Reading Is a Gift: A Review of John Irving's A Prayer for Owen Meany

Title: A Prayer for Owen Meany
Author: John Irving
Edition: Paperback (William Morrow and Company, Inc., 1989)
Pages: 543
How I Came By This Book: I picked this up at my library as part of Banned Book Week.

About the Author: John Irving is the author of 13 novels, including The World According to Garp and The Cider House Rules. His award-winning novels are international best-sellers and Mr. Irving himself won an Oscar for his screenplay adaptation of The Cider House Rules in 2000.

Synopsis: "John Irving’s A Prayer for Owen Meany is the inspiring modern classic that introduced two of the author’s most unforgettable characters, boys bonded forever in childhood: the stunted Owen Meany, whose life is touched by God, and the orphaned Johnny Wheelwright, whose life is touched by Owen. From the accident that links them to the mystery that follows them–and the martyrdom that parts them–the events of their lives form a tapestry of fate and faith in a novel that is Irving at his irresistible best." (from GoodReads)

Review: John Irving's novel of friendship, faith, and martyrdom is a complex, warm, and ultimately fulfilling story. The richness of Irving's writing and the humanity of his characters leave an indelible mark on the reader. I went into this novel knowing nothing about it and never having read anything by this author; I came out of it desperately wanting to dive into his other novels.

Told by John Wheelwright, a bitter bachelor living and teaching in Canada but with an eye to the mistakes that his native United States is making, A Prayer for Owen Meany tells the story of John's childhood and young adulthood in New Hampshire alongside his best friend, the physically stunted Owen Meany, whose voice and faith are big enough to make up for his stature. Owen believes that he is the instrument of God and that he has been given his unforgettable voice, a permanent scream, for a reason. John, on the other hand, is doubtful of both Owen and of the God in which he so fervently believes. Interspersed with John's present-day narrative, the recollections of his youth create a beautiful novel that you'll want to savor. 

The novel has a depth to it that is practically indescribable. When you finally reach the conclusion, you realize that everything that has happened so far has led up to this moment; everything has a purpose. Just like Owen Meany's life, the events of this novel are predetermined. It's skill like this that makes me eager to read Irving's other works.

There's literally so much to say about this book that I don't even know how to say it all. In fact, I'm not even going to try. I can tell you that the dialogue is artfully constructed, the characters are amazing (if flawed), and Irving writes ridiculously well. A highly political novel, it helps if the reader has knowledge of both the Vietnam War and of the Iran-Contra Affair, but for those who didn't study history in college, there's always the magic of Google. 

I feel like saying anything more would rob people of discovering the wonder of A Prayer for Owen Meany. Just read it. Seriously. It takes a while to get through (it took me about a week), but it's more than worth taking the extra time to sit down and enjoy it. 

I'm giving A Prayer for Owen Meany 5 out of 5 Gabriels.

Favorite Quote:

"READING IS A GIFT."
"I learned it from you," I told him.
"IT DOESN'T MATTER WHERE YOU LEARNED IT--IT'S A GIFT. IF YOU CARE ABOUT SOMETHING, YOU HAVE TO PROTECT IT--IF YOU'RE LUCKY ENOUGH TO FIND A WAY OF LIFE YOU LOVE, YOU HAVE TO FIND THE COURAGE TO LIVE IT."

-Gabe

I wanted to post the video for Fun.'s "Some Nights" because I had heard the song quite a lot before reading this novel but I heard it in a different way after reading it: 

Top Ten Tuesday Rewind

It's Tuesday, which means it's time for Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week is their Top Ten Tuesday Rewind, which means that I get to go back into the TTT archives and pick a prompt I hadn't done before or that I wanted to do again. Since I missed A LOT of TTT prompts, I'm choosing to do one that I missed out on doing before I returned to blogging.

This week's prompt: Top Ten Books I'd Give a Theme Song To

1) Looking for Alaska by John Green/"Holland 1945" by Neutral Milk Hotel: It's kind of interesting that I would choose this as the theme song for this book considering that it was featured in another John Green novel, Will Grayson, Will Grayson. I just think that it fits well with the themes of Looking for Alaska and the characters in the book.

2) Wonder Boys by Michael Chabon/"Worst Day Since Yesterday" by Flogging Molly: I swear I'm actually going to finish my review of this book (it's been sitting in draft form since last October), because I know there were several people looking forward to reading it. The disastrous events of the weekend that this book covers fit really well with this song of regret and sadness.

