Rating: 
Summary: Is it just me?????
Review: I don't understand all the hype surrounding this novel. I read the book on the high recommendation of my mother, whose taste almost always comports with mine. It was a chore to get through the whole thing. I felt like, knowing from the first chapters that Owen is special and believes he is the instrument of God, it took entirely too long to tell the whole story. I couldn't sympathize with any of the characters, and I found the grown up John to be a complete bore and a dolt. The length and slow pace of the story frustrated me. Maybe one has to be an Irving fan to enjoy Owen Meany; I admit that I am not -- I did not like A Widow for One Year, though I rate it higher than Owen Meany (at least 3 stars). In all, Owen Meany, for me, fell far below the hype.
Rating: 
Summary: Read it and weep.
Review: 'A Prayer for Owen Meany' has what must surely be considered one of the best opening paragraphs in English literature. And from then on - to possibly one of the most moving (and truest) of endings - it does not cease to involve and captivate the reader. Irving interweaves a strange, enthralling story, political allegory and mystical symbolism with considerable technical skill which never falters. The characterisation is a triumph. No-one who meets Owen will ever forget him - nor should they. Read it for the plot. Read it for the artistry. Read it for the underlying metaphor. But for God's sake, read it.
Rating:
Summary: What a great book!
Review: I lauged! I cried! This is the best book that I have read in a long time! I recently moved here from Paris, France. I just had to read this book after I saw the movie, " Simon Birch" here in America. My friend read it an recommended it to me. I recommend this book to anyone who is in for a long but great read!
Rating:
Summary: One of the most wonderfull books i'v ever read !
Review: The autor takes you to a different world and it is like watching a movie more than reading a book, becuase the exiting writing of Irving, which is defenetly the best autor I know.
Rating: 
Summary: How can you wish there were more Owens?
Review: Owen accepts his responsibility, to give life meaning, bravely and solemnly. Wishing there were more Owens in this world is, however, selfish. As a side note, for a condensed version of APFOM without the humor, read Arthur C. Clarke's short story "The Star".
Rating:
Summary: A MASTERPIECE!
Review: If this were the only book Irving had ever written, I would say he was born to write it, and it alone. As it happens, it is one of many wonderful works of his that I have had the pleasure of reading. Owen is the tragic figure in this saga, but he is also the person that shows us all the meaning, follies and wonders that love can bring to our short lives. Owen may meet what appears to be an untimely end in this story, but he surely shows us all,through the wonderful prose of Mr. Irving, that the most seemingly insignificant, meaningless lives and deaths can ultimately be of the greatest significance in this game we call life. I can't re-read the last page of this novel without breaking into tears. The final line--"O God, bring him back to me! I shall keep asking you."--says it all. Thank you, John Irving!
Rating:
Summary: This is an absolutely unforgettable book!
Review: I bought this book at a garage sale for $1.00 several years ago. I think it is my most valuable purchase. Once I started reading, I couldn't put it down until I found out Owen's fate. As a non religious person, I was enthralled by the spirit and faith and meaning in this story. Even now, years later, whenever I hear the name John Irving, I hear the strange voice of Owen Meany in the back of my head. I will never forget Owen and the armadillo, and will read anything John Irving write. A Son of the Circus was his next book that I read and I found it to be no less satisfying.
Rating:
Summary: I read this book every year in the fall.
Review: This is a very sad tale. I always find something to laugh about, with John or Owen. After reading the first page I feel the same way John does. My life in this world, comes from life shared will good fiends. Like John and Owen. The good, bad ugly, and the truth.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful mysticism; jaded politics; terrific book!!!
Review: Irving masterfully weaves several seemingly unrelated subplots into a captivating story the reader will savor. One cannot resist reading "just one more chapter" of Owen Meany yet one does not want the book to end. When one reads the last word on the last page, one weeps for many reasons, not the least of which is that the book is finished.The work is a wonderful Christian mystic novel, and -- when enjoyed as such -- ranks as one of the best pieces of literature in modern English. The characters are well-drawn and completely memorable. Better yet, they become the reader's friends and chosen family. However, the politics of the U.S.A.'s Viet Nam era gets tiresome for those of us who lived through it. Yes, we get Irving's point of view but, toward the end of the book, he beats us to death with it. The book works best at the spiritual level. And, on that level, it is without peer.
Rating:
Summary: This is the best book ever!
Review: After crying my eyes out at Simon Birch, I just had to read this book. If I was stuck on a desert island, and I could only have one book with me, this would be it. Owen Meany is a boy who has a heart defect that makes him incredibly small. He also has the strangest voice ever. His best friend, the narrator is John Wheelwright. When the boys are twelve years old, Owen hits a foul ball that kills John's mother. After this fateful game, many amazing, funny, adventurous things happen to Owen and John, that will eventualy change their lives.
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