A Prayer for Owen Meany

A Profound and Moving Masterpiece of Faith, Fate, and Friendship

John Irving's monumental novel, A Prayer for Owen Meany, is the deeply emotional story of two friends growing up in a small New England town.

The narrator, John Wheelwright, tells the story of his lifelong, extraordinary friendship with Owen Meany, a diminutive, unlikely character who believes he is an instrument of God. Owen is responsible for the accident that killed John's mother, a singular event that bonds their lives forever.

As John tries to understand the complex threads of Owen’s existence—including his unique, unsettling voice and his profound, unwavering faith in destiny—he finds his life shaped by a single, powerful premonition of Owen's death. This is a brilliant, often darkly comedic, and deeply spiritual novel that rewards the reader with a powerful message about the courage of conviction and the enduring nature of love and friendship.