A Prayer for Owen Meany

by John Irving

book data

27,706 ratings, 4.21 average rating, 2,951 reviews (more data...)

rating	frequency	%
5		48%
4		31%
3		14%
2		4%
1		1%

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published

June 23rd 1997 (first published 1988) by Ballantine Books

binding

Paperback, 560 pages

characters

Owen Meany, John Wheelwright

isbn

0345417976 (isbn13: 9780345417978)

description

Owen Meany is a dwarfish boy with a strange voice who accidentally kills his best friend's mom with a baseball and believes--accurately--that he is an...more

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07/15/07

Marty rated it:

(review of isbn 0345361792)

bookshelves: classics, favorites, fiction, storyteller

Read in January, 2003

recommends it for: everyone

A long time ago, I came across a story that my grandmother recommended. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I definitely hadn’t expected to read what would become my favorite book. The story begins as many do, giving background on the area that will provide the setting for our tale, a history as reference, but quickly catches up with the main characters and the supporting cast. And we quickly learn of Johnny and Owen Meany, two friends who forge an eternal bond despite their obvious mismatch...more

Like this review? yes (13 people liked it)

2 comments

08/10/07

Jason rated it:

Read in July, 2007

recommends it for: Jesus Christ

I've been on a huge John Irving kick recently, and man, am I glad I didn't start with this book because I might have aborted the whole thing before I had a chance to read some of his better works.

This one just didn't do it for me. Whereas I left other Irving novels feeling recharged and alive, I left this one pissed off and ready to drink cheap tequila until I blacked out and woke up in a new world where there are no books or stories or any sort of entertainment derived from the writ...more I've been on a huge John Irving kick recently, and man, am I glad I didn't start with this book because I might have aborted the whole thing before I had a chance to read some of his better works.

This one just didn't do it for me. Whereas I left other Irving novels feeling recharged and alive, I left this one pissed off and ready to drink cheap tequila until I blacked out and woke up in a new world where there are no books or stories or any sort of entertainment derived from the written word.

First of all, I think Irving has a habit of using his novel's narrators as a stand in for himself, which is fine, since he seems like and incredibly interesting dude, but here I felt like he was just going through the motions "Oh, ok, here's my main character, and he's different than me, uh, because we have different names and um...different parents...anyway, yeah, that's how we're different ok story time now!!!" it was a thin disguise at best and didn't work for me at all.

My second problem was the structure. The book takes place over the span of about 30 years, and sometimes events from all thirty were addressed in a single page. Which is fine, if it works, but I felt like he was trying to go for an "omni-present" narrative that ended up being muddled.

I also think the book might work better for people who are a little older than myself. A large part of the story deals with the Vietnam war and it's relation to the Iran Contra scandal. While these passages were in no way "lacking" it did seem like they were aimed for people who were alive during that time, and could share in Irving's (obvious) outrage. Side note - I found myself finding a bazillion (yes, a bazillion) similarities between the national atmosphere in '68, and now.

Oh, and while I love Irving's knack for the unusual, here it seemed like every other page he was trying to force a "classic" situation, wherein unusual characters meet in an unusual situation that illuminates their nature in the most unusual of ways. It got so bad that at times I felt like I was reading a sitcom.

There were a few bright spots. I was genuinely moved by Owen's character, and I thought he served as a wonderful example of how Christ could have been at once holy, and flawed.

Gah - The thing is, Irving is a new love in my life, and like any new love, I wanted it to be perfect. But he isn't and that's fine because who wants perfection anyway but goddamn I wanted to love this one.

Um, yes. Ok, well, I'm giving it two stars - but two stars for Irving is four for most other authors.(less)

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8 comments

02/22/07

Nathan rated it:

(review of isbn 0552135399)

Read in March, 2007

recommends it for: Someone really bored

I gave this book three stars because I figure that's the average of five stars and one star. Some of the things about this book were great; others were really terrible.

Irving's strong-point is definitely his ability to draw interesting characters in vivid--sometimes painful--detail. Owen, of course, is the central and most interesting character. He's a little runt of a boy with a bizarre voice, a sarcastic wit, an iron will, and an unwavering faith in God and in the fact that he i...more I gave this book three stars because I figure that's the average of five stars and one star. Some of the things about this book were great; others were really terrible.

