A Prayer for Owen Meany

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Summary: A book that combines sarcasm and sublety to make you think!
Review: 'A Prayer For Owen Meany' is a serious, yet humourous novel. John Irving has a talent for creating serious scenes that make you laugh. It is his talent that holds your attention more than anything else. The strong symbolism behind Owen banishing his parents in the nativity of '53, calling it a 'saccrilidge' for them to be there, is lightened by the comical exit of the little actors, and of course Owen, carried out not able to bend due to his swaddeling. However the humour never makes a mockery of the serious situation that surrounds it. I never doubted the power that Owen held over the concregation and his peers alike. The content of the novel is so diverse that i continually found myself intrigued, trying to answer question that John Irving poses to the reader. Like who is Johnn's father? And; Who took the baseball? At appropriate moments we are let into the answers by a writer who has a clear talent for subtle hinting. The sneaky references to the Revered Mr. Merryl are something that i only picked up fully on the second reading. I also find it intresting to notice that John Irving chose to include the questionable sincerity of the narrator in 'The Great Gatsby'. Are we then to assume that John exaggarates? It is clear that John is obsessed with Owen, so why not? Granted that John sounds honest, yet the question is still subtely raised. And it is this subtlty that facinates me about 'A 'Prayer For Owen Meany'.

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Summary: An unusual novel that can make you laugh and cry throughout
Review: A prayer for Owen Meany is a book unlike any other I have ever read before. The main character is the most fascinating being I could ever imagine, and this was what kept my interest in the text. So many events take place throughout the novel that the reader could not possibly get bored. The amusing parts are so hilarious they make you laugh out loud, and the sad points almost reduce you to tears. The way in which the characers are described makes the reader feel as if they almost know them personally and therfore encouraging them to feel emotions towards the characters involved. First impressions might be, how can someone have interest in another persons life story, but this is no ordinary person as you are not likely to ever meet anyone even similar to Owen Meany in your lifetime. Not only that, but so many events take place in this person's life, that hearing all about them could not possibly be boring. Owen's beliefs are also fascinating and it is up to the reader to deceide whether or not they agree with him. It is an excellent text where you laugh and cry within a chapter, and fall in love or dispise Owen as soon as he is introduced in the novel.

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Summary: "Prayer for Owen Meany" or "How to Laugh+Cry Simultaneously"
Review: "A Prayer for Owen Meany" is a book you will never forget. You will never forget because of Johnny Wheelwright's narration, which takes you on an emotional rollercoaster - from the laugh-out-loud humour of Owen's practical jokes and his part in the Christmas plays, to the immense grief of some of the most moving literary deaths you will ever read about. You will never forget because of the visual nature of this book which is filled with cinematic images and precise detail. You will never forget because of the extraordinary sense of fate, which means that every event in this carefully crafted novel happens for a reason - from the titular hero's unusual role in the death of his best friend's mother, to the symbolism of an amputated childhood toy. You will never forget because of the remarkably believable characterisation of Tabby Wheelwright, Johnny's late mother; of Lewis Merrill, the pitiful minister whose faith wavers constantly; of Dan Needham, Johnny's down-to-earth step-father whose first present eventually meant more than he could ever have imagined.

But most of all, you will never forget because of Owen Meany. Johnny Wheelwright begins the novel by claiming that he owes his faith to Owen Meany, and by the end of the book, this suggestion no longer seems irrational or exaggerated. Instead, we have come to some kind of understanding of Owen - both as a human being and as a creature who is not quite of this earth. His voice, the voice of "all those murdered mice", is the voice of a child with a virgin birth, the voice of a child with an unusual talent for seeing into the future. But more than that, he is infinitely touchable, infinitely loveable. By the end, you too will believe because of Owen Meany.

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Summary: This is a novel which should be as compulsory as Shakespeare
Review: The magic of the main character of this book is created by the immense respect and love that the narrator has for this unique human being.

Every intricate detail is retold so magnificently that the significance of these details later in the novel gives a different outlook to the second reading which is tinged with expectation, and the sense of purpose and preparation that Owen has throughout the book, heading towards the culmination of the novel.

'A Prayer for Owen Meany', is a book to be cherished and loved, just as Owen is a character who is loved and cherished by Johnny, the narrator. This book is a definite jewel which should be displayed in all bookshelves around the world.

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Summary: If I had only one wish it would be a purely selfish one...
Review: When I first read "A Prayer For Owen Meany" by John Irving I felt I had lost something - the ability to get the same sense of fulfillment and enjoyment not to mention pure amazement from any book I ever read again. I do not know whether to thank or curse John Irving for making me feel this way. I find it difficult to believe that I could ever find a book that exceeds the expectations I have now set for any author. I sympathise and pity any brave enough to rise to the challenge.

This is undoubtably the best book I have ever read. The thought, detail and effort Irving must have put into conceiving and structuring this book is definetely worth the end result. I could list everything that makes this book fantastic, but it would probably be easiest and quicker for you to read the book yourself.

I would recommend this book to anybody but I will give you only one piece of advice, unless you want to live for the rest of your life searching for a book that even matches the magnificence of this masterpiece then make this the last book you ever read. Savour and cherish every moment you spend reading it because you will never again be able to experience the feelings from that first reading. If I had only one wish, it would be a purely selfish one, that I could read for the first time "A Prayer For Owen Meany" and this time I would do as Irving says himself and ' pay attention ' to the text.

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Summary: A novel worth reading.
Review: Having never read any of Irving's novels previously, I was pleased at having read such an amazing novel and to have found an author who so brilliantly forces us to love the main character.

Never before had I come across so unique a character as Owen Meany. Owen himself makes the novel what it is. Every aspect of Owen; his small body, his strange voice, his loyalty, his strong faith; makes us long to meet and touch the boy who makes the novel so successful. Friendship has never been portrayed as strong as that between Owen and Johnny, despite the fact that he kills his best friends mother.

To those people who want to experience feelings of happiness and sadness, and who want to meet this different little boy then this novel will ensure that this happens.

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Summary: My thanks to John Irving.
Review: When I finished reading A Prayer For Owen Meany, I was left with mixed feelings. Anxiety and sorrow but also immense gratification. I was grateful obviously to John Irving for having the scope to write a novel as exciting, varied and unique as he has. But I was also sorrowful that I had and would never in my lifetime meet someone as magical as Owen. I also however felt anxious and a little worried that I would never again read a novel which would affect me in the same way!

To anyone who hasn't read Owen Meany I say "read it now" and to those who have I suggest they feel lucky to have experienced, if only through John Wheelwright, Owen Meany's amazing life and to learn as much as they can from the little man who everybody loves.

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Summary: The best book I've ever read.
Review: I was already an Irving fan when I read Owen Meany, from reading Garp and Cider House Rules. But although certain themes resonate through all Irving's novels (New England, boarding schools, sexual tension, death), I was completely unprepared for the effect Owen Meany would have on me. Irving's storytelling and style of writing captivated me; I was moved to tears by the end of the book.

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Summary: Purely entertaining. Irving's best!
Review: John Irving's done it again - a thoroughly entertaining story that's a little off balance and a lot philosophical. Great entertainment, albeit a little wordy. "Simon Birch" does not do it justice!

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Summary: Real sense of Destiny and Search for what's missing
Review: A Prayer for Owen Meaney is a must read! The depth of the human search for life's meaning is told through such a unique style of combining play-back and expectation. A captivating novel I tried hard not to put down. I wish John Irving would sue the movie industry that made a ludicrous film out of this pensive, even spiritual, drama.