3) The Book Thief by Markus Zusak/"Paris Is Burning" by St. Vincent: Okay, so The Book Thief doesn't take place in Paris. But it does take place in World War II and I think that this song is hauntingly beautiful, just like Zusak's novel.

4) Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk/"Fast Fuse" by Kasabian: This song's fast pace and lyrics about destruction and chaos are a perfect match for a fast-paced book about destruction and chaos.

5) The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman/"Danse Macabre" by Saint-Saens: This is one of my favorite pieces of classical music, both to listen to and to play. Its spooky atmosphere lends itself well to Gaiman's book, especially the scene where the townspeople dance the Macabray with the inhabitants of the graveyard.

6) Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger/"Prisoner of Society" by The Living End: While the story of Catcher in the Rye takes place in the era of jazz, The Living End's "Prisoner of Society" is perfect for Holden's bratty "don't tell me what to do" attitude.

7) 50 Shades of Grey by E. L. James/"Master and Servant" by Nouvelle Vague: I've only read about five chapters of this book (I finished Catcher in the Rye about an hour and a half before I finished my shift at the bookstore, so I decided I'd start reading one of our copies just to see what all the hype was about), but I know enough about it to know that this song would be a great theme song for it. I first heard it in Secretary, one of my favorite movies ever, and it just screams sexy to me.

8) Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett/"It's the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" by REM: I'd say this one's pretty self-explanatory (and kind of cliche).

9) Love at Absolute Zero by Christopher Meeks/"Lovefool" by The Cardigans: Gunnar Gunderson is pretty much the definition of "lovefool." Plus the quirky atmosphere of this song reminds of the book's own delicious quirkiness.

10) Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris/"The French Song" by Jesse Matheson: It's probably a little weird to give a theme song to a book of essays, but part deux of this book reminds me so much of this song (for which there isn't a good video out there and that makes me sad). After Matheson sings a bunch of stuff in French that doesn't make any sense, you find out in the chorus that: "I'm trying my best/I want to impress/And so I'm saying every single French word I know." Basically it's a song about a guy wanting to get laid and thinking that saying things like "computer" and "banana" in French are going to win this girl's heart. It just reminded me of Sedaris' hilarious story about trying to explain Easter in French and failing miserably.

Phew. That was actually a lot harder to do than I thought.

-Gabe

French Music: "Juste Toi Et Moi" (Indochine)

Chanson (Song): "Juste Toi Et Moi"
Chanteur (Singer): Indochine



Paroles (Lyrics):

Juste toi et moi (X2)

Oh comme des cygnes
Comme toi et moi, comme des étoiles
Nous resterons si pâles
Oh comme les cygnes
Juste toi et moi, un peu trop sales
On n'a rien fait de mal

Et on s'enfuit et on voudrait
Rester en vie tout essayer
Aimer la pluie et les fleurs noires
Rester unis sans trop y croire

Nous sommes le signe
Que toi et moi, comme le métal
Nous resterons si mal
Nous sommes le signe
Juste toi et moi, notre arsenal

On n'a rien d'anormal
Et on séduit dans l'univers
D'oser les dragons et rester fiers
Plonger nos corps dans les eaux noires

Rêver nos vies sans trop y croire
Mais si demain que l'on s'éloigne
Que tu t'en ailles - trop loin -
Si je ne reviens pas alors jure le moi
Tu me tueras

Juste toi et moi oh oh
Comme des toiles oh oh
Qui se rejoignent oh oh
On se tuera oh oh

Oh comme des cygnes
Comme toi et moi, comme les étoiles
Nous resterons si pâles
Oh comme les cygnes
Juste toi et moi, un peu trop sales
On n'a rien fait de mal

Comme les étoiles
Comme les étoiles
Comme toi et moi
Juste toi et moi

-Gabe

Francophone Friday 2

All this month, I'm participating in Paris in July, which means that I'll be reviewing some French novels, introducing you to French music, and just generally talking about all things French. Of course, this is a book blog first and foremost, so I wanted to make sure that my blog didn't get overwhelmed by French culture at the detriment of everything else. So, I'm implementing Francophone Fridays. It's the one day a week where I can let loose and ramble on and on about France (or in French). This is the day that you'll see links to French music, reviews of French films, information on culture in France, photos of French monuments, etc. The rest of the week will be devoid of anything Francophone. I think this keeps everything nice and tidy and keeps me from becoming an absolute bore.


Here's what I've been doing so far for Paris in July:
-Books:
Le Petit Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris

-Music:
"Allo Paris" by Mano Solo
"Diane de Poitiers" by Thomas Fersen


-Film:
Le Dîner de Cons


Look for more posts later today.


