‘A Prayer for Owen Meany’ (1989) is John Irving’s epic story of the very singular phenomenon that is Owen Meany – as told by his lifelong and long suffering friend John Wheelwright.

Whilst acutely aware of the significant critical and popular acclaim attached to this novel (and recommended by several friends) – and ‘Owen Meany’ is certainly a very accomplished novel which definitely has its strengths and its moments; ultimately however I was underwhelmed. ‘Owen Meany’ failed to engage, excite, enthrall or move me. It also feels very much over long and indulgent at times and I think would have befitted by an editing down to at least 100 pages shorter.

The is much in ‘Owen Meany’ concerning religion, superstition, belief, magical realism, the Vietnam war, American/Canadian politics, premonitions, prayer, dreams, visions, illusions and delusions as well as much about death. All the ingredients of Irving’s novel along with its associated acclaim and the reputation of its author - mean that I would fully expect to have enjoyed and thought highly of ‘Owen Meany’, to have come away after reading, if not inspired, at least fulfilled and curious to read more Irving. Unfortunately, this was not the case and I really can’t properly pinpoint or establish why that is? Maybe expectations were just too high?

There is also in ‘Owen Meany’ what seems like an oft used literary device – a character who teaches English/Canadian literature, hence the scope for mentioning and referencing several ‘worthy’ authors (Atwood, Hardy, Shakespeare, Bronte(s) Dostoevsky et al) – which more often than not feels like an attempt to give a novel that additional literary gravitas, which in the majority of cases is overused and ultimately feels like a cheap trick.

In a word – disappointing. (Only just scraping 3 stars for me)

This is quite possibly my favorite book of all time. I think that it is Irving at his best. There are events set out early on in the book that tie back in at the end beautifully. I finished this book on the bus from Mont st. Michelle and cried my eyes out. The characters were just believable enough and yet still stretched the bounds of what you would expect. I hope that someday I find a stuffed armadillo...

Soooooo glad to finally cross this modern classic off my must-read-someday list! It was a mixed bag for me, with very vivid scenes spaced between really long slogs through too much detail. The ending does pay off in a big way though, and Owen Meany certainly is a unique and memorable character.

For f*ck's sake? Really?

Owen Meany's dialogue is printed in ALL CAPS all of the time...

Did any Christian reader miss that HUGE literary clue pointing to the American custom of printing Jesus' dialogues in bright red in the New Testament portion of many of the Christian bibles?

Owen Meany, the main character, is Christ in this updated story of Jesus from the bible. Why not? It should be a fun read, right? It isn’t. It’s dull dull dull.

Vietnam was Buddhist, not Christian, by the way. Quite an ironic intersection of unthinking didactic beliefs on so many levels... Was this the underlying point? I don’t know.

Whatever. What a bore this book is to read. Was this intentional? I don’t know.

I thought the novel might be masquerading as both an ironic fictionalized autobiography about growing up in eastern America in the 1950's, 1960's and 1970's, and was at the same time satirizing the Owen/Jesus character’s (and Buddhism too) belief in predestiny/fate. I figured the novel would end as a sad acknowledgement of the horrific meaninglessness of faith by religious believers. Combining religion and killing always leads to deluded people. Religious people trust in the efficacy of faith by providing unproveable and juvenile meanings for dying. If you clap, the fairy will live again.

Instead, this book is SO full of sincere treacly sentimentality and dull endless exposition I skimmed the last 400 pages. I was quite sick of Owen and his best friend, the narrator John (3:16) after 543 pages of pseudo-biblical prophecy fulfillment. After all, we all already know the ending.

This is a well written book, with unique characters, and it was a "good read," but I don't think I can say I actually liked it. A Prayer for Owen Meany, despite the narrator's insistence that the Resurrection is the heart of Christianity, presents a joyless Christianity. Christ said, "I have come to give you life, and to give it more abundantly," yet no Christian in this story seems to have an "abundant" life.

I noticed that all of the characters who are representatives of Christianity, even Owen Meany, seem to have one thing in common: their Christianity is a Christianity without joy. There is the narrator, who is isolated, lonely, judgmental, and bitter, constantly condemning the Pharisees; there is the minister whose faith is dry, whose belief is purely academic, whose family is portrayed as dead inside; there are the parents who are burdened by the weight of superstition and live an almost ghostly existence. Even the hero's Christianity, the Christianity that is the narrator's ideal, the Christianity of Owen Meany, is ultimately a Christianity without joy. Owen has faith in God, but he is resigned, even bordering on fatalistic; he may arguably be content, but to me he seems to utterly lack joy. Like the narrator, he spends a great deal of his life judging others, and he is described as difficult to live with; at times he even seems miserable. The narrator (or Owen?) says: "watch out for people who call themselves religious; make sure you know what they mean—make sure they know they mean!" Does the narrator know what he means by "religious"? Does Owen Meany?

