It’s actually been a few weeks since I finished A Prayer for Owen Meany. It was loaned to us almost a year ago, and it took me a while to get around to it. I had previously attempted to read Cider House Rules, and it didn’t really catch my attention. But Owen Meany had me hooked almost from the start.

Set in the Vietnam war era, and in the years just before and after, it tells the story of two young friends as they grow up together in a small town.

I found the heavy-handed use of foreshadowing and leaping back and forth in time to be a little much, but it turned out to be the hook everything hung on, so it’s worth putting up with. The story is great, and the characters are enjoyable and believable.

Apparently there’s been a movie loosely based on the book, but from what I can tell (I haven’t see it) it leaves out the parts of the story that I found the most interesting.