BVBook Verdict
Essential Read

A Prayer for Owen Meany

by John Irving · 1989

Literary Fiction · ranked #207 in category

Owen Meany, a small boy with an unnaturally high voice who believes he is God's instrument, kills his best friend John's mother with a foul ball — and then reveals he has seen a vision of how and when he will die. Irving's most celebrated novel interweaves the Vietnam era, New Hampshire prep school life and a meditation on faith as something you are forced into, not chosen.

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The verdict

Category
Literary Fiction
First published
1989 · 1980s
Author
John Irving
Standing
Essential Read

About Literary Fiction

Literary fiction sits at the intersection of fine writing and serious storytelling — novels that reward attention and stay with you long after the last page. These are the books that alter your sense of what's possible in prose.

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