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A review by childofmongreldogs
A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving
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