A Prayer for Owen Meany was a novel that I had wanted to read for a very long time and was it worth the wait.....................?

For the first 150 pages I was totally engrossed in the story and the characters of John, Owen, John’s Mother Tabitha and Grandmother. But as the story progressed it became bogged down with an over abundance of details, facts and political and religious opinions and at times I found myself totally switching off and longing to get back to the story I started.

I really felt so divided about whether I loved or hated this novel, I loved the humour and the sadness in the novel, I enjoyed the characters, I loved the sense of time and place that John Irving managed to create by his vivid writing. There are some really smart passages from this novel that I totally loved

n  “We have a generation of people who are angry to look forward to,” Owen said. “And maybe two generations of people who don’t give a shit,” he added. n

and regarding the death of Marilyn Monroe
n   “ it has to do with all of us said Owen Meany, when I called him that night, She was just like our country-not quite young anymore, but not quire old either, a little breathless, very beautiful, maybe a little stupid, maybe a lot smarter than she seemed” n

I loved the characters and felt I know each and every one of them I especially loved Tabitha and Grandmother but did not enjoy the character of Owen or John although I did appreciate how well they were written. I love how the author brings to life all of his characters and I enjoyed the fact that they all had a voice in this novel while some were entertaining some were downright boring as in the case of John but they all have a place in this story.

There were times in this novel I hated this book and was tempted so many times to throw in the towel as I found parts of the story so boring. I especially disliked the Christmas Nativity Section and while I read the long winding and boring description of this play and its characters and happenings I think my mind was a million miles away. I also felt that the author was preaching to me throughout the novel and I really disliked his political and religious ramblings.

I think if I could draw a bar chart for each chapter I could better represent my highs and lows on this novel than writing a review. Its not a book I would recommend to my friends but having said that I am glad I finally got around to reading this Novel. A difficult book for me to rate but I think I have settled on a 3 star rating as I liked it but did not love it and found it way too long.

I have a secret to tell...I wasn't always a huge book reader. I grew up in a family of avid readers and it was always joked that my mom was born with a book in her hand. But, for me, when I was in high school, I chose to stick to shorter novels like Catcher in the Rye and The Bell Jar and anything over 500 pages seemed just way too daunting. I remember thinking that for a long time picking up A Prayer For Owen Meany, which is easily Irving's best in the four of his I've read (Hotel New Hampshire, Cider House Rules, Widow For One Year). My parents loved it and so they kept encouraging me. Finally, I started. I remember the first bit was a little rough going because it had to do with names that had no meaning to me but after that, I had a difficult time parting with it.

To be honest, there is a part of that book..the imagery, the stories, the characters, even the way it ended that has always stuck with me. Every novel I pick up over 500 pages, I realize I'm consciously wondering if it will live up to A Prayer for Owen Meany. I have no idea what I would feel if I read it today-as in, if it would hold up. But some of those things about it-the errant baseball, the dressmaker's dummy, the high pitched voice-are all etched in the stone of my imagination. It's impossible for me to forget...and so I wonder if this book possibly changed me...because it definitely turned me into more of a book addict.

I've been giving too many four star reviews lately, so thought I'd mix it up with a review of a book I have conflicted feelings about. Thus, two stars for Owen Meany. Which, by the way, is my favorite of the John Irving novels I've read. Not a fan.

I enjoyed many elements of Owen Meany as I read it. Liked the narrator's family (mother, grandmother, cousins) and the business with the stuffed armadillo. Liked his description of his school days, and thought that the section in which Owen transfixes the town with his performances as Baby Jesus and the Ghost of Christmas Future was beautifully realized. At the end, however, I came to think that, a) Owen had basically ruined his best friend's life, and b) God (or at least John Irving) had really messed up with his big plan for Owen.

The second point first. I'll try to avoid spoilers, but it is clear from the beginning of the book that Owen is a character with a predestined fate. He sees a vision in his childhood and then spends his life working to realize it. Because he is smart and driven (and, he and the narrator believe, guided by God), he becomes a substantial personality in his school. Irving does a great job reminding the readers how powerful a figure a high school leader can be.

Then you get to the climax and we find the meaning of Owen's fate. And I must say, I found it a huge let-down. I thought -- all those clues, all that dedication by this exceptional person, for THIS? Its as if God saw that some guy was going to cause a big multi-car pile-up and thought, I know, I'll have Michelangelo's David fall on top of him and that will prevent the big car accident. The David will be smashed, but hey. I mean, you figure that the tool will be matched to the job that needs to be accomplished. There must have been other ways for God to bring about the events in the climax.

Then, the relationship between Owen and the narrator (whose name, rather appropriately, I've forgotten). Owen was the leading figure and the narrator his best buddy, Ron Weasley to his Harry Potter. The narrator is consumed by thoughts of his friend and his story (he is the one offering the prayer of the title). But it seems to me that he has failed to realize his own life, and his brilliant friend has contributed to that. Owen actively obstructs his friend from participating in some life experiences -- joining the military for example or, I think, feeling comfortable and confident sexually. Early in the book, you find out that the narrator does not know the identity of his father: Owen tells him that at very least, he knew his father had slept with his mother, so when he feels lustful this is a connection and clue (actually, Owen seems more interested in this question than the narrator does). The narrator is, let's say, no Lothario, and I wondered if Owen's suggestion had made him connect desire with the abandonment of his mother. At any rate, what little life force the narrator has seems to be concentrated on thoughts of his friend -- he saw Owen's potential but not his own.

So ultimately, I found Owen Meany an interesting and engaging book until the end, when suddenly the entire outcome became a downer and based on moral premises I found highly questionable. I've been mad at Irving for making me care about Owen and his friend ever since.

My book reviews are not necessarily analytic. I concentrate on how I felt about the book. What kinds of reactions did the book elicit from me. I consider myself to be somewhat heady and any book that stimulates my mind and emotions is a keeper. Owen Meany hit these things on all cylinders. It was quite surprising because I have tried multiple times for years to read this book and was never able to get past the first chapter. I guess a little maturity finally kicked in because this time I was completely entranced.

Owen Meany is a complex story. It's many things. It's a coming of age story about two boys growing up in the 50s. It's a political story about the Vietnam war. It's a political story about the Reagan years. It's a story of a boy who never knew his purpose, but he knew he had one. It's a story of discovery. It's a story of family and friends and towns and States and Countries. It's a story about faith, and belief and religion. Finally it's a very smart and intimate story with so much substance told at quite leisurely pace though it spans decades.

The book is not perfect. There are points where it lags and it is a bit long. Honestly, the big reveal of Owen Meany's purpose was in my mind lackluster. A big meh for me after getting to know him so well. But there is a tremendous appeal to the way Irving tells a story. By the end of the story, you know and love the characters and their quirkiness. Irving's narrators seem to be very smart and self aware even of their own quirks. This is a book that lingers in the consciousness long after you read the final page. Of course enjoyment of the book helps when you agree with the points the author is making about the nature of war, religion and the social, political climate of that era and in general. In fact I was quite pleasantly surprised that the book dealt with so many large, complex themes in such a respectful, sensitive, compassionate, and dignified way. Perhaps that's why I'm rating the book so highly. I really wasn't expecting the book to be so deep and rich. It's also quite funny. A great intellectual and emotional read that stands up well to the test of time!!

5 stars