Bookish Thoughts: 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. ~ Opening of A Prayer for Owen Meany

A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving

Corgi Adult, 1989

Fiction; 635 pgs

From the Publisher: 

John Irving’s A Prayer for Owen Meany is the inspiring modern classic that introduced two of the author’s most unforgettable characters, boys bonded forever in childhood: the stunted Owen Meany, whose life is touched by God, and the orphaned Johnny Wheelwright, whose life is touched by Owen. From the accident that links them to the mystery that follows them–and the martyrdom that parts them–the events of their lives form a tapestry of fate and faith in a novel that is Irving at his irresistible best.

I had a copy of this book sitting on my shelf for years.  It was one of those "must read" books.  It is considered a modern classic after all, and so many people I know love it.  As we prepared for our move three years ago, I nearly gave me copy away, deciding I was never going to read it.  It wasn't calling my name.  Then when Carrie chose it as one of her selections for her "I've Always Meant to Read That Book!" Challenge, I decided I might as well bite the bullet.  Especially after Trish from Love, Laughter, and a Touch of Insanity  sang the book's praises.

Only, when I began reading the book, I was bored.  I did not particularly care for the characters nor was I enamored by Irving's story telling.  I considered giving the book up.  The only reason I stuck with it was because there were moments in the book I did enjoy.  And the more I read, the more I found to like. However, I also found more I did not like.  It was not until about two thirds into the book that it really took off for me.  While some of you who loved the book might find that cause for applause, I want to again point out it took me two thirds of the book to really get into it.  The book is lucky I finished it.  

What I did not like: Johnny as an adult.  Whether or not I agree with his politics and his thoughts on religious institutions isn't the point (although I did mostly agree).  I found the character's ramblings tiresome and annoying. I understand exactly what his friends and colleagues must have felt listening to his diatribes.  I didn't quite see the growth or insight in his character I had hoped to see.  He was in the same place at the beginning of the novel that he was at the end, or so it seemed to me. Obviously he wouldn't be where he is today if it weren't for his friend Owen Meany, but that's about all I walked away from in regards to John Wheelwright's character.

I wanted to like Owen, and, I suppose, on some level I did, but I never really connected with him the way I like to with a character I am rooting for.  He was wise for his age and didn't have a lot going for him, including an eccentric family who really did not take care of him.   At times I felt sorry for him, how little those around him understood him and how he was mistreated, and at other times I was annoyed with him and how rigid he could be.

What I did like: The author, John Irving, breathed life into the town of Gravesend and its people.  By the end of the book, I felt like a resident there myself.  I enjoyed spending time with Owen and Johnny as they grew up during the 1950's and 1960's. I found myself rooting for Owen as he strove to prove to others and to himself that his size was not going to stop him from reaching his goals.

I liked the friendship and strong bond between the two boys.  They were always there for each other, even despite their differences in opinions.  I wish I had had a friend like that growing up--or even now.

While I found the political commentary overdone throughout the novel, I appreciated seeing how the characters related to the times they were living in, including John F. Kennedy's election, his assassination and later the Vietnam War.  Irving was able to convey just how differently people reacted to such events.  

I could relate to Johnny's character more than Owen's when it came to the subject of faith.  I am the person who questions and doubts.  Even at the end of the novel, I did not feel moved to feel any differently.  I was touched by Owen's story to some extent.  Just not maybe in the way intended.

After finishing the book, I decided to re-watch Simon Birch (directed by Mark Steven Johnson), the movie loosely based on the book, A Prayer for Owen Meany. Emphasis on loosely.  John Irving did not believe a movie could capture the story he had written and so asked that the name Owen Meany be omitted.  And he was right.  The character Simon Birch (played by Ian Michael Smith) is much like the Owen Meany character and Joe Wenteworth (Joseph Mazello) is a somewhat convincing  Johnny Wheelwright.  While the bare bones are there, that of faith and fate, the movie is a mere skeleton of the first half of the book with an ending that is completely different.  You cannot watch the movie and say you know what the book is about.  

Like in the book, the two boys are best friends and a baseball, struck by Simon/Owen hits and kills Joe's/Johnny's mother.  Joe/Johnny is afraid he'll never know who his father is now.  In the movie, Joe must come to terms with his mother's death, including deciding who he wants to stay with, given his grandmother's declining health.  Simon's story runs parallel, as he wonders what fate has in store for him, knowing it will be something big.  While I enjoyed the movie, I felt the two story threads did not come together as seamlessly as they could have.  Nor did I feel the movie was as fleshed out as I would like it to have been.  It was a heartfelt movie, to be sure.  And it had its moments.  I remember liking the movie when I first saw it. Maybe having read the book, it's been spoiled for me.

As is pointed out in the first sentence of the novel, the novel A Prayer for Owen Meany is about much more than a baseball, a dead mother, the search for a father and wanting to be a hero.   It is the story about faith and doubt, yes.  But it is also a story about friendship and finding one's own path.  While I may have been disappointed in the novel overall, I can see why others have loved it.

Rating:   (Fair +)

You can learn more about John Irving and his books on the author's website. 

Source: I purchased both print and  e-book copies with my own hard earned money.

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