bible thumpers who consider absurd myths like Noah's ark and Jonah and the whale as actual occurrences, this novel not only seems plausible, but inspiring. To those of us who have learned to think critically, however, this book is 600 pages of mind-numbing pabulum.
Rating:
Summary: PAUL OWEN MEANY
Review: THIS IS MY FAVORITE BOOK, HANDS DOWN, EVER, NO QUESTION ABOUT IT. WHEN PEOPLE ASK WHATS MY FAVORITE, THIS IS WHAT I SAY. I THINK IVE READ IT A MILLION TIMES. I THINK IVE READ IT SO MUCH IM ON COPY #2...ITS BEEN LOVED TO SHREADS. IT IS A STORY THAT WOULD NEVER BE ABLE TO TRANSLATE TO THE BIG SILVER SCREEN (NO MATTER WHAT TRIPE WAS MADE AND PASSED OFF AS A MOVIE) ITS A RICH AND DEEPLY MOVING NOVEL, ITS ONE THAT YOU WILL WANT TO CURL UP WITH AND READ FROM PAGE ONE TO PAGE WHATEVER. THIS IS IRVINGS BEST BOOK-BETTER THAN GARP, AND THATS SAYING ALOT.
Rating:
Summary: If only I could give it less than 1 star...
Review: I began reading John Irving with "Widow for a Year," then "New Hampshire Hotel" and "Cider House Rules," all of which I enjoyed very much. When I came to "Owen Meany" I could hardly believe it of the same author. True, Irving's distinct sense of humor and craft can still be seen in the eccentric characters who are believeable, touching, and typical of him, including the narrator's grandmother, cousins, and especially his mother Tabitha. But the two main characters, narrator Johnny and his best friend Owen, are a total failure. Johnny is bland and vague, who seems to exist only to witness and record Owen's life story, and to deliver lengthy, monotonous, and rambling diatribe against the Reagan administration. While I do largely agree with his view on this matter, it simply DOES NOT MAKE a good novel. Removing the pages and pages of righteous political grievances may or may not make this a better novel, but it would definitely make it a less tiresome read. Owen, while a curious and intriguing character at first, does not develop at all. If anything, the character becomes increasing flat and thin as he grows up until he is only a voice, a mission--of course you could argue that's exactly what Irving intends for him to embody, but it's done so awkwardly that it simply kills the character--and an annoying voice at that. THE CAPITAL LETTERS USED THROUGHOUT THE BOOK TO REPRESENT HIS UNUSUAL AND UNEARTHLY VOICE begins to get on one's nerves and make one wants to skip whole paragraphs of his oh-so-wise-and-divine speech. Owen's lifelong conviction and obsession--that he's bound to die on a specific date in a meaningful way--finally happens toward the very end, which, while astonishing and moving, should have happened some 200 pages earlier. Because this book just drags on and on, by the time you get to about 2/3 of it you simply want him to get it over with for goodness' sake... This reviewer is 30 and has been an avid reader since about 5 or 6. So far there have been very few books that I found so badly written that I didn't even want to finish them. This was almost one of them. But somehow I felt Irving didn't deserve such an "ultimate insult" and decided to struggle and finish it, with the dim hope that it would eventually justify itself. No such luck. And it leaves a bad taste in my mouth, so to speak, which lingered and disgusted for days after I put the book down. Contrary to a previous reviewer who regards this the best book he's ever read, I'm sure it's among the worst books I have ever read (and will ever read). Judging by the rave reviews the book gets here, I guess mine will probably get a lot of "not helpful" vote. But I'd still like to provide a different opinion--had I read something like this before buying "Owen Meany," I'd have spent the money on something more worthwhile.
Rating:
Summary: Buy this book, because you won't just read it once.
Review: I had been a John Irving fan, and I still contend that "The World According to Garp" is the perfect novel, but I wasn't at all prepared for the soul jolting effect of "A Prayer for Owen Meany." I agree with others reviews which state that the modern-day sections lag way behind the flashbacks, but isn't that really an intentional thing? Showing how adult day-to-day living pales to the memories of discoveries from our youth? In particular this character's youth. For anyone considering reading this book, know one thing. It's 673 pages long, and on page 670 something happens which changes every single word, every idea, every facet of all the characters in the book. You close the book shell- shocked from the effect. You simply must tell someone- Right Then! - about it. Find that someone and read the book at the same time.
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