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A Prayer for Owen Meany

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A Prayer for Owen Meany

Written by: John Irving
Narrated by: Joe Barrett
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Earphones Award Winner (AudioFile Magazine)

Of all of John Irving's books, this is the one that lends itself best to audio. In print, Owen Meany's dialogue is set in capital letters; for this production, Irving himself selected Joe Barrett to deliver Meany's difficult voice as intended.

In the summer of 1953, two 11-year-old boys – best friends – are playing in a Little League baseball game in Gravesend, New Hampshire. One of the boys hits a foul ball that kills the other boy's mother. The boy who hits the ball doesn't believe in accidents; Owen Meany believes he is God's instrument. What happens to Owen after that 1953 foul ball is extraordinary and terrifying.

As an added bonus, when you purchase our Audible Modern Vanguard production of John Irving's book, you'll also get an exclusive Jim Atlas interview that begins when the audiobook ends.

©1989 Garp Enterprises Ltd (P)2008 Audible, Inc. Classics Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction
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What the critics say

"This moving book comes across like a concerto in this audio version, with a soloist—Owen's voice—rising from the background of an orchestral narration. This book, one of the finest of its time, gets the narration that it deserves." ( AudioFile)
“John Irving, who writes novels in the unglamorous but effective way Babe Ruth used to hit home runs, deserves a medal not only for writing this book but for the way he has written it. . . . A Prayer for Owen Meany is a rare creation in the somehow exhausted world of late twentieth-century fiction—it is an amazingly brave piece of work . . . so extraordinary, so original, and so enriching. . . . Readers will come to the end feeling sorry to leave [this] richly textured and carefully wrought world.” (Stephen King)
"Roomy, intelligent, exhilarating, and darkly comic...Dickensian in scope....Quite stunning and very ambitious." ( Los Angeles Times Book Review)
All stars
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I enjoyed this book most because it took a long time to finish it. Having savoured the characters over a longer period of time was very enjoyable. I often find myself missing the characters I am fond of after a book is finished, knowing I still had hours left of Owen Meany was comforting. Of course now I am finished it, but I am inclined to check out other books by John Irving. Thumbs up!!

Great long book

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Had always meant to read this story though investing 30+ hours of time seemed formidable. It was but worth it. Brilliantly written, unfortunately Owens voice was painful and I found myself skipping over his longer diatribes, also too much religion for me. But no regrets. The interview at the end was insightful and also worthwhile.

A classic

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The prayer for Owen Meany has a lot going for it.

Despite being a little slow at times, the story is interesting and the language of the writer is intelligent and engaging, not to mention, truly funny at certain points.

What I find lacking in this story is its account of religion which, for the most part, lacks the vitality or dynamism that would come from a believer. With that said, his account of protestant religion is not totally off, and very interesting to say the least.

I enjoyed reading it!

Great performance, interesting story.

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Incredible story so masterfully sewn together at the end. I’m sad that I’ve finished the book, I could listen to stories about Owen Meany all day!

Incredible

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This beautiful coming of age story is only made better by audio. He so perfectly captures the characters, especially Owen, that it’s almost like watching a movie with just yours ears.

Amazing story, amazing performance.

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