The narrator delights in railing against those he deems to be false Christians. He takes little pity on others for their lack of faith, though he himself wrestles with doubt; he has no mercy for politicians forced to make hard choices in a fallen world beset by sin. He spends a good part of the book raging with polemics against Americans, America, and Ronald Reagan, as well as against evangelical Christians. His best friend and hero Owen Meany would agree: "What's wrong with…them is that they're so sure they're right." But so too is Owen Meany "so sure" he's right, so too is the narrator; and with that assurance they condemn those who are not as they are.

The narrator does admit that his "lack of forgiveness" is the least Christian thing about him, and yet he does not seem to strive to do anything about it. For me, the lonely, isolated, embittered narrator is an uncomfortable reminder of how easy it is for any one of us to waste our lives in washing the outside of the cup and in pointing fingers of censure, instead of simply getting on with the business of living and loving and praying and serving and laughing. A Prayer for Owen Meany shows us a Christianity of mystery, of blood, of fate, and of miracles, but never a Christianity of joy.

Uch, tie 700 psl. tarsi skriste praskrido! - apie šią knygą nepasakė niekas niekada :)

Taip, ji labai stora, ji labai lėta, ji labai keista. Tokia, kur puslapiai netirpsta - jie tiesiog nejuda! Bet tai taip pat tokia knyga, kurią pagaliau užvertęs, atsiloši su atodūsiu ir žiūri tuščiu žvilgsniu į tolį.
Irvingas, sakykit man ką norit, yra rašymo genijus. Protu man nesuvokt, kaip įmanoma sukurti tokius skirtingus, bet vienas kitam nenusileidžiančius siužetus; kaip į kiekvieną, nesvarbu, esminį ar ne, veikėją įpūsti tiek gyvybės; kaip viskam suteikti kažkokios kone buities, bet tuo pačiu magijos ir, nepaisant visko, vis tiek rašyti taip... tiesiog labai gražiai ir lengvai. Irvingas pradeda nuo, iš pažiūros, dramatiškiausio įvykio ir paverčia jį užuomazga, o štai mažiausios detalės gale knygos tampa visiškai esminėmis ir nunešančiomis protą. O dialogai! Aš norėčiau juose gyventi.
Irvingas yra skrupulingas ir labai jautrus, talentingas rašytojas.

Ši knyga apie du draugus, kurių vienas - Ovenas - sutrikusio augimo ir nemutavusiu balsu berniukas, įsivaizduojąs esantis dievo siųstas pranašas. Ironiška - nedidelis, bet didis; plonu, tačiau galingu balsu. Ji taip pat apie tikėjimą - religinį ir tiesiog stebuklu - kažkuo, kam nėra ir ar/nereikia įrodymų. Kai nėra paprasto tikėjimo nepaaiškinamais dalykais, jokios bažnytinės sistemos, struktūros ir ritualai nepadės ir atvirkščiai. Ji taip pat apie Ameriką septintajame dešimtmetyje, jos problematiką, žinoma, Vietnamo karą, pasiaukojimą dėl šalies ir pastarojo absurdiškumą.

Ir net jei dažnai dėl minėtų temų man buvo sunku prie jos rištis, labai prisirišau prie Oveno ir Džono ir vemiančios Esteros, prie Naujojo Hampšyro vaizdų ir atmosferos bei paties lėto, bet gaivinančio plaukimo tekstu.

I unfortunately picked up this book for the first time as I was leaving for a vacation at my friend's house... for her birthday and Christmas. And I couldn't put it down. I was an appalling house guest, and a worse celebrator. And I don't really regret it, because it marked a moment in time, a turning point for me. I've said this before. I've been sort of struggling with a very personal theory about what I love best in fiction. I think it has something to do with the fact that wonderful fiction (for me) highlights a moment in time when extraordinary things happen to not-necessarily extraordinary people who are forced to react in extraordinary ways. And this book is NOT about that. This book takes that theory and turns it on its head. This book is about an utterly ordinary man to whom extraordinary things give the finger, passing him over for his utterly extraordinary friend. And literally everything that could happen does. And it's about EVERYTHING. I've reread it twice more now, and I'm telling you, each time, I'm on the edge of my seat. And that's great fiction.

There are good books and there are those that, when asked what you would recommend to read, you say without thinking Prayer for Owen Mini...

It's hard for me to put into words exactly what I felt reading this book. Irving tackles the two most controversial topics known to mankind; religion and politics in a very brilliant and masterful way. It felt like he accurately captured the feeling of an entire nation during a particular time period. It felt like a transcendental experience reading about Owen Meany a character whose story I believe in so many ways mimics the story of Jesus.

