A Prayer for Owen Meany (original 1989; edition 1990)

The concluding theology is rather odd, but I love the story. Irving is a wonderful narrator. ( )

I have not read a John Irving book since The Hotel New Hampshire and was a little put off by what I perceived as a self-conscious quirkiness in his writing, so I’ve avoided this book about a five-foot tall, screechy voiced prophet for over 20 years. I suppose I’ve become more tolerant of quirkiness, because Owen Meany is all of that, but it is a story well told and is almost worthy of its Dickensian aspirations.

We learn at the outset of the book that the narrator, John Wheelwright, has become a Christian believer thanks to his little friend Owen Meany. Owen puzzles us through hundreds of pages – why is he obsessed with dunking basketballs? – but all the odd details come together in a slam-bang ending that is fair and satisfying to the reader that has persevered.

Irving is not a subtle writer but he is an effective one, and I fell for his tricks if not for his philosophizing. I wonder how this work affects people who believe in God. As an atheist, I had to struggle with suspension of disbelief, whereas I assume that people of faith would experience this novel as a confirmation of their belief. ( )

I am a huge John Irving fan and this is my favorite John Irving book. Whenever I think about a wish list of books in audio, this one comes up. ( )

I read this for class - grudgingly - and was pleasantly surprised. I really had to rush through it, and that's not at all how this one is meant to be read, despite the ease with which you get wrapped up in it. This one is definitely on my reread shelf. ( )

I zoomed through this, whenever I was willing to pick it up at all, because I just didn’t like it and didn’t want to have to spend too much time reading it.

I should like it. I have many friends who’ve given it 5 and 4 stars, much of it takes place in “my era” and I feel as though I should like Irving’s work, all of it.

But this is just too weird for me. And I really couldn’t stand all the content about religion and faith and the way it was addressed I found incredibly irritating. Very peculiar story!

I couldn’t even care about the characters. Everything was connected and wrapped up neatly so I can admire that skillfulness but since I didn’t enjoy the story, I can’t muster that much admiration.

I’ll have to give it another chance sometime. The only reason I persisted and kept reading is that this book is the book for my next real world book club meeting. I’ll bet they’ll all love it. What’s wrong with me?! I guess this one just isn’t my cup of tea. Irving is often too strange for me actually, although I did like Garp and loved The Cider House Rules movie. I didn’t like this at all though. I will be interested in our book club discussion because I suspect I’ll be alone with that opinion.

Oh gosh. I didn’t record my reading start date and I have no idea when it was, but I know I started it over a month ago. ( )

Goodness, I started reading this a year ago, during my trip to Italy. It was recommended to me by my dad, who rarely reads fiction and never recommends books, so I was very much expecting to be blown away by it. Particularly since people I know on GR have loved it and given it very glowing reviews. I don't know if it's the piecemeal way I read it, or life getting in the way, or just not being suited to the book, but it was so dry to read and I could never get swept up in it or really interested in any of the characters. The last part of the book was the only part that really got through to me -- that part is good.

It's been suggested that it was probably wrong place, wrong time for me with this book, so I am keeping my copy in hopes of connecting with it better some other time. And maybe I'll read something else by John Irving in the meantime -- any recommendations? ( )

Owen Meany is a strange child. Almost freakishly small, and with a terrible voice, he is huge on faith, but not so crazy about religion. But Owen has faith that God made him the way he is because he has a Higher Purpose to fulfill.

This came awfully close to being a 3 star read for me. The book just seemed to get longer and longer. It was finally about 100 pages longer than my attention span for the story. But once I got to the end, I realized that everything was essential, even what I thought were tangents. John Irving did a great job of tying up all the seemingly disparate threads at the end.

I mostly liked Owen. There was one section where he seemed to act like a jerk, and he almost lost me. But even that got explained to my satisfaction.

I've already returned this book to the aunt I borrowed it from, but there were some great quotes in there that made me, a relative newcomer to any knowledge of politics, realize how little things actually change. Like the part where Owen's friend John, gets on a rant about how the President's a jerk and needs to be impeached, and if he's stupid enough to let other people tell him what to do he still needs to be impeached. Sound familiar? He was talking about Reagan. Or the part where someone talks about this dashing young man running for President, and how the country can't be swept away by his charisma because experience is what really counts. That section was talking about JFK. So that was pretty interesting to read.

