Scan barcode
secre's review
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Death of parent
Moderate: War
ninamanon's review against another edition
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.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, Grief, Death of parent, Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail
n_degeorgia's review
emotional
sad
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
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Death and Death of parent
Minor: Incest
fkshg8465's review against another edition
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Racism, Violence, Blood, Dementia, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Sexual harassment, and War
lady_n_beautiful_reads's review
I tried really hard to like this book—so many folks loved this book. I just cannot. It was an awful slog to try to read.
This is supposed to be an adult man looking back on his childhood. From the outset, the author minimizes the incredible bullying of Owen Meany (and if this book was written as the narrator growing, I would be more forgiving of this, but since he is an adult looking back….I struggle with his lack of reflection on how awful they were to Owen). Additionally, the narrator is tediously descriptive and rambling at times, returning back to previously covered topics (it is written almost as though the reader is sitting and talking with the narrator—it’s a stream of consciousness at times). Women are treated terribly—either they are mean, worthless, or sexualized. The narrator makes out repeated with his female cousin, talks about his mother’s breasts and how attractive she is, and discusses how worthless Owen’s mother is.
Because so many loved this book, I skipped to the last chapter and read about 20 pages. The writing style remained the same, with ZERO reflection/growth of the narrator.
SPOLER (skip down to the last paragraph to avoid): Owen carves his own tombstone and died in Vietnam. The narrator believes that Owen foresaw his own death. Yet, there was no discussion in the pages I read that reflected on maybe Owen having depression/mental health issues and taking his own life purposefully on that day.
If this book was 400 pages shorter—even 300–maybe I would find it more palatable. I am also not religious, so maybe if I had that faith, I would have overlooked the glaring sexism, bullying, and lack of reflection on mental health.
This is supposed to be an adult man looking back on his childhood. From the outset, the author minimizes the incredible bullying of Owen Meany (and if this book was written as the narrator growing, I would be more forgiving of this, but since he is an adult looking back….I struggle with his lack of reflection on how awful they were to Owen). Additionally, the narrator is tediously descriptive and rambling at times, returning back to previously covered topics (it is written almost as though the reader is sitting and talking with the narrator—it’s a stream of consciousness at times). Women are treated terribly—either they are mean, worthless, or sexualized. The narrator makes out repeated with his female cousin, talks about his mother’s breasts and how attractive she is, and discusses how worthless Owen’s mother is.
Because so many loved this book, I skipped to the last chapter and read about 20 pages. The writing style remained the same, with ZERO reflection/growth of the narrator.
SPOLER (skip down to the last paragraph to avoid): Owen carves his own tombstone and died in Vietnam. The narrator believes that Owen foresaw his own death. Yet, there was no discussion in the pages I read that reflected on maybe Owen having depression/mental health issues and taking his own life purposefully on that day.
If this book was 400 pages shorter—even 300–maybe I would find it more palatable. I am also not religious, so maybe if I had that faith, I would have overlooked the glaring sexism, bullying, and lack of reflection on mental health.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Mental illness, Sexism, Grief, and Death of parent
thenecessarysalamander's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Death, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Vomit, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Cursing, Car accident, and Alcohol
Minor: Alcoholism, Animal death, Homophobia, Incest, Mental illness, Racism, Blood, Antisemitism, Dementia, Religious bigotry, and War
gear3232's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This book exceeded all of my expectations, i love how intentional and detailed the writing and I like how John Irving wrapped up the ending so neatly, without making it predictable. I appreciate the approach to religion as well, it addresses it without aggressively forcing it on the reader. I adored John, Hester, Tabitha, Owen, Simon, and Noah. I also think that it’s well balanced, most of my questions were answered by the end of the book but it also left me with a few questions. Was Owen really a virgin birth? Could Owen have avoided his fate? I also liked how the author switched from the past to the present, it kept the story from becoming to slow or boring.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Death and Rape
madhattress's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death and Death of parent
childofmongreldogs's review
challenging
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I'm weirdly torn about this one.
I really enjoyed the way everything came together and I enjoyed the titular character, Owen Meany—I especially enjoyed how his story played out and all the elements of his past lead to the final scene of the novel. The main character left something to be desired. He felt very out of place and was often off-putting from a narrative perspective. Some of the weirdest aspects of the book come from his narration such as the weird incestuous thoughts he has about his cousin for the majority of the book.
All in all, while I enjoyed how everything played out, this was probably the hardest book I've ever tried to get through. It was not enjoyable to read the actual prose of this novel, despite the actually good prose and dialogue.
I really enjoyed the way everything came together and I enjoyed the titular character, Owen Meany—I especially enjoyed how his story played out and all the elements of his past lead to the final scene of the novel. The main character left something to be desired. He felt very out of place and was often off-putting from a narrative perspective. Some of the weirdest aspects of the book come from his narration such as the weird incestuous thoughts he has about his cousin for the majority of the book.
All in all, while I enjoyed how everything played out, this was probably the hardest book I've ever tried to get through. It was not enjoyable to read the actual prose of this novel, despite the actually good prose and dialogue.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cursing, Death, Drug use, Incest, Blood, Dementia, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Addiction, Cursing, Death, Incest, Sexual content, Blood, Antisemitism, Dementia, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
theremightbecupcakes's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Grief, Death of parent, and Toxic friendship