Today I learned that the best novel ever written is A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving.
Okay, well, maybe the mantle of "best novel ever written" is given a little loosey-goosey here, but I'll tell you the following things:
1. Dave and Sarah are never getting this copy back. Ever. Because:
2. I'm going to read this again and again.
3. It made me weep like a baby.
4. I will never ever write anything even approaching something this good, though it's nice to have a benchmark to aim for.
5. I really like the name Owen.
It's a seriously good book. If I was an English teacher, I'd try to put this on the curriculum. It's a perfect literary book for non-literary people. Penetrable, you know?
I don't think I'm giong to read anything else by Irving. I know it won't be as good.
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3 comments:
Damn! Now I've gotta go back and re-read it. And it'll be harder this time, cause I'm all illiterate and junk.
Despite what I said, there are other Irving books worth reading. Try The Hotel New Hampshire (because it'll have you rooting for the brother and sister to sleep with one another), and The Cider House Rules (because it doesn't involve midgets, bears, and wrestling--like every other John Irving book.)
I also love this book. It's great, and then about 3/4 of the way through (I won't go into specifics unless you're not there yet), it gets FABULOUS.
Irving's other books are not as good but are seriously fun reads. I agree with Dave -- I'd recommend the Hotel New Hampshire and Cider House Rules as starting points.
I should mention that this is TurtleHead, by the way :).
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