Rating: 
Summary: all time favorite
Review: I wanted to add my review to inform the public about this astounding novel. I picked it up on the advice of a friend who read it as a required book back in high school. All I can say is this book has it all. Irving crates a brilliant character - little Owen Meany - who is hysterically funny, fascinating, and thought provoking. I laughed out loud ALMOST EVERY TIME OWEN SPOKE. The relationship between the narrator and Owen is truly endearing - it spans almost eveything that could happen in life from the simple to the miraculous. This book is often overlooked but I say - READ IT AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. Give it a few chapters and you'll think that perhaps Irving is the real instrument of God.
Rating:
Summary: Just count the number of reviews of this book!!
Review: Amazon.com was closing in on 700 published reviews of this book when I started typing mine, so you can imagine the kind of response this novel has garnered from the public!I hope you can get through this book in one sitting, because if you can't you will suffer the same fate that befell my friend Kristen and myself. When we had to put the book down, unfinished, we couldn't stand being in a different room from it. At once comic, tragic, spiritual, and downright eccentric, APFOM will ensconce John Irving in the upper pantheon of great contributors to 20th century literature. There's not much else to say here that hasn't been said a couple of hundred times already on this website. This book is a treasure, and all who read it will be rewarded by its enriching, graceful, yet odd story.
Rating:
Summary: a prayer for OWEN MEANY
Review: I recently had to read A Prayer for Owen Meany for my 11th grade American Literture class. Not being too enthusiastic about it because it was assigned for school I began reading it. Despite its 600+ words I was finished with Owen in a couple of days. This is by far the best book I have ever read. It has everything. It is hysterically funny at times, and also made me cry a few times. It is great for people of all ages. I would definetly reccomend this book to anyone and everyone. I'm currently reading The Water Method Man it too is good but not as good.
Rating:
Summary: 10 stars.
Review: John Irving is the sort of author that once you have become familiar with his work, opening up and reading any of his novels is like coming home. I read this book years ago and recently re-read it since Owen Meany has lived in my head for years. Was it because all of his dialogue was in all caps which made him seem to be shouting throughout the entire novel? Was it because his character was among the most memorable characters of any book I've ever read? All of those reasons but mostly because Irving can write a story. This is an amazing piece of art from one of the greatest writers ever. If you only read two Irving books in your life, read this and The World According to Garp.
Rating: 
Summary: Soul Mates
Review: "A PrayerforOwen Meany," written by Johnn Irving, portrays the friendship between two young boys in the 1950's and the lasting effect one would have on the other. From early on, the reader gets a sense that Owen Meany and Johnny Wheelwright are not merely friends; they are soul mates. As the story progresses, their friendship is only strengthened and the death leaves Johnny, convinced of his friend's position as God's messenger, forever changed. The connection between Owen and Johnny is expressed from the start of the novel. Owen is not solely Johnny's best friend, he is a member of the Wheelwright family, despite Johnny's grandmother, Harriet's, initial opinions. He celebrates holidays with the family, he spends many nights at their house (he even keeps a toothbrush there), he attends church with them and they offer to pay his school tuition. The strong love between Owen and Johnny's mother, Tabitha, is evident. Replacing Owen's anit-social mother, she seems to take the role of both his mom and caregiver. This fact adds to the irony of Owen's role in her death. The death of Mrs. Wheelwright strengthens Owen and Johnny's bond and Johnny begins to understand his friend's position as God's messenger. Throughout the book, Owen's odd routines cause Johnny to be convinced of Owen's unique significance. The shot that the two boys had practiced for years proved to be vital at the scene of Owen's death. What began as a child's game of Johnny lifting Owen to make a shot in basketball ended in a dramatic saving of lives as Owen tossed a grenade, protecting others while losing his own life. Owen's high-pitched voice, his diminuitive appearance and his strong religious convictions contributed to his inique presence in Johnny's life. As we struggle to understand the meaning of our life and the unique position we ahve on the world, we often come to resolve to our most somplex issues queries through the eyes and souls of those who are most dear to us.
