Picked this up at the Book Thing of Baltimore, Inc.


I'm a member of the local BookCrossing meet-up group, BCinDC. Have you heard we're having a convention in the Washington, D.C. area in April? All book lovers are invited to celebrate the 10th birthday of BookCrossing at the 2011 BookCrossing Convention!

Released onto the OBCZ shelves at the Crystal City Sheraton.

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Join me April 15-17 in Washington, D.C., for the 2011 BookCrossing Convention!

Lots of friends have praised this book; now I can read it too!

I'm hesitant to rate this because it's hard for me to know its staying power. Some books by Irving I remember quite vividly over the years, others not. Only time can tell.

What I liked about this: the main character, Owen Meany, was fascinating. I liked reading about him, and admired him more and more throughout the book. The parts set in the prep school were very satisfying; probably my favorite in the book. And the Christmas pageant was hilarious, although that's always an easy target for fun.

What I disliked: the narrator, who gave up US citizenship and emigrated rather casually to Canada during the Viet Nam war, never appealed to me. Very likely this was Irving's way of keeping our attention on Owen, but I felt quite impatient with him most of the time. Then he spends his time in Canada during the flash-forwards that frame the story fulminating about news from the US. Since he abdicated his responsibility by leaving the country, it's hard to see what gives him any right to complain. Really quite the contrast with Owen.

But that's just one person's opinion. What do YOU think about this book?

Mailed to Flewry for bookstogive's General Literature VBB

Arrived safely, thank you very much!

What to say about this! When John Irving is good, he is very, very good. This story is rich, detailed, complex, lovely. Owen Meany is a fascinating character, and I loved how the story unfolded slowly, till the very end when every detail fell into place. (Although I still didn't understand Owen shouting at his parents during the pageant... will have to look into that a little more.) And I see where Judy is coming from, but I actually enjoyed the character of John Wheelwright, too. Someone who was rather in Owen's shadow his entire life, but cheerfully so... and he couldn't quite find his way on his own.

If I were forced to choose, though... I think I still liked The Cider House Rules just a tiny bit better.

This particular paperback, I fear, does not have many readings left in it. The cover would have already fallen off if I hadn't taped it, and several pages have fallen out -- although I attempted to tape those back in for now, I think it is only a matter of time. But I think at least one more person will be able to enjoy it before its time is up!

Little Free Library, NE Minneapolis