A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving
“I am doomed to remember a boy with a wrecked voice—not because of his voice, or because he was the smallest person I ever knew, or even because he was the instrument of my mother’s death, but because he is the reason I believe in God; I am a Christian because of Owen Meany…It is Owen who made me a believer.” John Wheelwright, pg. 1-2
Quick Synopsis: This is a coming of age story that follows two boys—Owen Meany and John Wheelwright. John is a calm young man who thinks deeply but realistically about things. Owen is much more high-strung, and his diminutive stature threatens to keep him over-looked his entire life. However, his opinionated persistence and high-pitched, squeaky voice ensure that no one is able to overlook him. John’s family takes an interest in Owen, and Owen becomes a regular fixture at the Wheelwright house. One day when they are only 10 years old, Owen and John are playing in a little-league baseball game. Owen hits a foul ball that is so foul it actually hits John’s mom in the head. The hit from the ball instantly and tragically kills her. From there, you would think that John and Owen would part ways, but in reality the two are never closer. A Prayer for Owen Meany follows the story of John and Owen as they grow together in high-school, college, and into the Vietnam War. The two boys learn together about boyhood things —sex, responsibility, death, girls, parents, grades, and most notably, God. Owen’s recurring dream which he insists foretells his death leads even the skeptical John into a being a believer.
Why I Like It: Honestly? It’s an extremely long book. I took a lot of breaks reading it, but John Irving’s detailed story-crafting and rich characterizations left me not only anxious to pick up the book again, but constantly contemplating the complex personalities of the characters. The main character, Johnny Wheelwright, is written with a deep and intense inner monologue which is relayed in first person. Johnny’s inner monologue and Irving’s portrayal of Owen are wholesome and captivating. He gives vivid details of Owen as many things: a rebellious but loved school newspaper editor, a proud son of a granite and monument company owner, a devoted boyfriend to the voluptuous and wild Hester, a honest and highly regarded young man, a lazy but witty college and ROTC cadet, a determined and smart soldier, and most importantly—a devoted friend to Johnny Wheelwright. Owen Meany is a finely crafted character, and I like the book for the same reason Johnny Wheelwright liked Owen—he makes you think differently about things and teaches you a lesson at the same time. Owen’s determination to live his life as he sees fit gives us all a little courage to do the same.
Why You Might Like It: I love when a book makes me laugh, and A Prayer for Owen Meany caught me literally laughing aloud many times. John and Owen’s adventures in local plays, getting in trouble at school, questioning authority, looking for John’s biological father, trying to keep up with Hester, vandalizing statues, terrorizing teachers, or towards the end—cutting off fingers with a diamond wheel, are fictional gold mines. The story is intense with a plethora of cussing and sexual anatomy jokes typical of teenage males, but it’s a work of fiction that is certain to stick with you. Owen’s character adds to the hilarity with his overly-serious contemplation of each situation, and the entire novel asks the readers to think just a little deeper about the everyday situations that we all experience.
A Note: The narrator, Johnny Wheelwright, does sometime drone on about the Vietnam War and American Politics of the day—it’s part of his character. At first, I thought it was Irving’s way of sharing his opinion, but by the end of the book I believe it is more about developing John’s character than it is about delivering political commentary.
Also, to denote Owen’s strange voice, the book has all of Owen’s dialogue written in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS. I needed to hear OWEN’S VOICE, so I went to my local library and found the audiobook. The version I listened to was narrated by Joe Barrett and does an excellent job giving life to the strange enunciations that arise from Owen’s mouth.
The 1999 movie, Simon Birch, is supposedly an adaptation of A Prayer for Owen Meany. However, even it admits that it cannot fit all of the plot from the book into its two hour runtime.
Owen Meany’s voice is denoted using all capital letters. To best hear this as I read, I downloaded the audio book.
