A Prayer for Owen Meany

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Summary: Definately on some "Top 10" list...
Review: I saw a man today who was missing a few knuckles on his index finger...how could I not think of John & Owen? That's the way Irving's characters are--almost real to life.

Rating:
Summary: READ THIS BOOK...A CLASSIC
Review: This is the first John Irving book I have ever read. After seeing him at an event promoting his newest book, A WIDOW FOR ONE YEAR, people have commented how OWEN MEANY was the best book they have read in a long time. I have decided to pick this book up and see it for myself. All I have to say it, WOW!!! This book is about a lot of things in life. We're talking religion, politics, growing-up, history, self-respect. Owen Meany is a fantastic character who will never be forgotten. And the narrator and Owen's best friend, Johnny Wheelwright, is someone that one could connect with. I would characterize this book as A CLASSIC!!! Everyone who reads, or is thinking of picking up a book, should pick up this wonderful, insightful novel. It is an easy read, with lots of great characters, and plenty of surprises, all the way to the end. There are some heavy parts, so get the tissues. This is one of the best books I have read in a long time. And I will never forget Owen Meany!!!! YOU WON'T BE DISAPPOINTED!!!!!

Rating:
Summary: The book I tell everyone to read
Review: How often do you read a book which really grasps at your own consciousness, invites you inside to live there for a while, set up home and then leaves you almost on the verge of tears because it is over and you have to move out?

Rating:
Summary: I felt a little let down. Basically.
Review: It was OK - the best book of my best friend - but I didn't like it. Basically. The whole thing rests on about 5 pages at the end - the whole damn book. The end should have been more significant. That's all.

Rating:
Summary: Irving wades in theological cesspool
Review: There is something about A Prayer for Owen Meany that resembles a lake on a hot summer day--at once inviting, rewarding--as long as you don't look too closely at what's on the bottom. Undoubtedly Irving hits the high waters with his characterizations, most notably with Dan, Tabby, and, of course, the popular Owen. Other cast members, while perhaps not as engaging, approach Thackerayian caricature, which in itself is not a bad feat. Most alarming to me is the theological mess that lies both textually and contextally. Is this novel representing authentic Christianity to readers? I hope not. Practically all of the doctrine that is purported here cannot be reconciled to the Bible, except perhaps a somewhat twisted Calvinism. However critical I might appear of A Prayer for Owen Meany, this is a nice piece of fiction. Perhaps if Irving had not dumped on Owen and Co. the title of "Christian," I would have liked the novel better. If anyone is interested in discussing the theological implications of Irving with me, especially if you are a reformed thinkier, I'd be happy to hear from you.

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Summary: Owen Meany died on July 8th.... tomorrow
Review: I loved the book. Most of the other reviewers explain what's so wonderful about Owen Meany. What I want to know is, what other books could they recommend, since we might be of like minds? I'd nominate Atlas Shrugged, provided you skip the 100pp rant by John Gant [Ayn Rand] at the end of the book and focus on the magnificant love triangle. Cold Mountain. The Color Purple. Maybe The Fifth Sacred Thing. Well, the point is, I wish & hope I have something like APFOM in my reading future. It's a wonderful, memorable book.

Rating:
Summary: Once you've read it you wish you didn't so you could again
Review: ..but read it again and again. BRILLIANT.BRILLIANT.BRILLIANT.BRILLIANT.

Rating:
Summary: Reading this book is the best time that you will ever spend!
Review: I am so happy that so many other people have found this book to be as earth shifting and fabulous as I have. I read this book for the first time about 4 years ago when I was 15, and have yet to find a better piece of writing. John Irving is a wonderful author who has a way of showing instead of just telling. As a matter of fact, I am currently reading "The World According to Garp" by Irving and it is another marvelous piece of fiction. Yet, nothing will ever beat the thought provoking novel about a strange young child named Owen Meany.

Rating:
Summary: the best
Review: This is one of the best books I have ever read. It made me both laugh out loud and cry. i only wish that owen Meany was a real person and that he was my best friend.

Rating:
Summary: It's the only book I've ever read twice.
Review: After seeing the enormous praise given to this deserving book another five stars seemed superfluous. I must, however, further the point. Owen Meany will stay with me forever; no book can compare. I will read it a third time.