A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving
"I trust in God because of Owen Meany." -Johnny
Owen is the best friend Johnny could ask for. He's small. He's strange. He has an odd voice. And he killed Johnny's mother...
This amazing story of friendship sweeps the reader up in it's sentimentality and mysteriousness. The vastness of this novel is so overwhelmingly powerful that it is hard to find words to describe it's depth. Johnny and Owen are so deeply connected that the emotion in the book is almost palpable.
John Irving's effective use of foreshadowing and strong political references weave in and out of this friendship story to create a final scene so heartbreakingly surprising as to leave the reader almost breathless.
This book might not be for everybody, but nobody who finishes this novel will be left without feeling.
__________________________________
My favorite quote from the novel which, in a way, epitomizes what the whole book is about:
"I want to go on being a student," I told him. "I want to be a teacher. I'm just a reader," I said.
"DON'T SOUND SO ASHAMED," he said. "READING IS A GIFT."
"I learned it from you," I told him.
"IT DOESN'T MATTER WHERE YOU LEARNED IT- IT'S A GIFT. IF YOU CARE ABOUT SOMETHING, YOU HAVE TO PROTECT IT- IF YOU'RE LUCKY ENOUGH TO FIND A WAY OF LIFE YOU LOVE, YOU HAVE TO FIND THE COURAGE TO LIVE IT."
"I trust in God because of Owen Meany." -Johnny
Owen is the best friend Johnny could ask for. He's small. He's strange. He has an odd voice. And he killed Johnny's mother...
This amazing story of friendship sweeps the reader up in it's sentimentality and mysteriousness. The vastness of this novel is so overwhelmingly powerful that it is hard to find words to describe it's depth. Johnny and Owen are so deeply connected that the emotion in the book is almost palpable.
John Irving's effective use of foreshadowing and strong political references weave in and out of this friendship story to create a final scene so heartbreakingly surprising as to leave the reader almost breathless.
This book might not be for everybody, but nobody who finishes this novel will be left without feeling.
__________________________________
My favorite quote from the novel which, in a way, epitomizes what the whole book is about:
"I want to go on being a student," I told him. "I want to be a teacher. I'm just a reader," I said.
"DON'T SOUND SO ASHAMED," he said. "READING IS A GIFT."
"I learned it from you," I told him.
"IT DOESN'T MATTER WHERE YOU LEARNED IT- IT'S A GIFT. IF YOU CARE ABOUT SOMETHING, YOU HAVE TO PROTECT IT- IF YOU'RE LUCKY ENOUGH TO FIND A WAY OF LIFE YOU LOVE, YOU HAVE TO FIND THE COURAGE TO LIVE IT."
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