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Summary: WHOSOEVER LIVETH AND BELIEVETH IN ME SHALL NEVER DIE.
Review: A Prayer For Owen Meany is the BEST book I have ever read. It leaves all other books in the dust! It is so complicated and intricate. You could read this book over and over again and still catch something new that you didn't the first time you read it. Throughout the book you will smile, you will frown, you will laugh, and you will cry. For six-hundred pages of words there is so much depth to this book. In every situation in the book there is something to think about and learn about. It is so dense. At the end of the book, you want more. You want it to go on forever. Anyone who likes stories about life, will love this book!
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Summary: This is NOT "Simon Birch!" (Thank God)
Review: 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.
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Summary: Best book of the milenium
Review: The best book I have ever read. This novel depicts the true essence of an average American town with a little twist.
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Summary: I loved this book, ambivalently!!
Review: To rate this book a 5 or even a 1 star goes against the spirit of this novel. Anything other than a middle-of-the-road THREE would take way too much conviction, politically, personally or otherwise. This is a book with a message about lack of courage and an abundance of feeble malaise. Our narrator, John Wheelwright, is the "everyman" that epitomizes the vast majority of us in one way or another, I'm afraid. He exemplifies the lack of decisiveness to save one's self. On the otherhand Owen Meany is literally born with a purpose on this earth. The contrasts in characters is so stark, it is painful at times. Both characters are driven by fate, but Owen's fate is predestined and has purpose. John W. is content to let fate mold him into an empty vessel. If Owen is the granite stone, John W. is the empty space that surrounds that stone. John W. is a person without a country, without a religion, without a sexual identity, without a father, without a full body, without a friend and finely without Owen. I wanted to ignore John W. altogether but he's telling the story! I think J. Irving is trying to wake us up. We're forced to face the void - a mirror of sorts. For that, I rank this book a THREE!! Whatever.
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Summary: Incredible Journey with a brilliant Mystery-Style Ending
Review: "A Prayer for Owen Meany" is one of the best books I have read in a long time. To try and put this book simply or plainly would be an insult to the care and intelligence with which this book was written, however I will try to make good use of the space provided and restrain from ranting on the genius and entertaining style of this book. It follows the lives of two boys named Johnny Wheelwright and Owen Meany through their lives and their adventures and realizations about life along the way. The plot is original and a tremendous relief from many of the predictable 'canned-plot' writers. In the first page the author tells you why he wrote the book, but the reason for the book is still unclear. Occasionally the author seems to meander (though all the side-tracking is interesting and gives you insight into how he and others think), however, all the seeming 'loose-ends' are shown to be not only connected, but intertwined in a fashion that you would not of suspected in the beginning but makes logical sense when looked back on from the end; which is why I say it has a 'Mystery-Style' ending. This is a book which depicts a "normal" town, but proves that no one is truly normal. It portrays the characters with details that surprise you, yet are realistic. With the exception of Owen Meany himself, virtually every character in this book will remind you of someone you know and give you a better appreciation to the quirks of "normal" people. This book is vastly entertaining with numerous funny, sad, and serious moments that seem to flow so smoothly and naturally you are almost convinced that these events actually took place (though to be honest, I'm still not sure if they did or not!). This book is mostly, however, about faith (mainly religious). It is a story about how an extraordinary boy born into a runt's body, with a ruined 'permanent scream' of a voice, along with numerous other physical, mental, and psychological peculiarities gave the 'author' of the book (Johnny Wheelwright) his faith in God. However, this is by no means a religious tome, it portrays the characters' emotions (and I mean all emotions) and thought processes realistically giving you the impression that you are not reading from the view of a third-person spectator, but that the author is carrying on an intimate conversation with you. I would recommend this funny (but mostly serious), and always entertaining book to anyone regardless of religious faith.
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Summary: A PRAYER FOR OWEN MEANY
Review: I LIVE IN THE EXETER AREA OF NEW HAMPSHIRE. I DRIVE BY EXETER ACADEMY ON A WEEKLY BASIS. I CAN NOT GO BY 80 FRONT STREET AND NOT EXPECT TO SEE THEM IN THE FRONT YARD OR WONDER IF THEY ARE IN THE HIDDEN SCARY ROOM. THE BRIDGE, OWEN'S HOUSE THE CEMETARY, THEY ARE ALL THERE. THIS BOOK WAS ACURATE AND I EXPECT TO SEE THE BOYS AT ANY TIME. I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN.
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Summary: A Fine Novel
Review: This is one of my favorite novels and the one that I'm most likely to reread. It's the bizarre tale of Johnny Wheelwright and his best friend Owen Meany. The novel is narrated by a grown up Johnny Wheelwright who teaches at all girls Anglican school in Toronto (who is eeriely like a teacher I had at my all girls Catholic school). How he ends up leaving New England in favor of Canada is the story that Johnny tells as he jumps from past and present. Johnny's life is forever changed by Owen's presence in it and through Owen's faith and the miracle of Owen, Johnny may be a damaged soul and may be self-righteous, but Johnny attains faith and grace. The childhood stories are hysterically funny and Irving being the ultimate prep school writer, gives a highly accurate description of life on the inside. Their are parts of the story that will make you want to cry especially in regards to Owen. This book will leave you questioning about the presence of God in your life, the will of God, and to what extent do we have free will and to what extent are the cards already played and dealt. Could of Owen changed his destiny? Or was did he have no choice but to obey what he perceived to be the will of God? These are questions that the reader must answer for themselves.
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Summary: Not Quite as Impressed as Everyone Else
Review: Like many other reviewers, I will say that this book is hard to put down. Unlike many other reviewers, however, I will definitely not say it was one of the best books I have ever read. The beginning of the novel was captivating--unusual characters, original plot, and interesting unanswered questions that kept me reading. Near the end, however, I felt that the story bogged down in John's adult life--particularly, his diatribes against America--and heavy-handed foreshadowing. In addition, I grew tired of Owen's morally superior attitude. For the last 50ish pages, I felt that I continued to read just to learn the exact nature of Owen's death--a morbid and unappealing reason to be reading. I must admit that I had read Garp earlier, and not really been impressed with it either. So perhaps my complaint is with John Irving's style, rather than this particular novel. For fans of Irving--his complex, original characters, large themes, and clear prose--I would definitely recommend Owen Meany; for everyone else, I can only half-heartedly recommend it.
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Summary: A prayer for Owen Meany
Review: I read A prayer for Owen Meany for an English class. At first, I was intimidated by the book's length because I didn't have much time to read it. I decided I'd give it a try. The book started off very slowly, giving boring background information. I was bored and thought about choosing a different book, but I thought it would probably get better as the novel progressed, and it did. Once the story really started taking shape, I was intrigued. A prayer for Owen Meany is the story of two boys growing up together. John Irving did a great job making believable and lovable characters. once I got to know each character, i couldn't stop reading. After the first chapter, I absolutely loved the book. Irving did an excellent job of making both a great plot and wonderful characters. Although the book does not have a captivating beginning, I loved it and feel it is definitely worth reading.
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Summary: I love Owen.
Review: I love Owen Meany. Love, love, love him. I know what some of the other reviewers mean about John Irving going on and on, but in this case, at the end of the book there was so much meaning attached to some of those seemly-insignificant parts of the story that I wanted to go back and re-read it. This story packs a punch and stays with you.
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