A Prayer for Owen Meany

Rating:
Summary: A recommended read
Review: Owen Meany was a fascinating example of contemporary English fiction and gives us hope that literature has not gone away with the advent of the "idiot box" and the Internet. Irving effortlessly blends the mystical with the whimsical without losing spirit of the novel. Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Uppercase lettering for a reason
Review: No question: This is my favorite all-time book. John Irving always creates people the world cares deeply about, and Owen Meany is his greatest creation ever. I adore Owen and always will. I think that's why so many of us re-read this book every year. We like to bring Owen back to us. Kind of like Easter.

Rating:
Summary: Well worth the read
Review: As an English teacher, I was always hard-pressed for a one-book answer when asked what my favorite book of all time was...that is, until I met Owen Meany. Since then, this book is always my recommendation to students, teachers, parents, and friends. The anecdotal stories are amusing, sad, bittersweet, touching, and sometimes hysterically funny, and the characters will touch your heart--forever. They are as real as they are fantastic, but they are remarkably memorable. The best thing about the book is the ending. Irving weaves all of the stories together in a most suspenseful--and utterly unpredictable--conclusion. Even more interesting, the author has written several works with similar characters and symbolic qualities--he will become one of your favorites. Read this now, or you are missing out on literature at its best.

Rating:
Summary: One Midget's Life
Review: The thought of trudging through the jungle in the Vietnam War could make someone's heart stop. This is the first book I read by John Irving, and it encouraged me to read more of his works. "A Prayer For Owen Meany" is a story of the narrator's reflectin on the strength and courage of Owen Meany, his best friend. It was interesting to hear about Owen Meany from his best friend because it showed how much one friend can change your life. This book shows the commitment, sacrafices, and how the spirit and memories of a best friend stay with you for the rest of your life. John Irving had a brilliant way of portraying what life was like before, during, and after the Vietnam War. In addition, he showed how the Vietnam War affected a beautiful friendship.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: This book is not only a gut-wrenching, beautiful story, it is perhaps the funniest book I have ever read. One thing: PLEASE DO NOT see the movie SIMON BIRCH before reading this book. This book should have never been made into a movie, as the beauty of the book is in the details, and they are far too rich to be captured in a 90 minute film. Read the book first, and just skip the movie altogether.

Rating:
Summary: The book of books
Review: Having read OM 8 times (once a year) i can whith joy and happiness declare "A prayer for Owen Meany" is the best book ever written. Non excluded! I hope you'll read it often as it gets better every time. Love and happiness from Iceland Eyjó

Rating:
Summary: readable again and again
Review: i'm in the midst of reading owen meany again; it's a rare book that is so compelling, both in its humor and its pathos -- a delight to be reading along and know you're about to reach a part that made you laugh out loud the last time you read it. once you listen to owen, you hear him forever, in your ears and in your heart. a really nice book to read during the holidays, even with its pain and suffering -- the warmth and the joy shine through!

Rating:
Summary: Either way you will be weeping...
Review: The fact that John Irving is a fascinating storyteller, cannot be doubted. Personally I have to confess I occasionally find his stories and his weird characters a little too weird; somewhat too detached from the world most of us live in to be REALLY interesting. This was - occasionally - my feelings upon reading otherwise enjoyable works such as "the Hotel New Hampshire" and "the World According to Garp". This was not the case with "A Prayer for Owen Meany". Owen Meany - though also weird - is a strong and moving character. His special points of view and his at certain times provoking religiousness only help make the character complete and true. The society in which Owen and the storyteller grow up is wonderfully portrayed - one pictures the surrounding characters very vividly and cannot help loving them or hating them; or both. The question of religion is thoughtfully and interestingly introduced. I found it impossible to guess whether Irving himself is a religious man. This novel will make you think, whatever your attitudes are towards the question it raises. But most of all it will make you weep in the end; weep for Owen and his tragic fate.

Rating:
Summary: PRAISE IRVING FOR GIVING US OWEN MEANY
Review: IF YOU READ THE BOOK, YOU KNOW WHY I'M TYPING IN ALL CAPS. IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THE BOOK, YOU SIMPLY MUST READ IT -- it is the most heartfelt, uplifting, well-woven, sad, funny, best book I have read. It is simply wonderful. READ THIS BOOK.

Rating:
Summary: Don't hate me because I'm beautiful, or because I disagree
Review: I was mostly disappointed in this book. I wanted it to be funnier...or funny period