A prayer of a book | A Prayer for Owen Meany (Modern Library)

bravo | A Prayer for Owen Meany (Modern Library) | John Irving

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	• A Prayer for Owen Meany (Modern Library) John Irving Modern Library, 2002 - 672 pages average customer review:based on 1102 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Owen Meany

Absolutely a must read!!! I love John Irving's characters and his vivid descriptions! The first time I picked it up to read, after a few minutes I put it aside bc it seemed to be too descriptive--I guess I wanted something lighter to read at that moment. Then I picked it up again a few months later and am so glad I did!!! Loved it!!!!

A prayer of a book

The amount of reviews given for the book is more than 1000 shows the popularity of the book AND the audio production of the book. And with such high-5 it was obvious for me to listen to the special voices on the audio production with an intensity I was force to stay in my car longer than the driving.
What is in this book that worth having listen to it?
In the book we have politics of the 60's with Vietnam war, the demonstrations, the music, and the soldiers. In addition, there is the politics of the 80's with Reagan administration and the Contras in Nicaragua with critics of how the Reagan administration managing the country.
There is the special characters of Paul Owen Meany with the unique voice such that when I stopped in the traffic light everyone looked on my car to make sure nothing bad happen to me.
Last is the characters which includes other than Owen, John, Dan Needham, Grandma Wilworth, Ester the Molester, her brothers Noah and Simon, and many others which made this book a unique book.
Last, but not least is the end of the book which has some surprise in it.

If you did not read it, you should, and if you read it, try to listen to the audio version.

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bravo

This is a superb book, and may I address the two main criticisms; one: it's too long. Oh... Really, now. By 50 pages, maybe? And where would you cut it, exactly. Certain thematic repetitions? When a book is this good, this well-written, saying it's too long seems invalid to me.
Two: the Toronto scenes. Absolutely necessary for they show Johnny Wheelright now, present day, and how he feels and thinks 20 years after Owen's death. It's obviously imperative we know that, that he is still tramitized, still affected, and, like so many of us for different reasons and causes and people and places, his life hasn't been the same since. Running on empty. A week by the lake with a colleague. (Wow!) Teaching! (Ugh.) And obviously the anti US policy rants are relevant, it's what he'd be thinking because, a, of Owen's death, and, b, his decision to live in Canada and his admitted failure/refusal to become Canadian.

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A Tale of Leadership and Faith

John Irving is a fantastic story teller. A Prayer for Owen Meany is a religious and political diatribe. John Irving uses the backdrop of the Vietnam war, juxtaposed with the life of quasi-messiah Owen Meany, to shed light on the madness of meaningless war and the similar madness of meaningless faith. What do war and religion have in common? They both require full commitment from the individual and clear direction of its leaders. Both in war as in religion, if the leaders are a bunch of clowns, no one's heart is fully committed to the cause and in the end, the whole circus falls apart and everyone loses face or faith.

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"Your mother has the best breasts of all the mothers"

When Owen Meany asserts this to his best friend, John Wheelwright, you know he's a special character.

This book, is no throwaway. It takes time and thought to complete, but it will be worth your effort if you like a deeply-woven story with some extraordinary characters. Most worthwhile is Owen Meany himself - a character unlike any I've encountered in fiction. Owen has a timeless quality, suggesting heroism and martyrdom, with a wry comic edge that will make you laugh at loud at times, sadden you at others.

I listened to this book on unabridged audio CD, narrated by Joe Barrett. Barrett does a great job. Notably, this book may be one of very few that excels more in audio than on the printed page, but one of Owen's unique characteristics is his peculiar voice. Barrett nails this spot-on.

I highly recommend this book, if your in the mood for a complex piece of fiction that will resonate with you long after you reach the final page.

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In the summer of 1953, two eleven-year-old boys?best friends?are playing in a Little League baseball game in Gravesend, New Hampshire. One of the boys hits a foul ball that kills the other boy?s mother. The boy who hits the ball doesn?t believe in accidents; Owen Meany believes he is God?s instrument. What happens to Owen, after that 1953 foul ball, is extraordinary and terrifying.

A Prayer for Owen Meany was first published in 1989. This Modern Library edition includes a new Introduction by the author.