A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving, 0552993697, Lowest Book Price Finder

Customer Reviews:

Against the tide

This was the first book by John Irving I've read and I found it rather too drawn out for its own good.I can't believe I've read the same book as the other reviewers or is the Irving publicity machine so convincing as to warp the literary sensibilities of a large part of the educated population.
As soon as I picked the book up and saw the location (New England) I knew I was in trouble,I don't go a bundle on the intellectually aspirational type people who write from that neck of the woods,they seem to write for sewing cicles and coffee mornings in my mind,but maybe I'm just bitter and twisted.Its just too comfortable for me ,like being smothered with expensive cushions or drowning in warm beer.But maybe thats what the general public wants it obviously sells in vast quantities.
To sum up I think I was too impressed by the shining accolades bestowed upon it.It obviously touched many people and I suppose these will be among his loyal fans, mainly made up of spiritually retarded sentimental dreamers with unrealised literary ambitions,but I guess I'm being a tad cruel and reactionist now.

Who can forget Owen Meany?

Every now and then, about once a year or so, I take this book down from the shelf and just look at it for a while without opening it. You see, I am doomed to remember a boy with a wrecked voice. I read the opening lines; again I am instantly captivated and find myself thinking of Owen Meany.
INTO PARADISE MAY THE ANGELS LEAD YOU

I read and read and this is my favourite book EVER

I read this when it first came out and despite me being almost completely devoid of emotion I couldn't stop crying at the end of this beautifully written book, and I have lost count of the number of people I have recommended it to. I am prompted to write this now as my book club have just chosen this for our next book so I am very excited about reading it again - wooohooo !!

A sublime work

Put quite simply, there are are now two parts to my life.

One: Before 'A Prayer for Owen Meany'
Two: After 'A Prayer for Owen Meany'

I hope I will be as affected by a book, or books, in the future. Somehow I doubt it.

A wonderfully powerful read

John Wheelwright narrates this tale of Owen Meany and their lives as best friends. Owen is unnaturally small and is "The Voice" due to his unusual voice which has never broken and is expressed always in the text by capital letters. Owen hits a baseball early on in the tale that kills John's mother during a Little League game which causes his belief that he is "Gods Instrument". The other main contributor to the young Owen is when he is in a play of "A Christmas Carol" and he seems his name and date of death on Scrooge's tombstone whilst playing The Ghost of What is Yet to Come.

This was a really powerful book with a set of great characters. Owen is such a funny little man wiht a firm faith and an outstanding power of procognition at times. John and his family members were all great characters as well and I feel like I will really miss them all now that I have finished the book. How everything starts to really come together towards the middle of the novel is wonderful and some of it isn't obvious until right at the very end is very well written and makes you gasp.

I can't recommend this novel enough to any lover of fiction and great story telling. I have now read two books by Irving (this and "The World According to Garp") and I will definitely be reading more in the future.

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