Rating: 
Summary: Accessible, enduring, moving and fun!
Review: Simply the best Irving story, a significant thing for the finest American novelist of the second half of the 20th century.John Irving learned a very important lesson from that greatest of English language novelists, Charles Dickens: Literature serves only the ego of the author (and the self-congratulatory lit set) if it is unable to tell a compelling story and speak clearly and effectively to it's audience. That's not the same thing as saying you should check your brain at the door before opening an Irving book... his work is nothing if not consistently insightful and intelligent. What's missing from his work (and all too common among the works of modern lit novelists) is the pretentious use of overly descriptive prose so flowery and 'deep' that they lack all actual *meaning* and leave any honest reader asking themselves 'What the hell did that mean?'. 'Owen Meany' is a sheer delight from beginning to end, broad in scope while always close enough to home and the workings of the human heart and mind that even the most eccentric characters (an Irving staple!) and bizarre situations are painted clearly and believably in the mind's eye. This book stands out as both a fast and furious summertime 'fun' read as well as an enduring example of the finest American fiction ever written.
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely my favorite book of all time
Review: This book is quite seriously my favorite book of all time, and I don't throw those words around lightly. The story is alternately baffling, inspirational, and hilarious. John Irving is an expert at weaving an intricately unexpected story that is both minute and all-encompassing, spiritual and socially conscious. Irving delves into the most sincere human emotions, while commenting on one of the most crucial events in recent history (the Vietnam war). When this novel could become trite, it doesn't. And that is how it succeeds.
Rating:
Summary: The Best of Irving
Review: Owen Meany is by far the best of John Irving's novels. Irving is a master at drawing the reader into the story and this is no exception. The reader is introduced to the seemingly strange Owen and soon falls in love with him. He becomes the unlikely leader and VOICE of those who know him best. Everyone should know someone like Owen. He knows himself and forces those around him to look at themselves and their fates. I did not want the story to come to an end. I have read A Prayer for Owen Meany several times.
Rating:
Summary: This should become a classic!
Review: John Irving is such a gifted author, this is a very enjoyable read. Thought provoking and intense!
Rating:
Summary: Put simply: the BEST
Review: As a fairly voracious reader, I'm not all that easily impressed. Some books are better than others, but I've never encountered any sort of literature which manages to incorporate just about every element of living into its pages the way this does. You name it- aging, childhood, death, life, instability, love, loss, relationships, religion (and lack thereof) family, friendship, intelligence...Literally no stone is left untouched. And it's likely that the same could be said for any reader of this book. Put simply, this is the best novel I've ever read. Get it. Now.
Rating:
Summary: A Unique Masterpiece
Review: Nothing prepared me for what lay inside this book. I had never read anything like it and still haven't. Although people may feel this starts slowly, it quickly gathers momentum and keeps going and going and going. Owen Meany quickly became the most extrordinary literary character I have ever had the pleasure to read. This novel is breath-takingly original. It is also very funny and thought provoking. I could never find the words to tell you how much I love this book. Utterly exceptional in every way
Rating: 
Summary: Mixed
Review: Weighing in at 620 pages, I imagined the book might carry a bit more weight. Irving creates a very detailed world, with many characters passing through, spanning the time from the youth of his narrator all the way until his adult life. Along the way, Irving comments on the policies and scandals of all the presidents through the period, the increasing influence of the media on American society, the role of religion and religious faith in the life of the individual and society at large, the role of the family in shaping the individual's perceptions of the world, what makes one American, and the value and power of friendship. Though he certainly brings to light many issues pertinent to the lives of modern Americans, he fails to make any firm conclusions and doesn't seem to give the reader enough to work with in order to have an intelligent argument about most of the questions addressed in the book. Furthermore, the wide scope of the novel and the fact that it fails to adequately reconcile any of the issues makes the length of the novel even greater, leaving the reader wondering what the purpose was of many of the subplots. Irving overuses some very obvious symbols, regularly reminding the reader what the symbols mean and recapping their importance to the novel, decreasing the quality level of the book and taking away any possible weight of the symbols. All in all, this is a very mediocre book. Not a quick read, it drags at many points and most of the plot is incredibly far-fetched, its advancement relying on some very implausible sequences of events. A final warning: the novel deals greatly with the different ideologies and practices of different orders of Protestantism and their differences from each other and Catholicism, and, not having great knowledge of these intricacies, I feel that there may have been subtleties in the novel which eluded me and may cause grief for other readers as well. Despite these detractors, however, I must admit that there are many enjoyable passages, and it is easy to become immersed in the complex world Irving creates and become quite attached to some of the lovably human characters he creates. There is much humor throughout the novel and the ending, however fantastic, does a nice job of bringing everything together and making the novel make a bit more sense.
Rating:
Summary: Seamless.
Review: It is very hard to create a world. It is hard to have all of the little seemingly unimportant details in place, and noticed at the proper time. It is hard to weave words together in such a way that the reader feels as though he or she is being spoken to directly, yet know that it is beautiful. John Irving has done all of these things in "A Prayer for Owen Meany", and not only that, but he has created one of the most heartbreaking characters in all of literature. Once I got about a chapter into it, I no longer felt that I was reading a book that I had been given as a present. Or that I was reading the original story that 'Simon Birch' was based on. I felt as though I was getting a glimpse into a parallel universe, where I could escape to, by reading anothers problems. Owen Meany is a little boy, who is very short, and has a "permanent scream" for a voice. He believes that he is Gods instrument. Once I stepped into this world, I found it hard to step out. As I read the last sentence, and closed the book, I felt a sense of loss, for no longer being able to read John Wheelwrights (the narrator and basic main character) thoughts, and points of view. No longer able to 'hear' Owen's voice. Each character played a part just as important as the next. From the joys of childhood and playing tricks on adults, to accepting death and the true meaning of God, 'A Prayer for Owen Meany'explores some of the most and least controversial and interesting subjects. A story of a true hero, and how he not only came to be, but how much he changed peoples lives.
Rating:
Summary: A satisfying read...
Review: As a fan of Irving's writing, I expected great things from Owen Meany - and Irving delivered! With great accuracy he portrays the thoughts, obsessions and worries of a young boy at various ages. Irving continues to taint his writing with his own religious and political persuasions, revealing as much about the author's own personality as that of the characters. The story leaves you wondering just how it might end, and whether Owen is truly an "instrument of God" as he so believes. The content provides great fodder for the emotional glutton - tears, cheers and laughs! If you enjoy a sweet, satisfying yet unpredictable story about a unique person who forever changes the lives of all who come in contact with them, this is the book for you!
Rating: 
Summary: Yes it is too contrived and manipulative.
Review: If you're a literary scholar trying to get inside the head of Dickens or Hardy, this book might be for you. If you enjoyed history classes where teachers spewed out facts and figures about failed American politics, then this book is for you. If you ever enjoyed sitting through Sunday Services where an over zealous preacher pelted out bible verse after bible verse just to get them all in, then this book is definitely for you. This book (and all Irvings, I suspect) was not for me. A third of the way into it, I couldn't keep my eyelids open. Three-fourths of the way I started to turn pages eagerly, only to get bogged down yet again in overly-embellished descriptions of people and place. As I do when my mother recounts every nuance of somebody I don't know, and have no interest in knowing, I wanted to scream, "What's the point?" While it wasn't completely void of any interesting characters or plot twists, I found it neither "comic" nor "tragic". The best thing I can say about this book is, I'm glad it's over.
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