-Gabe

Harry Potter Countdown!

The last installment of the insanely popular Harry Potter movie franchise comes out later this summer and book bloggers from all over are chomping at the bit waiting for it. Kayleigh from Nylon Admiral is spending the next few weeks counting down to the movie in her own way: she's posting about it. Every week she'll post about a different topic on her blog. She's inviting anyone and everyone to join in.


This Week's Topic: Choose Your Own Topic (As Long As It's Epic)

My Topic: A Very Potter Musical and A Very Potter Sequel 

Anyone know who to credit for this image?

So, you're really big theater nerds and really big Harry Potter nerds--what do you do? If you're Team StarKid, a group of students from the University of Michigan, you combine the two into an epic musical and its inevitable sequel. Written, directed, and performed by college students, A Very Potter Musical and A Very Potter Sequel are both funny, zany, and irreverent tributes to J.K. Rowling's insanely popular book series.

I had a few friends who were obsessed with this when it first debuted on YouTube. They kept telling me how funny it was and quoting it ad nauseum, but I'm going to admit that I didn't have any interest in it at first. It took me until this past December to finally watch it and, when I finally did, I became just as obsessed as they had been. I've introduced several people to it, all of whom are shocked by how decent it is and by how much they love it.

Not sure who created this one, either.

A Very Potter Musical takes place during Harry's second year at Hogwarts, but it follows the events of his 1st, 4th, and 7th year in the novels. Confused? So was I, at first. Basically, Harry, Ron, and Hermione return to Hogwarts for their second year to find that Professor Quirrell has been named the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. He has convinced Dumbledore to reinstate a house tournament that resembles the Tri-Wizard tournament from the books, except that four students (one from each house) participate. Harry, Draco, Cho, and Cedric are pitted against one another until the final event, when Cedric and Harry both touch the cup and are transported, thanks to Quirrell, to the graveyard where Voldemort will rise again. The rest of the show most resembles books five and seven, in that Harry has to convince everyone that Voldemort is back and the students have to fight him in the end. An added bonus is that Draco's in love with Hermione, which is the funniest thing ever.

A Very Potter Sequel begins right after the first musical ends but, with the cunning use of a Time-Turner, it transports a group of Death Eaters, led by Lucius Malfoy, back in time to Harry's first year in order to make sure that Harry never defeats the Dark Lord. It incorporates elements of books 1, 3, and 5, as well as a cameo appearance by Rita Skeeter and elements of Snape's love for Lily. Upon arriving at Hogwarts, Harry is confronted by the escape of his god-father, Sirius Black, but is helped along by DADA teacher (and Quidditch coach) Professor Lupin. To make matters worse, Harry has to deal with the dreaded Delores Umbridge, who's taken a liking to the flamboyantly gay Albus Dumbledore. Hilarity and chaos ensue as Umbridge and Malfoy join forces to destroy Harry Potter. But someone named "Little D" is helping keep him alive. Will Harry find a way to help Sirius? Will we learn who "Little D" is? And will Lupin ever find a way to keep his werewolf side in check (and his pants on)?

Ditto.

Obviously, not everyone will enjoy it. There's swearing and blatant disregard for character personalities, among other things. But , for one, found it to be hilarious. The acting's pretty decent, as is the singing, and the songs themselves are catchy (you can download the music for AVPM here, AVPS here, and buy the remainder of the AVPS album on iTunes). The best part of all, however, is how fracking quotable they are. Here's just a taste of the over four-hours-worth of super-mega-awesome-foxy-hot:

A Very Potter Musical:

Voldemort: You'd think that killing people would make them like you. But it doesn't. It just makes them dead.

Cedric: Hufflepuffs are particularly good finders.
Dumbledore: What the hell is a Hufflepuff?

Draco: You can't just go to Pigfarts. It's on Mars. You need a rocket ship. Do you have a rocket ship?

Draco: I want Hermione Granger...and a rocket ship!

Ginny: (to an Asian girl) Konichiwa, Cho Chang. It is good to meet you. I am Gin-ny Weas-ley.
Asian Girl: Bitch, I ain't Cho Chang!
Ron: That's Lavender Brown! *smack* Racist sister.

Draco: Do we have to fight? I'm tired. Can't we just be Death Eaters?

Voldemort: Muggles have their place. Mudbloods have their place. And so do your clothes! Namely, a dresser.

Dumbledore: Ooh, 10 points to Dumbledore.

