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Book Review: A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving

Seldom writers are complete in their glory, and one such is John Irving. He is equally supported and celebrated by all: readers, critics, and other writers. When ‘The World According to Garp’ was published in 1978, he shot to prominence immediately. After Garp, two more of his novels were a dazzling success. And ‘A Prayer for Owen Meany’ is as pleasant as the other novels.


The novel is set in Gravesend, New Hampshire. A Prayer for Owen Meany is about friendship between two boys: Owen Meany, a ten-year-old dwarfish boy with a whiny voice, and John Wheelwright, born into an aristocratic family. Owen is a special child and it becomes apparent early in the story. His tiny size is in contrast to his emotional, moral, and spiritual stature, emphasizing that he is a larger-than-life hero.  John is the narrator who for the last twenty years has lived in Toronto, Canada. He describes their childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood interspersed with brief accounts of his own current hedonistic life in Toronto in 1987 that contrasts sharply with the unrestrained years of his friendship with Owen.

The story literally takes-off in 1953, when the  eleven-year-old Owen playing a friendly baseball game ends up hitting a foul ball that strikes John’s mother killing her instantly. While for everyone else it is an accident, Owen thinks otherwise. For him, it is a predestined act as he firmly believes that he is God’s instrument chosen to complete the task. It is not only his unshakeable faith, but also the clarity with which he gradually reveals his life’s purpose that sets him apart from others. He is convinced that he is destined to die on a particular day saving a group of Vietnamese children. For most part of the book, readers travel with Owen’s religious faith and belief in his own destiny that silently turns out exactly as he had predicted prompting some philosophical questions about fate and free will.

Other than Owen and John, there are many other engaging characters that are inescapably drawn into Owen’s treacherous life.

On one hand the book is basically about holding on to one’s faith in the face of all odds, on the other hand it highlights the relevant charges on Vietnam War, Iran-Contra affair, and American leadership during Reagan years as seen through the eyes of John who keeps up a running commentary while trying to lead an ordinary life in Toronto. It is apparent that John’s tirade against Reagan administration stems mainly from his sense of loss and anger at Owen’s sacrificial death.

Nothing in the book stands taller than the theme of faith and doubt, and how to maintain it in different and adverse circumstances. Owen’s miraculous life and death, his prophetic dream, and his belief that he is God’s instrument are to be seen in the light of his unshakeable faith in God. Some people, like Owen, have it in abundance, while there are others, like John who struggle with doubt and cynicism for most of their lives until they experience something miraculous. So the question is: is faith fixed or it fluctuates with situations?

Undoubtedly, the book is compelling, an expertly constructed story of faith, fate, and friendship. Readers must have got a rewarding experience.
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