Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving

16 reviews

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.

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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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Grief, Death of parent, and Toxic friendship

cecim17's review against another edition

emotional funny inspiring reflective 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Blood, Dementia, Grief, Death of parent, and War

Moderate: Alcohol

claremcginley's review against another edition

funny lighthearted reflective slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Incest, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Ableism, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Car accident, and War

gm_vak's review against another edition

dark slow-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Death of parent

oraygano's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Gore, Violence, and Death of parent