A Very Potter Sequel

Snape: What happened to the poster of headmaster Zefron?
Umbridge: Oh, I don't like Zach Efron. Taylor Lautner's my man.
Snape: What do you want you horrid bitch?

Ron: Favorite Amy Mann song on three. One two three....

Ron and Harry: Red Vines!
Harry: Favorite color vines other than green?
Ron and Harry: Red Vines!
Ron: Favorite way to say 'red wines' in a German accent?
Ron and Harry: Red Vines!....OH MY GOD!
Ron: Where have you been all my life?
Harry: Living in a cupboard under some stairs.

Snape: It pisses me off. I mean it really fucking pisses me off. I was there for her, y’know? And when she needed someone, I was there, waiting like a tool! “Oh, we’re gonna snog now? Okay. What about now? Well, I’ll wait. I’ll wait forever. Like a tool.” And, just one time... just one time, I wanted to take your mum... ‘s boobies... and put them on my face... and go *motorboat*.

Umbridge: So, you're smarter than the person who wrote this book? You're smarter than...Merlin?

Lupin: There's no way we're losing to Slytherin, Ravenclaw, or...Jigglypuff.

And that's not even getting into the songs, which are incredible, especially for a show completely put together by amateurs. My favorites include "Granger Danger" and "Different As Can Be" from A Very Potter Musical and "Guys Like Potter" and "No Way" from A Very Potter Sequel.

Oh, and if there is a higher power, it will ensure that the cast of the final Harry Potter film sings "Voldemort Is Going Down"...even if it's just in a special feature somewhere.

-Gabe

French Music: "Diane de Poitiers" (Thomas Fersen)

Chanson (Song): "Diane de Poitiers"
Chanteur (Singer): Thomas Fersen



Paroles (Lyrics):

Que fait donc en ce lieu,
Parmi ces messieurs,
Cette blonde aux bras nus,
Si nus qu'elle éternue,
Dans ses doigts, elle se mouche
Et pour s'rincer la bouche,
Elle commande un cognac,
Puis un autre cognac,

Je lui dis à l'oreille:
"T'es belle comme Diane de Poitiers,
Veux tu prendre la moitié
De mon lit si t'as sommeil ?"
Elle me répond, je cite:
"Il faut pas que tu t'excites,
Ce n'est pas c'que tu penses,
Je suis restée vieille France."

"C'est d'accord, je t'acceuille,
Moi je dors dans le fauteuil
En tout bien, tout honneur,
Comme un frère et une soeur,
Toi le lit, moi la banquette,
À la bonne franquette,
C'est d'accord pour ce soir,
Moi je dors dans la baignoire.

Certes, je ne suis pas un saint
Et quand la lumière s'eteint,
Je n'ai pas toujours dit non
Mais jm'en remet à Platon
Pour nous deux c'est plus sage,
Vu la difference d'âge,
Non ce soir pas d'folies
Chacun dans son lit.

Soit je ne suis pas un moine,
J'dissipe mon patrimoine
Dans ce bar un peu glauque,
Ma voix est dev'nue rauque
À la suite des abus
Mais ce soir j'ai rien bu,
Non, ce soir je suis strict,
Le devoir me le dicte.

J'ai rien d'un ecclésiastique,
Ma conscience est élastique
Et si j'fais mon examen,
J'suis pas dans l'droit chemin,
Non, je ne suis pas très pieux
Quand c'est l'heure d'aller au pieu,
Je fais rarement ma prière,
J'préfère une petite bière.

Certes je ne suis pas un prêtre,
Ce s'rait mal me connaître,
Et les soirs de pleine lune,
J'en ai détournée plus d'une,
Mais faut pas rester dehors
Avec tout ces délinquants,
Sois tranquille, moi je dors
Sur le lit de camp.

Soit, j'suis pas un chérubin,
Faudrait que j'prenne un bain,
Que je rase sur mes joues
Cette barbe acajou,
Et mon linge n'est pas net,
Enfin, pour être honnête,
Ce matin dans le bus,
J'ai attrapé une puce.

Les nuits d'hiver sont longues
Dans ma baignoire oblongue,
Elles sont longues et frisquettes,
Surtout sur la banquette,
Le divan du séjour,
Le canapé d'velours,
Le fauteuil Louis-Phillipe.
À ch'val sur les principes!

C'est d'accord, je t'accueille,
Moi je dors dans le fauteuil
En tout bien, tout honneur,
Comme un frère et une soeur,
Toi le lit, moi la banquette,
À la bonne franquette,
C'est d'accord pour ce soir,
Moi je dors dans la baignoire."

