A Prayer for Owen Meany

Reader reviewed by Tif

Looking back from 1987, a man remembers growing up in New Hampshire and the impact his best friend, the unusually small Owen Meany, had on his life. One day Owen hits a baseball that kills John's mother and becomes convinced he is God's instrument.

It is a bit confusing as the story shifts between times and places, but it keeps carefully to a plot progression that builds suspense. The Vietname era is a striking backdrop for the character of Owen. Filled with interesting social, political, and religious observatives, this is a very interesting book.

Reader reviewed by HawkeyeRob

If you like books with well-developed characters and sprawling, complex plots, John Irving is the author for you, and A Prayer for Owen Meany is his finest work.

Owen Meany is an undersized kid who believes he was put on earth to do something extraordinary. As the book progresses, John, the narrator, tells of how Owen goes from being the little kid who gets passed around (literally) by his friends in Sunday school to a young man who goes to great lengths to protect his friend and to achieve something greater than his small stature.

The movie Simon Burch was loosely based on this novel, but the plot of the film really only covers the first part of the book. It also did not do Irving's story justice nearly as well as The Cider House Rules, a much better film that was actually written by Irving.

Reader reviewed by L. Eustace

Being the sarcastic zany writer he is, John Irving once again creates a story full of wit and sarcasm, violence and pity. The character Irving focuses on is Owen Meany, an intelligent dwarf who has a charm for girls and could possibly be one of the best friends you could ever have in the whole wide work.

While Owen Meany is the star of this book, it's narrated by his buddy, his pal, his side-kick, the person he stayed back a year in school to help, John. Maybe he felt like he owed John something, after all, he did accidentally hit and kill John's mother with a baseball bat.

"A Prayer for Owen Meany" is a hilarious yet touching at the same time kind of book to read. Although the ending was weak with all that anti-war/Iran-Contra situations, this one is worth reading.