John Wheelwright is the narrator of the story, and he's just a blah little character for me. He was okay when he was young, but he's telling the story something like 15 years later, and he keeps interrupting Owen's story with details of his (John's) current life. I hated those parts. They served their purpose of showing Owen's effect on others' lives, but I got sick of them.

But if you're in the mood for a book that is somehow laugh-out-loud funny, ultimately touching, and a lot about faith and politics, you'll probably enjoy this one. ( )

yes yes yes!!! the cover of this book calls this book 'extraordinary' and it is nothing less. there is so much i want to write - i want to write that philip roth needn't have written american pastoral because this was already written a decade before. (and far better, i might add.) ok, so some of their issues are different, but overall, this book so evoked american pastoral for me, and the difference in quality for me is obvious. this book is definitely not for everyone. but i loved it. this is easily the best john irving i have ever read (i have only read 3 others - the 158 pound marriage, the hotel new hampshire, and a widow for a year) but this book soars above the others. i don't feel irving is a terribly good closer, and the same is true of this book, but the rest of it more than makes up for what the ending lacks. this book is funny in a way that i didn't expect from irving, and also touching.

it goes between the main character in 1987 and his memories of growing up in the late fifties and through the sixties. so vietnam is crucial to the book, as is reagan and the iran contra affair. the commentaries on government and reagan are so appropriate today as well. details aside, it could have been written about current events.

i love what he does with religion in this book, which is also crucial to the story. i love what he does with the religious people in the book to humble them, and make them perhaps less 'christian' than others in the way they live their lives. and that they question their faith, sometimes more than any lay people do. and the icing on the cake regarding finding lost faith. (i won't spoil it as it comes at the end, but it's brilliant.)

ok, so john irving has issues around sex. this book emphasizes them far less than the others i've read. for him, really, hardly at all. i would say, though, that in this book his female characters are disappointing. there's really only two major female characters and one is sex-crazed, and while a strong woman, not exactly well adjusted. the other major character is present throughout the book but remains pretty undeveloped. the other featured female is a perfect ideal, but she doesn't get to live long enough for us to know if she would have lived up to that ideal or not. based on other characters in the book (and the fact that she's not the jesus character in the book) we can assume that she wouldn't have.

the following quotes are a good takeaway, and kind of a supershort overall summary of the book, but first, something that i take away, but i'm actually not sure if irving meant this or the exact opposite (spoiler alert; skip to after this paragraph if you don't want the spoiler): the entire book is centered around this character that you know is going to die doing something heroic. everything prepares you for this, and on faith, you accept it. after all, throughout the book you're told the value of faith. you are, of course, also told the value of doubt, but this is something the reader doesn't doubt. and then when it finally happens, you finally find out about the hero's death, it could hardly be more anticlimactic. maybe that's just my opinion of it, but it seemed totally a wasted death to me, and maybe that's irving's point after all. that everything led up to this penultimate moment, and it was a complete letdown for everyone - the hero did save lives, but only after putting them in danger in the first place, and not in the way he'd imagined. he shaped his life around this one moment, and it was for naught. the hero would have served the world far better without his sacrifice. i love it. so intense.

i enjoyed this so much, from beginning to end.

"...I have a church-rummage faith - the kind that needs patching up every weekend."

"...if you're lucky enough to find a way of life you love, you have to find the courage to live it."

"Although the sun had set, vivid streaks of vermilion-colored light traced the enormous sky, and through one of these streaks of light I saw Owen's plane descending-as if, wherever Owen Meany went, some kind of light always attended him." ( )

Almost 100 pages in, I still couldn't get into this book very much. It's not BAD, but it is not gripping, and I don't waste time on books that aren't gripping when I have a to-read list of about 900 books.

My first Irving and definitely not my last. I was mentally adding it to my 'favorites' list before I had even closed the book. ( )

Owen Meany has many unique challenges in life. He is unusually small, HIS VOICE IS LOCKED ON SHOUT MODE, and he grows up breathing the dust of and working in a granite quarry. He is however blessed with the gift of being absolutely certain that there is a greater reason for his challenges and for his life. He has his faults, but his life is an unwavering trajectory towards fulfilling the purpose to which he was born. This is a very imaginative, complex, yet easy to read story with many interesting, multidimensional characters. This is one I'd like to re-read in the future. Very highly recommended. ( )

I have a secret to tell...I wasn't always a huge book reader. I grew up in a family of avid readers and it was always joked that my mom was born with a book in her hand. But, for me, when I was in high school, I chose to stick to shorter novels like Catcher in the Rye and The Bell Jar and anything over 500 pages seemed just way too daunting. I remember thinking that for a long time picking up A Prayer For Owen Meany, which is easily Irving's best in the four of his I've read (Hotel New Hampshire, Cider House Rules, Widow For One Year). My parents loved it and so they kept encouraging me. Finally, I started. I remember the first bit was a little rough going because it had to do with names that had no meaning to me but after that, I had a difficult time parting with it.

To be honest, there is a part of that book..the imagery, the stories, the characters, even the way it ended that has always stuck with me. Every novel I pick up over 500 pages, I realize I'm consciously wondering if it will live up to A Prayer for Owen Meany. I have no idea what I would feel if I read it today-as in, if it would hold up. But some of those things about it-the errant baseball, the dressmaker's dummy, the high pitched voice-are all etched in the stone of my imagination. It's impossible for me to forget...and so I wonder if this book possibly changed me...because it definitely turned me into more of a book addict. ( )

This is the first John Irving book I have read and I have no doubt it will be my last. When I first started this novel, I asked some friends, “Why are John Irving’s books so fecking long!” I asked that because in addition to this book I had checked out The Cider House Rules which is also by John Irving and is also fecking long (640 pages per Goodreads). Somewhere along the way I figured out why the book was so long, on the way to finding out what happened to Owen Meany, we had to take side trips.

The book is narrated by John Wheelwright who is now a teacher at a girl’s school in Toronto. For a good part of the book we stay in Gravesend, NH, but then suddenly we are transported into Toronto, Canada. While that is not a problem at first, after a while we are spending a great deal of time in Ontario listening to John complain about the new Canon in the church, and Nixon and how newspapers will be the death of him until I felt that A Prayer for Owen Meany would be the death of ME. I kept reading because I wanted to find out what happens to Owen Meany but the book bored me and the ALL CAPS THAT OWEN MEANY INSISTED ON TALKING IN annoyed the spit out of me.

One of the reasons I kept reading was the breadcrumbs John Irving throws out, he would make a statement then say, “As you’ll see later.” That also began to annoy me, but it was a good devise to keep me reading. However, after I found out what happened to Owen, I was so relieved the book was over I can’t even tell you how it ended exactly. I know it ends with John in Canada, but other than that I don’t remember. Also, while I was reading the book I started to wonder if it was autobiographical, when I read a short bio of the author I could see parallels in him and the character John Wheelwright.

After all this, I don’t think of John Irving as a bad writer, I do think this book could have been 100 to 200 pages shorter and still been as good. Also, The Cider House Rules is going back to the library unread. ( )

I know that people love this, and I did find it moving at times. However, I also experienced it as reasonably clunky, with a strained plot and awkward prose. The point I thought was most compelling--How did the narrator become such a timid, rigid, doubting man?--was not answered by his developmental narrative. Perhaps the point is that even in the face of incontrovertable evidence, we still lack faith.

This novel has characters and plot elements that will be familiar; as an example, the gruff yet attractive female relative who inspires incestuous longings is easy to spot, as are many other Irving archetypes. I find this tedious; perhaps others find it enjoyably familiar.

Without spoiling the plot, I will say that most of the pleasure I derived from the book had to do with reading (and leaving) it in Vietnam. ( )

I honestly have very little to say about this, save that it's one of the best books I've ever read. Many thanks to all who recommended it.

It's completely trite to say "I laughed, I cried"--but I did. For all its tragedy, this is an astonishingly witty, funny story, but, oh, god, the tragedy. It's a downer of a book--not a lot of room left for hope and joy--but brilliant and amazing and so many other superlatives I can't articulate.

Irving's afterword in the paperback edition is worse than useless, though, spilling plot points about all his other books. I do wish I hadn't read that, but I'm compulsive that way and couldn't help myself. ( )

Failed to get the point of this book. The end was obvious pretty much from the beginning, but Irving dragged his readers through a lifetime of antidotes. Left me wondering what all the commotion was about with this one. ( )

I am doomed to remember a boy with a wrecked voice— not because of his voice, or because he was the smallest person I ever knew, or even because he was the instrument of my mother's death, but because he is the reason I believe in God; I am a Christian because of Owen Meany.

A brilliant opening sentence of A Prayer for Owen Meany that encapsulate the essence of the story and immediately grabs our attention.

This is a story of a beautiful and lasting friendship - about growing up in the 50's and 60's in a small fictional town in New Hampshire. About the loss of childhood - a tragic death - and more than anything about faith and God's providence - that nothing happens without a reason.

Owen Meany is one of the most fascinating characters I've met in a long time in fiction - an unlikely angel or savior, a dwarf-like-prophet with a wrecked voice who weighs almost nothing. Definitely something transcendent about his place in this story - when he speaks it's always in CAPITAL LETTERS which of course grabs our attention - like a prophets voice. At one point he's called THE VOICE due to his column-writing in the school-paper.

The narrator John is Owens best friend - and the story alternates between events in the present (1980's) and his memories of childhood. We meet Johns mother, her new fiancé Dan (a man with such a tender wisdom), the strict grandmother (with a weakness for tv-watching) and Hester - John's beautiful seductively cousin - and a lot of other persons (this is a 700 plus pages brick).

This is my first Irving - so I can't compare it to his other writings - Irvings world is quirky - so many memories weave into each other effortlessly - many strange, absurd and funny incident's and clever observations. But for some reason I wasn't deeply moved by the story - hence the four stars and not five. ( )

An expatriate living in Toronto, John Wheelwright is inspired by current events in Reagan's America to reminisce about his childhood friend Owen and growing up in Gravesend, in New England. The two boys were best friends, despite their vastly different backgrounds: Owen's father owns a rock quarry and rather poor, while John's family is wealthy and the Wheelwright name is one of the most respected in town. But Owen was extraordinary, and it was due to him that John was able to embrace faith and call himself a Christian. As he recalls the miracles he witnessed through Owen, John reveals a deep and powerful friendship – the loss of which damaged him so deeply that decades later, he still lives in the past, unable to move past the events of his youth.

I first read Owen Meany back in 2006 and I really enjoyed it. I wrote the following notes about the novel over on BookCrossing:
I really enjoyed reading John's story about growing up with Owen Meany, but every time he transitioned from the past to the present, from adventures in Gravesend to his diary in Toronto, I got lost. Well, not lost - it is more like, I got interrupted. Distracted. The story's spell was snapped.

But wow. What a story. What an engrossing, confusing character Owen Meany is. His devotion to the Wheelwright family was touching, but also sad; it seemed he abandoned his own family to surround himself in a new one. Given Owen's beliefs about himself and his family, there is little surprise that he was so deeply religious, but his distaste for his family seemed out of place to the rest of his character. His spiritual devotion is something I admire in him, and so he becomes inspirational, because to have faith that strong is something I ought to strive for with greater dedication.

Owen's certainty and sense of purpose are an excellent contrast to the narrator John, who lacks both. John's just as memorable as Owen, because he is just so normal that anyone can recognize an aspect of him within themselves.

The plot twists and turns, with little mysteries that pop up again and again; all is resolved by the end of the book, but not often as you would expect. Great book.

I enjoyed this second reading even more than the first one. Six years between readings is enough time that I couldn't remember the plot save in broad strokes. However, since I knew the framework of the story, and where it was going, I could spend much more of my time savoring the details and the recurring symbols that appear.

For example, John's mother Tabitha Wheelwright had a red dress that she almost never wore, even though she looked beautiful in it. I couldn't help but connect the color to The Scarlet Letter; when she wore that dress that John's mother became marked out as a sensual creature, and a side of her that otherwise remained hidden was able to emerge. But then another part of me would wonder if perhaps the dress was just another dress in Tabitha's wardrobe, and the only reason it is being treated as such a significant object is because her son, now a middle-aged English teacher, has a demonstrated fondness for uncovering symbolism in stories and, by extension, his memories.

Armlessness is another idea that appears again and again in the story. I'm not sure I fully recognized it when I last read the book, but it really stood out this time. It goes all the way back to the origin of the town of Gravesend, when a Native American named Watahantowet sold the land on which the town was built to the original Wheelwright. After Owen accidentally kills John's mother with a foul baseball, he removes the claws from a stuffed armadillo that the two boys share to express his remorse; later he explains to John that he was also trying to demonstrate that he did not control the ball, but he was merely God's instrument. He removes the arms from a statue of Mary Magdalene at a local parochial school, effectively robbing her of any Godly intervention – and reflecting Owen's rather negative view of Catholics.

This helpless state also reflects the adult John Wheelwright, who frequently works himself into a rage over Iran-Contra scandal and the American government's reaction. He interrupts his stories about Gravesend with diatribes against the Reagan administration, frustrated by his inability to affect events. As the book goes on, he increasingly makes parallels between the Vietnam War and the current crisis, revealing over time that he badly traumatized by the war (although we learn early on that he didn't serve in the military at the time) and suffers from something like PTSD that prevents him from putting those events fully into the past.

From my rambling, you can probably gather that I really like this novel. It's pretty hefty – the paperback version released earlier this year is over six hundred pages – but John Irving's a great storyteller. A reader on BookCrossing described the book as “dense and delicious as a rich chocolate torte and I can only eat one bite at a time” - and I think that's a pretty good description. It's not the easiest novel, and there's a lot to take in, but it's an excellent book. ( )

So, first off. If you have read this book, you will understand the amazingness of this cover. At first i thought it was a rat. But when I realized that it was, in fact, an armadillo, the awesomeness of this whole thing just hit me. Like I said, if you have read it, you will understand. If not, then go out and read this book and you will!This book made me truly believe in fate. Even though this is a purely fictional piece of literature it touches you in ways thought impossible. I was required to read this book for AP Lit and it was incredible. By far the best book I have read in the class yet. The realization you come to at the end when everything finally comes together at Owen's death scene is one of incredible proportions. Owen's death proves all of his beliefs, and further causes Johnny to reevaluate his beliefs and fate.This book is just great. It is positively amazing. John Irving is an incredible author, and I suggest that EVERYONE read this book. ( )

What can you say about Owen Meany that hasn't been said? Well, our group found plenty to say ... whether it's been said before means little. We had a great discussion about a very unique book!

John Irving's A Prayer for Owen Meany centres on two boys growing up in New Hampshire during the 1950s, John Wheelwright and his best friend, Owen Meany. During the course of the story, yes, they do grow up and yes, it includes loss, religion, social structures, a good dollop of humour and an all consuming drive to the story's conclusion. Everything that makes a good book discussion. But this is not just a coming-of-age story. It covers much more ... the trick is, finding out exactly what Irving is saying here.

The character of Owen is by far one of the most memorable you will come across in the pages of fiction, we all agreed on that. Viti concluded that maybe his non-conformity made Owen so special, but I feel that simplifies him a little too much. The power of Owen Meany is not just written into this book, it is weaved and entrenched (very cleverly I might add) until Owen becomes this book.

When I asked everyone what they thought this book was about, I got the answers I expected ... politics and religion, and certainly they are strong themes here. But I found something more in Owen. Something more than an elf of a boy with a squeaky voice. Owen is one of those rare individuals who knows exactly who he is and where he is going, and why. His influence on the book's other characters is a story in itself as we watch Owen careen to wards his inevitable end.

Do these special people exist and we just don't recognise them? How many of us grew up with an Owen Meany but they were simply lost to us in our shallow, self-serving world? Well, what ever the answer, thank goodness for authors such as Irving, who truly make us think on another level - at least for the short period of time it takes to live in the world of the novel.

Tell Me This - Viti asks "What does the armadillo mean?"

The stuffed armadillo that appears to play such a significant role in this story remains a mystery! Some of us thought it was a symbol of Owen himself, with his outer shell protecting him until his role is played out.
Or perhaps, with its missing front paws, it becomes another symbol, along with the dress model and the armless Mary, for the lack of control we all have in the outcomes of our lives. This answer seemed the most likely to us. But why an armadillo? We all shook our heads at that one ... and I think we were all happy to let Irving have his puzzling way with this one! ( )

In the book Owen's father says he's sure everything Owen keeps is "for something." That's exactly how I feel about this book. It's very long, and is filled to the brim with details, many of them seem arbitrary or irrelevant, but as the story progresses you notice that every single detail collected is for something. It's fantastic. ( )

A story about John and his best friend, Owen Meany. There are many unique things about Owen, not the least of which is that he is responsible for John's mother's death. This story held me captive. I can't remember anything that has the same plot line and it doesn't follow the usual formulas. It is a unique story with interesting characters and a mix of heavy topics. The only reason I didn't give it a 5 is because I thought some of the book was more filler than anything. There were some sections that could have been removed without losing anything. ( )

The Short of It:

If the definition of a classic is a book that stands the test of time…then A Prayer for Owen Meany is just that.

The Rest of It:

First published in 1989, A Prayer for Owen Meany tells the story of John Wheelright and his best friend Owen Meany. The story takes place in a small New England town by the name of Gravesend, New Hampshire. The town itself is fictional, but it is probably a good representation of any small town during the 1950-60′s. Everyone knows everyone and life seems pretty simple. However, all that changes for the boys when a baseball, hit by Owen, strikes John’s mother in the head.

I read this book when it first came out and I remember liking it quite a bit. Irving is known for his quirky, eccentric characters and this book is no exception. However, it wasn’t until my recent reread that I truly realized how wonderful this book is. It’s funny, smartly written and it reminds you of simpler times when kids were kids and friendships meant everything. Every time I opened the book, it felt like coming home.

Owen, is such an odd little boy. He’s very small for his age, exceedingly wise and has a knack for getting to the root of a problem. He’s brutally honest and has a voice that can break glass, yet he seems to be well liked and respected by those who know him.

The story is told from John’s point of view and although he’s often the more stable of the two, it’s really Owen who proves to be the voice of reason. Owen’s “wisdom” comes in the form of visions and hunches which John puts up with for the most part, but Owen sees himself as an instrument of God and although this often gets Owen into a world of trouble, John senses that there is something to what Owen is saying.

The story follows them as they grow into adults and deals with such issues as the Vietnam War, spirituality, faith and fate, identity and social justice.

Irving fans who have not read this book should run out and get a copy now. It’s delightfully touching, endlessly entertaining and a wonderful testament to friendship. However, those who are not familiar with Irving’s writing might be overwhelmed by the level of detail that Irving includes in his novels. Irving’s writing never leaves you guessing. He gives it all to you and then some. I LOVE this about him, but some readers want him to get to the point, and quickly.

If you are tired of the formulaic plots of the books you’ve been reading and don’t mind investing some time in this classic, then by all means… pick up and copy and savor it.

Note from Ti: I also listened to the audio version of this while at the gym and it was wonderful. Great acting and extremely funny. If you don’t have time to read the print version, do try the audio.

For more reviews, visit my blog: Book Chatter. ( )

Owen Meany, diminutive in height and weight and with a voice that almost defies description, other than he speaks in capital letters, has been he firmly believes placed on this earth for a purpose. His life long and best friend John Wheelwright tells Owen's story, which is inevitably as much John's the story too. It is also a story about faith.

Owen is a character and a half, despite his small size and fragile appearance, an appearance that makes most girls and women want to hug him and mother him, he has a commanding presence, he is not one to be ignored. Neither is he someone easily dissuaded from his chosen course, in fact if Owen has it in mind to do something, nothing will get in his way. Above all he believes his life has a purpose, and he means to fulfil that purpose. Throughout he has the unerring support of John, even though John might not understand all that is happening, or necessarily agree with his friend.

A Prayer for Owen Meany is a beautiful story very well told. It is carefully crafted, and in addition to the gradual unravelling of Owen's purpose, there are several other themes running throughout the story. It is in part this gradual revealing of matters that holds one's interest, often we will know a particular outcome of events very early in the story, but what lead up to or caused that outcome, we may not know for some time, in some cases not until the end. We won't realise either that some seemingly irrelevant actions will prove crucial to the outcome.

While that makes for a fascinating read, above all it is the Owen's character, and the unquestioning friendship between Owen and John that makes this a very special story. John narrates that account from the 1980s, and while updating us on what is happening in his life then he spends most time looking back to the 1950s and 60s when they grew up, and he frequently puts the action into context by reminding us of significant news events of the period with which many of us will be familiar. He does also speak his mind occasionally about the attitude of Americans and America's involvement in international affairs, and at times indulges his interest in literature. He also has something to say about religion and the nature of faith.

This is also at times a very funny story, in fact it contains some of the funniest passages I have read anywhere. The description the the children's pageant is a prime example, it is a perfectly straight and very detailed account of events, it makes no effort to be funny, yet it is hilarious. But above all this is a very touching and moving story, heartbreaking at times; towards to end I frequently had to have a break in order to cope and prepare myself for what was coming next. This is one book that will be with me for a long time to come ( )

I stopped reading after 100 pages. Torture. ( )