A Prayer for Owen MeanyA Prayer for Owen Meany
What it's about
"I am doomed to remember a boy with a wrecked voice." John Wheelwright looks back on his childhood in a small New Hampshire town in the 1950s and '60s, and his best friend, Owen Meany. Owen was tiny, with a strange, high, shrieking voice, and he believed he was God's instrument. When Owen hits a foul ball at a Little League game, it kills John's mother. The friendship that survives it, and Owen's sense of his destiny, shapes both of their lives.
Why it's worth reading
It was a pick on both the BBC's Big Read and the PBS Great American Read. It's funny and heartbreaking, and many readers name it as their favorite novel.
You'll love it if you liked
Middlesex, The Goldfinch or The Kite Runner
Good to know
Owen's dialogue is written in capital letters. It's long and digressive, with a lot about the Vietnam era.
By the numbers
- Readers82 out of 100 · counts 40%+37
- Critics0 out of 100 · counts 14%+0
- Bestseller60 out of 100 · counts 32% (its stronger lane)+22
- Buzz0 out of 100 · counts 15%+0
Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero.
On 2 canon lists, including PBS Great American Read. 4.24★ from 346K Goodreads ratings.
Where it ranks
- #25 of the 209 literary novels we rank
- #115 of the 519 classics we rank
- #289 of the 1,404 books we rank
On the lists
- PBS Great American Read
- BBC's The Big Read
Reads as
Moving, Thought-provoking
More by John Irving
The Cider House Rules
The Hotel New Hampshire
A Widow for One Year
