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Summary: This book is a work of art, bringing to boil many emotions.
Review: Owen is an intriguing character from the beginning of the book until the harrowing last pages. He has an odd sense of humor and is incredibly smart, making for some interesting things to say. I recommend the book to anyone who isn't overly cynical about religion, has a bit of an imagination, and likes an excellent, well-told story.
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Summary: A good book that, uh-oh, really makes you think.
Review: This is a good book for many reasons. Particularly for the reason that it makes you think. It is a book mostly about faith. It also has much political commentary, which I found a bit annoying (because I disagree) but definitely has its place in the novel. This book is largely about faith, specifically Americans and faith. It seems to me that the book is saying that we must see faith to believe it. We must see a miracle to believe in miracles. It isn't enough that we hear about a miracle, or read the Bible or preach the Bible or assert our Christianity. For we still question in spite of this. Thus, our faith is weak. It is not like Owen Meany who knows that God exists without ever seeing him. He just "knows" that God is there. Those that don't need to "see to believe" have the strongest faith. Owen may be the only human who has this power. The rest of us are weak. And our weakness in faith causes a weakness in our morality. Thus, the importance of the political commentary in the book. Our leaders don't have true faith, thus their morals are weakened and foreign policy is a reflection of both the weak faith and weak morals. If our leaders had immutable, unquestioning faith like Owen Meany, then policy would be different, it would be more concerned with humans rather than Americans. Alas, Owen is not human in the typical sense. He is constantly sure about everything he does because of his faith. The rest of us are not sure because our beliefs our questionedby ourselves and others. This book is about the human spirit. It is about our natural weakness, our questioning in faith. Perhaps if we all unconditionally believed, if we all knew, then we would overcome are innate tendencies to question God. If we didn't have to see to believe. That is our problem. Even the best of us need to see with our own eyes. Except Owen. He just knows God is there. He needs to see nothing to prove this to him. With this type of faith would come a stronger moral fiber and the changes in the world that would result. Thus, the book illustrates how everything we do is a product of our internal moral system. This system is based on faith. If we question our faith, it weakens our morals. Weak morals lead to weak decisions and policy, politically and personally. Hence, the importance of the political commentary in the book (whether agreed with or not). The thrust of the story, in my opinion, is that this is just the way we are. We question. Johnny, who also has unquestioning faith after he is influenced by Owen, cannot understand American foreign policy and strongly disagrees with it. This is so because of his faith. He no longer realizes that the rest of us no longer question our faith, even our leaders, and this weakens our morals and this, of course, affects everything we do, in this instance, foreign policy. Johnny's faith is too strong to understand the weakness of every other man. Owen made him believe. I wish he could make me believe like that.
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Summary: A story that keeps unfolding over and over again...
Review: I loved this book! You can read it over and over and discover new things. Reading this book opened up the world of literature for me.
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Summary: The book I give all my "non reader" friends to read
Review: I read quite a bit and this is the only book besides Catcher In The Rye that I have read twice. I always recommend this book to people no matter if they read alot or not. It is simply a book that has an great impact on you!
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Summary: Great beginning disolves into PC babble by the end
Review: If you only read the first half or two thirds of this book, it will be one of the most enjoyable books you read this year. A Prayer for Owen Meany is laugh out loud hilarious through its first half as it brings back the anguish and triumphs of growing up. However, Owen Meany's pains are darker and more tortured than most readers are likely to have experienced.While I could not put the book down in the first half, I had to force myself to continue to the end as the book becomes boring and preachy as it draws to a close. I was praying that Owen's mission would somehow involve the sudden death of the narrator. Believe me by the end of the book you feel his pain.
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Summary: Devastating! I Miss Owen Meany
Review: I mourn the end of this book and for Owen. I did not want it to end and feel very sad that I cannot continue with the world that Mr. Irving has so heartbreakingly created. I marvel at Mr. Irving's genius in creating a character I will never ever forget and whom I will miss terribly for a long time. From the first sentence, I was truly riveted and I could not stop until I finished the book. I did slow down at the end because I did not want to leave Owen Meany's world. This is one of the best books that I have ever read. I would also recommend to people One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. It is a wonder to me that Mr. Irving has not won any prizes for this amazing, once-in-a-lifetime book.
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Summary: Startling, Imaginative, Provocative and Addictive!
Review: What a book! As a fan of John Irving's, I thought his writing could not get any better than "The World According to Garp" - he succeeded with "A Prayer for Owen Meany." It is sharp, witty, humourous, tragic and thought provoking. A definite read. You will fall in love with the amazingly real characters. You will come to know them and be disappointed when the book is finished - you don't want to leave the world Irving paints so beautifully!
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Summary: ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS I'VE EVER READ
Review: Don't see the movie, read the book! I've read hundreds of books of good fiction and this one ranks right up in the top two or three. You laugh, you cry, and all along the way you enjoy John Irving's Dickens-like wit and saavy. Plus, if you're at all familiar with coastal NH (my hometown), you'll enjoy it even more.
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Summary: Tid-bit
Review: I attended a reading by John Irving in Boston in the fall of 1996 where he read from an "upcoming book" that turned out to be A Widow for One Year. Anyway, the audience was given 3x5 cards to jot down questions, and Irving scanned through several at the podium until he came to one. "Will you please 'do' Owen's voice?" Irving stood tall and relished the moment as if he'd been dying to do this for years. Out came a high-pitched "Your mother has the best breasts of all the mothers!"
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Summary: The Greatest Book in the World!
Review: I bought this book about a year after it came out in 1990. I read it twice a year faithfully whether I need to or not. I'm as emotionally involved every time I read it as the first time. The author's ability to make you laugh and then cry and then laugh again is fantastic. I also love his new book "A Widow for One Year". I felt almost as involved with the main characters as I do with Owen Meany.
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