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Summary: Should be required reading for high school students!
Review: What more can be said about this book??? I am a very avid reader and this definitely ranks in my top 5. I am an Irving fan in general, but I think Owen is his best ever. My only caution is that if you are new to Irving, start with Hotel New Hampshire or Cider House rules first! Because everything else is a letdown after Owen Meany. I really hope the movie that is planned does the book justice but, unfortunately, I doubt it.Read this book. It will change how you think about friendship and life in general!
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Summary: The book that changed my life...
Review: I will always remember the summer of '96, for that was the fateful season in which I came upon A PRAYER FOR OWEN MEANY. It had been thrown into a cardboard box along with several other books. The box sat on my neighbor's lawn, waiting for its contents to be sold. I had read THE WORLD ACCORDING TO GARP and had been extremely impressed with Irving's humor and creative storytelling, so I hoped for more of the same and figured that I couldn't lose for the price of a quarter. The tale of a strange little boy with an unforgettable voice and a knack for bringing about the most unpredictable events made me laugh out loud with its antics and comments from the characters that hit home with me as a fellow New Englander. This book effectively states that every family indeed has their quirks, that friendships don't have to be overcome by unusual and tragic circumstances, and that EVERYTHING happens for a reason. I must thank John Irving, for whether it was his intention or n! ot, this book has caused not only me, I've discovered, but many of its readers to rethink and re-evaluate their lives. I had never before emoted so extensively over a novel - I would even tear up as much as a month after having finished simply by considering the book's events. I don't see any reason why the strong sense of spirituality that lies within this novel wouldn't touch any person, and for that reason, A PRAYER FOR OWEN MEANY is my favorite book of all time.
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Summary: a once in a lifetime book
Review: This book was something you'll only read once and then recall when and where you were at that time years after putting it down. This should be on everyones list to read. The text reaches out and grabs you in with its ironic twist and turns. A MUST READ
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Summary: Why Did I Wait So Long??
Review: Reading is my all-consuming passion. Amazingly, at 48 years of age, I had never read any John Irving!! A month or so ago, I decided to try The World According to Garp, on recommendation, and was thoroughly dazzled. I had tried to read A Prayer for Owen Meany a couple of years ago, but I guess I just wasn't in the mood. After my experience with Garp, I was bound and determined to read Owen Meany; how happy I am that I finally did!! This is a true masterpiece of American literature and should be read by everyone. The armadillo, Rector and Barb Wiggin, Hester the molestor, "made for television," Liberace, Dr. Dolder's VW, Tarzan and his wrestling, the shot, etc. etc. etc. Thank you, Mr. Irving, for this moving, beautiful, funny, sad, thought-provoking novel. I look forward to continuing my Irving-experience with A Widow for One Year and some of your older literature. Read this, please, everyone!!!!!!!!
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Summary: This is not a book, it is an experience.
Review: A friend gave me Owen for Christmas last year - at the time I thought it was a nice gift. But after reading Owen I understood what a special gift it was. To date, I have purchased five copies and given them to the special people in my life. I read quite a bit, and it is rare for a book to make me smile, laugh out loud, and bring tears to my eyes. Mr. Irving did such a wonderful job in making Owen a character we can all connect with in some way. It's strange, I feel like I carry him with me now, perhaps I'm just more of a spiritual person now; but I will be forever grateful to my friend for bringing this book into my life.
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Summary: Beware! I adore this book and am reminescing here...........
Review: This book was recommended to me by a dear friend over the internet. ''Little Owen Meany'', she said, ''You'll just love him. He's amazing!'' I did not really dwell on her words or consider their full impact; however, after finishing this book, I can fully understand what she was talking about! This is the most fantastic novel I have ever had the pleasure of reading! I cannot begin to delve into the range of emotions this wonderful book invokes. My sister told me she had never seen me laugh so much for a novel ( the Christmas play! the volkswagon scene!!! Germaine the maid when Lydia died!! HESTER THE MOLESTER!!!! and Owen himself, of course, who, although he was a serious little fellow, cracked you up throughout the novel!) It also made you choke up with emotion (Owen's abscence at his graduation from Gravesend Academy, the whole last section ''The Shot'', and many other memorable scenes). Owen's sense of self, and his belief he was indeed ''God's instrument'' for! ced you to take a good , hard look at faith and predestination. Does everything happen for a reason? I can indeed imagine Owen giving me that look of ''mild pity and mild condensation'' he bestowed on those who believed in coincidences. I used to. I can now say this book has made me truly wonder if certain ''occurences'' or ''accidents'' or ''coincidences'' happen for a REASON. Owen is a character people will not soon forget. I did not want this book to end, for I found myself wishing I could have existed in Owen's world in order to have known such a person. One last note: the final line of this book is one of the most heart wrenching sentences I have ever read. It moved me to tears. I cannot rave enough about this novel. BRAVO MR IRVING!!!!!!!
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Summary: Best book ever!
Review: People know if they are my friend or not by whether I choose to share this book with them-because only the privileged get to read it because it is so special. Owen changed my life-it sounds so cliche', but I was literally mad at the people who came up with the "100 best books" list for excluding him. I have conversations with friends where we will analyze Owen and talk about him as if he was real. I have never done that with any other book. Owen made me laugh, sob, think, and totally changed the way I read books. Owen Meany is now my yardstick against which all other books are measured. Thank you, John Irving!
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Summary: 232 reviewers can't be wrong...
Review: A slow start gives way to a breathtaking end. I'm still trying to work out why this book affected me as much as it did, but I suspect I'll enjoy the challenge for years to come.
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Summary: An amazing story
Review: A dear friend recommended this book to me, and I am so thankful that she did. I've never had a book effect me in such a way. Mr. Irving is a master of his craft. I don't know how anyone could read this book and not see that God has a hand in every aspect of everyone's life. This is a book that I will recommend over and over again.
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Summary: Wonderful, Excellent, Best Novel Ever Written
Review: When i first saw this 500 and something paged book that i had to read for my Junior year high school english class i was not looking forward to reading a long and probably stupid book, like all the other books that i had previously had to read for english classes. But once i started this book i could not put it down. This book touched me and made me laugh, cry, and think about my own life. I asked myself how a character in a book could make me miss him and move me so profoundly. I first read this book in 1994 and have read it twice since then. I have read many books since then and none could even compare with A Prayer for Owen Meany and i do not think that any book ever will.
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