A Prayer for Owen Meany

[lagizma]

How do I even start talking about this book? I hope you all know by now that I read I lot, that I read a lot of great books, that I toss out books that suck, and that I live for books. There used to be something called the One Book List, which was a collection of books that readers recommended as The One that everyone had to read. I searched for

Comments

[estranged_rose]

[lagizma]

Do you still have it?

Dad's comment

[lagizma]

Duh! So others may live -- and then he ascended to Heaven! You have to tell the whole story. (Besides -- they all would have died without the shot!)

Best,
Dad

[autumnhawk]

Hi there, I found your journal through antarcticlust and have been reading a lot of it. I enjoy your thoughts, and will add you if you don't mind.

A Prayer for Owen Meany is a favorite of mine too. We read it for senior humanities class in high school. It was my first Irving book, and especially interesting becuase it was set in the town I lived. But the whole thing really got me, I read it every so often and it's definitely my favorite Irving book.

Your comment about a book that is a journey not a destination put me in mind of several of Vonnegut's novels. He does a similar thing in his writing where he deconstructs the concept of plot by giving it all away right in the beginning. You know what is going to happen, right from the start, and then continue on in order to explore something beyond plot. If you haven't read any of his I'd give you suggestions.

[lagizma]

Great! Commentors are always welcome, especially via that particular route. I'll add you...there's a lot of insane friends-only stuff that went down in the last month.

I'm a Vonnegut fan, too, but I haven't read him since high school. I need to re-explore him. God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater was always a favorite, as is Cat's Cradle. What would you have recommended?

[autumnhawk]

I should reread Cat's Cradle, but that was one of my least favorites at the time. In terms of this "story as the journey" thing it makes me think most of Galapagos. He does a thing in there where he puts an asterisk on the name of the next character that's going to die, plus it's an interesting story. Along that same vein I would next think of Bluebeard and Deadeye Dick. Of course Slaughterhouse-Five has similar plot-defying action given that the character is often unstuck in time.

All right, I must get back to work.

[jackshoegazer]

Owen was amazing, one of the best books ever.

My One book is Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut. Followed closely by the Illuminatus! trilogy by Robert Anton Wilson.