___________________

I don't have an English translation for you guys because there were a few sentences that I just could not figure out. I will, however, say that this is a funny song about a guy trying to talk a woman into staying overnight with him by promising her that, even though he's not a perfect guy, he means nothing sexual by his offer. Even without knowing what it means, though, it's still pretty kick-ass. 

-Gabe

Paris in July #1: Allo Paris

Bonjour, mes amis! As you may or may not know, this month I'll be participating in Paris in July. I'm behind on my reading (already), but I also promised to post some French music. Today, I'm posting my absolute favorite song in French: "Allo Paris" by the now-deceased Mano Solo. Below, you'll find the music video, the lyrics in French, and an English translation done by yours truly.



Les Paroles en Français

Allo Paris, il est si tard
Le doigts collés au combiné
Je relance encore avec l'espoir de te parler
J'ai beau savoir que ça me fout le cafard
Je peux pas m'empêcher, m'empêcher d'y croire
La nuit sonne ses derniers coups
J'irai jusqu'au bout

J'aurais voulu quelque chose de bien
J'aurais voulu que tu me dises viens

Et là debout sur le trottoir comme chaque soir
Je te raconte l'histoire
Des larmes de rue dans les bars qui puent,
Les regards moisis et les corps meurtris
Allo Paris, tout est fini et putain je suis fatigué

J'aurais voulu quelque chose de bien
J'aurais voulu que tu me dises viens

Allo Paris, tout est fini
Tu m'as tout pris même l'envie
Tu ne te souviens plus de rien
Tu oublies un peu plus chaque matin
Et ta mémoire coule le long des trottoirs
En noyant mon désir dérisoire

J'aurais voulu quelque chose de bien
J'aurais voulu que tu me dises viens

Allo Paris, tout et fini, tout est foutu
J'aurais voulu, j'aurais voulu

J'aurais voulu quelque chose de bien
J'aurais voulu que tu me dises viens

The Lyrics in English

Hello Paris, it's so late
The fingers cling to the phone
I relapse again with the hope of talking to you
I know very well that that makes me depressed
I can't stop myself, stop myself from believing
The night rings your final blows
I will go until the end

I would've wanted something good
I would've wanted you to tell me to come

And standing there on the pavement like every night
I tell the story to you
Of tears in the street in the bars that stink
The moldy looks and the bruised corpses
Hello Paris, everything's finished and fuck I'm tired

I would've wanted something good
I would've wanted you to tell me to come

Hello Paris, everything's finished
You took my desire from me all the same
You don't remember anything else
You forget a little more each morning
And your memory flows the length of the sidewalk
Drowning my derisory desire

I would've wanted something good
I would've wanted you to tell me to come

Hello Paris, everything's finished, everything's fucked up
I would've wanted, I would've wanted

I would've wanted something good
I would've wanted you to tell me to come
____________

Personally, I think the lyrics are much better in French than in English.

-Gabe

The Blind Boys of Alabama

One of the things that I'm loving about doing monthly themes on this blog is that they focus my attention in a whole new way. I talk frequently on this blog about my NPR addiction but usually I listen generally without keeping an ear out for specifics.

It's only two days into the month and that's already starting to change. Yesterday I picked up on the turmoil in Afghanistan, today I heard about a new CD on the Tavis Smiley show that I wouldn't really have paid attention to at any other time.

It's a country-gospel album by five-time Grammy winners The Blind Boys of Alabama and it's called "Take the High Road". I'm not usually a fan of country and I don't normally find myself listening to gospel, but today I found myself keeping an open ear on the interview that Tavis was doing with founding member Jimmy Carter (no relation to the former President).

These guys have been a group since 1939!

The album isn't set to be released until May 3rd, but for those who are interested in either of these genres of music, I can tell you that even someone who doesn't pay much attention to either can appreciate that this is a decent CD. It features performances by Willie Nelson, Vince Gill, Lee Ann Womack, Hank Williams, Jr., and others.

Here's the link in case anyone's interested in checking it out. It's just too bad there's no audio samples available for it yet.

You can hear Smiley's interview with Carter, along with small snippets of some of the tracks, here.

-Gabe

Music to Read By: Redwall

I became acquainted with the Redwall books around the same time I became acquainted with this piece of music. Perhaps it is for this reason alone or perhaps there is something else at work in this strange head of mine, but the two always remind me of each other. I used to read Redwall while listening to "Prince Igor" all the time. Now that I'm rereading the book I find myself craving this piece. It's a long one, but I hope you'll listen to it and enjoy it as much as I do.



-Gabe