Reviews with content warning for War - A Prayer for Owen Meany

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A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving

9 reviews

lifesarosch's review against another edition

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challenging slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

I didn't love it until the very end which just wow. The hit it gives.

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secre's review

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challenging emotional funny inspiring sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

A Prayer for Owen Meany is one of those novels where you almost know the ending from the start and yet you can't look away from it despite that. It's a strange novel in many ways, almost reading as vignettes that put together make up the whole, yet it doesn't feel disjointed in any way. It's also an incredibly slow novel, with huge amounts of character development at the expense of a fast moving plot; it's meandering, takes it's time with the details and side tracks itself with apparently inconsequential details of the two boys lives. And yet I loved it.

Despite being the narrator, it's safe to say that John isn't the main character. Every tale he tells is dominated by Owen. Even moments that take place when Owen isn't even present are somehow dominated by Owen. John is almost a bit player in his own story. Interspersed throughout the novel, you have snapshots of John in the 'present' day, long since emigrated to Canada and somehow Owen even manages to dominate that! This isn't a criticism, mind. It's beautifully written and Owen is such an idiosyncratic character that he absolutely deserves to dominate the novel.

This is very much the meandering tale of two boys growing up. But it's also larger than that, as they grow up in the build up and throughout the Vietnam war. It's a coming of age tale, but it's also a political critique and a tale about faith, love and loyalty. It's poignant, moving and genuinely funny to the point it made me snort with laughter. It's strange and heartfelt. It sucked me in and the characters seemed to come to life around me. I, like John (and his grandmother), will certainly never forget Owen's voice. This was my first Irving novel. It absolutely won't be the last.

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ninamanon's review against another edition

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While the book is absolutely well written and the story and characters are original and interesting, I personally didn’t like the pacing/structure and was confused by what the book is trying to do. I loved reading about the memories of when Owen and the protagonist were kids, but then it would suddenly be interrupted by a tangent on US history, and I would lose interest. That, paired with the way women are sexualized, led me to conclude this type of book is just not for me.

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fkshg8465's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

There were times that I thought some editing could’ve s helped, admittedly. After all, it’s 1155 pages! But overall, it was the funniest sad story I’ve ever read, and it was brilliantly done. It was a deeply satisfying read.

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