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