Something about its premise made me feel like it could be a favorite for me. The novel follows the main character, John, and his best friend Owen Meany, who is known in their community for being unusual. He has what the book describes as a "wrecked voice," which is emphasized by the author writing Owen's dialogue in all caps. He is an incredibly small and underdeveloped person, but has a deep, philosophical mind that gives his character an interesting dichotomy.
The main drive of the story starts at the very beginning of the book when Owen accidentally kills John's mother at a little league game by hitting a ball that knocks her in the head. From that initial inciting incident, the book goes on to explore how this event impacts both John and Owen's lives and friendship. It also jumps back and forth between timelines in the past and present, showing an older John looking back on his childhood.
A Prayer for Owen Meany is a very episodic book, each chapter highlighting a different significant event with different characters in the community. At its heart, though, the book is a coming-of-age story, and is very reflective with throughlines on themes of faith and fate that hold all the pieces together. After the tragedy with John's mom, Owen grows deeply in his faith, believing that he is an instrument of God. He also believes he knows how and when he will die, and the rest of the book follows how he accepts his fate and trusts God with how He will use him.
As a Christian, I was wary of potential theological themes I would disagree with. However, this book doesn't pretend to be a "Christian" book by any means. It doesn't try to share the gospel or go too deeply into theology. There are definitely religious themes, metaphors, and symbolism, but they are more general discussions on faith that I personally did not have a problem with.
This is a long, often dense book, but it really makes you think. I stopped many times while I was reading it to reread certain passages that hit me particularly hard. And the ending was especially impactful. Even though you feel like you know how the book will end as you're reading it, John Irving pieced it together so perfectly that you'll be surprised with how everything actually goes down.
If I were to have any criticisms of this book, it would just be minor complaints of portions of the book where it felt like John Irving was going on random political rants that didn't seem to progress the actual story. I also found the character Hester to be incredibly unlikeable and pointless. But I have to emphasize that these are very small qualms.
I'm so glad I read this book. It will be one I'm going to be thinking about for a long time, and one I will be recommending to some people in my personal life. I'm very glad that PBS included this one on their 100 Great American Reads list since I'm sure I never would have heard of this book otherwise.
Rating: ★★★★★
"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." -- John Irving, A Prayer for Owen Meany
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