In Owen Meany, John Irving creates an outstanding, complex character that will stay in your mind long after you read this book. He has strong faith in God yet he doesn't hesitate to criticize religion. He's a small boy yet he ends up swinging a baseball bat with so much force that it ends up killing his best friend's mother. He doesn't support the Vietnam War yet he joins the army to participate in that same war. His friendship with Johnny, the narrator is one of the most beautiful things I've ever read.

When I first started reading this at no point did I think it was a book on war in fact, I've been trying to stay away from war books but as I read on I found that I enjoyed it and it's probably one of the best war accounts I've ever read. He gives an extensive and critical look at the Vietnam War and US politics. At first, when it was introduced halfway into the book I was thrown off a bit because it started suddenly and I felt he came on too strong but then I realised this book was published just a few years after the Vietnam War ended and that this book was an accurate depiction of what Americans were feeling at that time.

I don't know if the author is religious but the religion bit of this book was also well done; The criticisms of the church, the description of faith. He captured in detail the questions most people tend to have about religion.

This is a story I know will stay in my mind for a very long time. I can't wait to read his other books!

A long time ago, I came across a story that my grandmother recommended. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I definitely hadn’t expected to read what would become my favorite book. The story begins as many do, giving background on the area that will provide the setting for our tale, a history as reference, but quickly catches up with the main characters and the supporting cast. And we quickly learn of Johnny and Owen Meany, two friends who forge an eternal bond despite their obvious mismatches - physical, social, cultural and religious differences. And a tragic consequence of a baseball game.

GOD HAS TAKEN YOUR MOTHER. MY HANDS WERE THE INSTRUMENT. GOD HAS TAKEN MY HANDS. I AM GOD'S INSTRUMENT.

Big words for an eleven-year old who can almost sit in his friend's lap. But Owen is so self-assured that whether John believes him or not, he knows that there is something special about Owen. They all know that there is something different, but no one but Johnny knows how different - or special - Owen really is.

Through their years together, Owen grows closer to Johnny than a simple friend: He becomes a brother, an aide in the search for Johnny's unnamed father, an influence that will guide Johnny's throughout his life. From helping to search for the identity of Johnny's father to keeping him out of the Vietnam war, Owen has written the script for Johnny's life although Johnny never realizes it until the end of the story - only then does he know that Owen knew the script for his own life as well, but never revealed it.

Each action in his short life was a test to help him fulfill the one part of his destiny that he couldn't see - the final act. Johnny faithfully helps Owen in these tasks, things that he can't possibly know the reasons for. But to Owen, even Johnny's mother's death had a purpose. Everything had a purpose to Owen. Even if he was the only one to seem to know why things happened the way they did.

He had sunk the shot in under four seconds!
"YOU SEE WHAT A LITTLE FAITH CAN DO?" said Owen Meany. The brain-damaged janitor was applauding. "SET THE CLOCK TO THREE SECONDS!" Owen told him.
"Jesus Christ!" I said.
"IF WE CAN DO IT IN UNDER FOUR SECONDS, WE CAN DO IT IN UNDER THREE," he said. "IT JUST TAKES A LITTLE MORE FAITH."
"It takes more practice," I told him irritably.
"FAITH TAKES PRACTICE," said Owen Meany

Irving uses Owen Meany to analyze faith, not only as in a single religion sense, spirituality as a whole. Despite everything that he endures, Owen Meany never loses his faith, his knowledge that he is an INSTRUMENT OF GOD, as he reminds Johnny on many occasions. It is this faith, through the threat of expulsion, through the lean & hard teen years, and into his enlistment into the army, that keeps Owen going, knowing that he has a mission that he has to fulfill, and not much time to do it. Along the way, he changes Johnny, filling him with confidence and self-reliance and even religion, infusing all of those characteristics that Owen has an abundance of and is loathe to leave behind.

Irving's narrative is uniquely captivating, as is the way that he chooses to depict characters, to breath life into them. Although Owen and Johnny are by far the main characters, they live among a expansive cast, who all have their own place in this tapestry. Owen touches everyone in some small way, leading up to his grand fulfillment.

A Prayer for Owen Meany is one of my favorite books, and many other's that I have lent it to have found a fondness for the story as well. Owen grabs you the way he grabs the other characters in the novel. There is something so strong, so compelling about him that you have to find out what is going to happen.

"NOW I KNOW WHY YOU HAD TO BE HERE," Owen said to me. "DO YOU SEE WHY?" he asked me.
"Yes," I said.
"REMEMBER ALL OF OUR PRACTICING?" he asked me.
"I remember," I said.

And you will remember it, too.

John Irving - the bore of all time. There, I said it!

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