A Prayer for Owen MeanyA Prayer for Owen Meany
Score Classic
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
The Kite RunnerGood 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
- Readers84 out of 100 · counts 42%
- Critics0 out of 100 · counts 14%
- Bestseller65 out of 100 · counts 34% (its stronger lane)
- Buzz0 out of 100 · counts 10%
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. The parts combine into the Must-Read Score, shown on a scale where the best book we found scores 99 and the last book to make the ranking scores 50.
Where it ranks
- #48 of the 309 literary novels we rank
- #140 of the 762 classics we rank
- #441 of the 2,816 books we rank
Why it made the list
Reads as
Moving, Thought-provoking
More by John Irving
The World According to Garp
The Cider House Rules
The Hotel New Hampshire
A Widow for One YearIf you like this, read next
The Color Purple
I, Claudius
War and Peace
The Count of Monte Cristo
Catch-22
The Age of InnocenceExplore the best-of lists
All 36 best-of lists →
Quick answers
Is A Prayer for Owen Meany worth reading?
Yes. It was a pick on both the BBC's Big Read and the PBS Great American Read. It ranks #441 of the 2,816 books in our ranking, with a Must-Read Score of 79.2 (the best book we found scores 99).
What is A Prayer for Owen Meany 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.
How long does it take to read A Prayer for Owen Meany?
About 18 hours (720 pages), or about 5 weeks at 30 minutes a day.
What should I read after A Prayer for Owen Meany?
If you liked it, try Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides, The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt or The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini.