Friday, May 18, 2012

Rachael K.


   In A Prayer For Owen Meany, John is the narrator and Owen is the main character. The balance between these two characters is shown through the characteristics of their friendship. Owen is the straight forward and controlling type balanced out by his diminished height and awkward voice. While, John is normal in context, comes across as somewhat shy and simple, evening out the two characters. This is the scenario based throughout the book, where John tells the reader about his life and how Owen affected it or was a part of that memory. Meaning that even though John is writing this story about his life experiences, it is clearly a story about Owen Meany, a story that tells you that Owen was the reason of the man John turned in to.
                Do to descriptions of Owen and how John feels about him, a image of the characters is established. Owen, creepy and attention grabbing out shines John’s shy and nervous qualities, grabbing the reader’s interest, thrusting them further and further into the book, never disappointing. In every page you learn something new and riveting about each character: from religion to the curse of baseball. Do to unfailing entertainment and consistency in the text the purpose is grasped about how no matter who or where you are, influences stick with you.
                For myself, what kept me drawn into the book was the constant question mark floating over that last read word. What are they going to do next, what else could I relate to? Owens determination and John’s curiosity could be relative to all types of readers, giving this book a quality that puts it above many other novels under a similar topic. What this story has that so many others do not is a way to make a reader want to read until that last word. That is why I found this book extraordinary.

3 comments:

Rachel S. said...

Rachael,
This is a great review. I would never have thought to compare Owen Meany and John even though I knew they were different. I found it interesting how you pondered what else you could relate to, because I think I relate to a few concepts of this book myself!
-Rachel

Sergio A. said...

You have very interesting ideas. I like how you address the balance between the two most important characters in the novel. Also, I liked that you kept the comparison of Owen and John consistent throughout the review. Overall it was very well written.

P.S. I enjoyed your personal thoughts at the end and what kept YOU drawn to the novel.

~Sergio A.

Susie Jaffe said...

Rachael,

The two words that I especially liked that you used were "balance" and "extraordinary". I think there is a great deal of balance in the characters - especially Johnny and Owen. They balance and complete each other. I also liked that you felt this novel was extraordinary. I agree completely. There is something very special about this book. Thanks for your review!

- Mrs. Jaffe