Rating:
Summary: One of my favorite books of all time
Review: I cannot recommend this book highly enough --everything about it is compelling. Dealing with themes of faith, fate, and identity, this novel will change your life. You will become a different person than you were when you began. I don't want to go into a lengthly explanation of what happens (that would ruin the fun!), but know that you will laugh and cry and ponder throughout the book. Simply incredible.
Rating:
Summary: In my top ten list
Review: A Prayer For Owen Meany is one of those books that come along once in a decade. Celebrated author of The World According to garp and Cider House Rules, John Irving has painted a nevel of humour, tragedy and brilliance. From the moment we find out about the death of John's mother and the quirky character of Owen Meany, the novel sculpts world of strange and unique stories as the two friends grpple with life, war, religion and love. Told through the voice of an older John, one cannot but feel the ache in his heart that he must endure for the rest of his life following Owen Meany's...well, you have to read the end of the book. Irving has a unique writing style that both shocks and yet captivates. The humour is unique and yet diffused with a sadness that almost confused me. Should I laugh or cry? It approprate to do both somehow. I sensed a strong influence by Robertson Davies Deptford Trilogy, particularly the first novel, Fifth Business. I mean this as a good thing. After all, it is completely fair for one genius borrows from another!
Rating:
Summary: The greatest novel ever written
Review: I can't begin to describe how powerful this novel is. When I closed this book the first time, I wept for almost a half hour, it moved me so incredibly much. I'm not a religious person, but it helped me understand deeper concepts of faith and honor and character in ways I'd never experienced before. It really changed my life.
Rating: 
Summary: Prayer For Owen Meany
Review: This is a good book that takes long to read but is worth it. Owen is a smaller than average sized kid with a funny voice. HE thinks that he is the instrument of God because he was concieved by a virgin birth which no one believes but his parents and himself. John is his best friend. he is quite rich and Owen's family is not that wealthy. Owen spends most of his time at Johnny's house. Even when Owen kills his mother with a foul ball that he hit, they still are best friends. John doesn't know who his biological father is and is angry of why his mother didn't tell him. Later he finds out who his father is and he knows who has the "murder weapon" that baseball. He doesn't like him much. John's cousin has some feelings for Owen. She doesn't want Owen to go to war in Vietnam, because he sees his own date of death on a tombstone in a play. he knew he was going to die and save some people which he did. I think that Owen just wanted fame for what he did. He wanted to be known by people. At the end he said that make sure that i get a meadel for this, which he received. Owen just wanted the fame. He knew he had to die on this date so why not die in honor.
Rating:
Summary: Faith and Miracles
Review: A Prayer For Owen Meany is a riveting novel created by John Irving. Owen Meany was the main character and he became the teacher to all the other characters in the book teaching them to have faith and to believe in miracles. I thoroughly enjoyed the book because of the contrasts that it offered. I laughed at one moment, and at the other, I would shed tears. This books keeps the reader fixed on the story, not allowing them to put the book down. The wit that John Irving uses is very clever as well as the story plot that he creates. It requires the reader to pay attention to all the details and to piece together the information. Also the reader must know about certain aspects of history to understand certain key concepts in the plot. I enjoyed this book because it teaches about faith. Owen teaches that faith is indeed very difficult to have because there is no proof, but that is part of faith: believing despite the lack of evidence. This book teaches friendship and how it can endure through times of adversity. It also makes us realize that sometimes we are possessed by our fears of God or death. But we should never let that stop the way we live and at the same time we should help humanity and do whatever we can to help make it a better place. This book was also very enjoyable because it makes us realize that what happens around us today will indeed affect us and how we are in the future. There are unrealized forces that are shaping who we are and throughout the book we are able to witness this phenomenon. John Irving makes us realize that it is hard to lose someone and we deal with it in different ways. By making this novel true to life, he has made it a useful guide to being a better person and dealing with the everyday difficulties that we face making this an original and an outstanding work of literature.
| 
