john wheelwright a prayer for owen meany

And as in most small towns, the controversies and feuds were vicious because the stakes were so small – which church would host a community event, who would play what part in the annual Christmas pageant, etc. A train could get you to Boston a couple of hours away, but that was a big trip. Television was in its early days and not everyone had it. Small town New England life in the 50s and 60s. Amusing but insightful look at small town living anywhere, but especially in relatively isolated parts of America during a period when there wasn’t much input from outside their world. Some of the topics and themes of the book that I look forward to discussing in my reading group are: Wheelwright is timid and self-conscious, and basically lets himself be led by a strong personality – which usually is Owen Meany in this book. Owen Meany is clearly the stronger character of the two, self-aware and self confident, with a sense of purpose, direction, and a fatalistic detachment from issues big and small. The contrast between Owen Meany and John Wheelwright the narrator is pretty significant. So many fascinating issues get brought up in this book with multiple subplots and themes and some fun and interesting supporting characters to John Wheelwright the narrator, and Owen Meany -the two main characters of the book. And in the end, it all pretty much came together – as these sometimes seemingly pointless digressions actually play an important role in the totality of the story. It meanders a bit, and John Irving often digresses into stories which add depth and perspective to his main characters, and provide humorous satire to small town New Hampshire living, but there were indeed times when I lost a bit of patience with the long digressions. The story follows our narrator and Owen Meany’s lives from about age 10 until they are in their early 20s, looking at their lives and what was going on in America and the world, from their perspective as small town New Englanders maturing during a period of great change and upheaval in American culture. Owen Meany is a truly unique character in the following ways: very short and slight, a peculiarly high pitched, loud and obnoxiously scratchy voice, unusually intelligent, proud, opinionated, and articulate.

Summary in 3 sentences: A coming of age novel told in the first person by Owen Meany’s best friend growing up in a small town in New Hampshire in the 50s and 60s, to include a retrospective from the narrator 20 years later. Finally my reading group selected it for our August 2020 discussion.

I had enjoyed reading Cider House Rules a few years ago and wanted to read another John Irving novel. Why this book: I’ve heard about it for years.

John wheelwright a prayer for owen meany