by John Irving
5 out of 5 stars
(I recently "re read" this by listening to it, and I enjoyed it even more.)
John Irving could write instructions for assembling a porch swing, and they'd be riveting. So this -- this bizarre tale with all its weirdness and intertwining lives, I loved, and I also felt all smart and bookish when I finished. Because it's John Irving! Yes there's plenty of mystic religiosity (meh), but the fact that we're having fun with martrydom? What's not to like? I know there's a ton of literaryishness to this tomb, not to mention symbolism and what not, but it's also just a really great story about growing up, loyalty and having a best friend who will always be your best friend no matter what. The (very) basic premise: Owen Meany is a tiny (dwarf?) boy with a strange voice who (hilariously I think) SPEAKS IN ALL CAPS THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE BOOK. He is a strange but extremely lovable kid who accidentally kills his best friend's mom with a baseball and henceforth believes he is an instrument of God who will be redeemed by martyrdom. Mayhem ensues.
I was a little leery about trying the audio version of this book, because I wasn't sure how well anyone could capture Owen's voice. After the first chapter or so, I was hooked and felt the narrator nailed it.
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