Irving's strong-point is definitely his ability to draw interesting characters in vivid--sometimes painful--detail. Owen, of course, is the central and most interesting character. He's a little runt of a boy with a bizarre voice, a sarcastic wit, an iron will, and an unwavering faith in God and in the fact that he is an instrument of God's will. In stark contrast to Owen's miraculous life stands Owen's best friend and the narrator of the story, John. We get two views of John. Most of the book consists of John narrating his childhood and telling the story of Owen Meany. The childhood John is self-conscious, indecisive, and unmotivated. The other view comes from periodic scenes of the middle-aged, mundane John who now lives in Toronto and invariably launches into long and bitter rants against the United States and its foreign policy. The reason for the rants becomes clear by the end of the book, but that doesn't make them any more enjoyable.

Many of the supporting characters are also interesting. I really liked John's grandmother, Mrs. Wheelwright, who is a sort of New England, old-money royalty. John's sexually charged and extremely rambunctious cousins are usually comical, and Reverend Louis Merrill is sort of tragically lovable.

The plot, on the other hand, is incredibly long and wandering. Though parts of the narrative are moderately gripping, often the story drags along. Irving keeps you reading not with intense plot development, but rather with an intense curiosity to find out what the big deal is about Owen Meany. While the ending is good--very good, in my opinion--Irving has built up your anticipation so much, that by the time it finally happens, it almost doesn't have a prayer (pardon the pun) of meeting your expectations.

While there are several themes in the book, the most important, in my opinion, seems to be that of faith vs. doubt. Owen's incredibly strong faith is contrasted with John's lack of faith during his childhood, and his passive, "church-rummage" faith during his adult life (which, we are told on the first page, John credits to the "miracle" of Owen Meany). The Reverend Louis Merrill also seems to be a more important character than his relatively small roll would suggest, and his self-admitted personal philosophy is the paradoxical "doubt as the essence of faith." In one of the more ironic passages of the book (slight spoiler warning...), Rev. Merrill's doubt is finally dispelled not through the miraculous events surrounding Owen Meany, but through a very mundane and spiteful prank.

The problem is that none of the book's myriad of themes and symbols was particularly interesting to me. The central theme discussed above seems to hold such potential, but in the end I didn't feel any more enlightened than I started. Often with books I find myself identifying with one particular character. That didn't happen with this book, and I think that impeded my ability to glean insight from the story.

Overall, I'm glad I read it. I'd be interested to hear what other's have to say about it.(less)

Like this review? yes (7 people liked it)

1 comment

03/29/08

Penny rated it:

(review of isbn 0552135399)

Read in March, 1996

I've been giving too many four star reviews lately, so thought I'd mix it up with a review of a book I have conflicted feelings about. Thus, two stars for Owen Meany. Which, by the way, is my favorite of the John Irving novels I've read. Not a fan.

I enjoyed many elements of Owen Meany as I read it. Liked the narrator's family (mother, grandmother, cousins) and the business with the stuffed armadillo. Liked his description of his school days, and thought that the section in which Owe...more I've been giving too many four star reviews lately, so thought I'd mix it up with a review of a book I have conflicted feelings about. Thus, two stars for Owen Meany. Which, by the way, is my favorite of the John Irving novels I've read. Not a fan.

I enjoyed many elements of Owen Meany as I read it. Liked the narrator's family (mother, grandmother, cousins) and the business with the stuffed armadillo. Liked his description of his school days, and thought that the section in which Owen transfixes the town with his performances as Baby Jesus and the Ghost of Christmas Future was beautifully realized. At the end, however, I came to think that, a) Owen had basically ruined his best friend's life, and b) God (or at least John Irving) had really messed up with his big plan for Owen.

The second point first. I'll try to avoid spoilers, but it is clear from the beginning of the book that Owen is a character with a predestined fate. He sees a vision in his childhood and then spends his life working to realize it. Because he is smart and driven (and, he and the narrator believe, guided by God), he becomes a substantial personality in his school. Irving does a great job reminding the readers how powerful a figure a high school leader can be.

Then you get to the climax and we find the meaning of Owen's fate. And I must say, I found it a huge let-down. I thought -- all those clues, all that dedication by this exceptional person, for THIS? Its as if God saw that some guy was going to cause a big multi-car pile-up and thought, I know, I'll have Michelangelo's David fall on top of him and that will prevent the big car accident. The David will be smashed, but hey. I mean, you figure that the tool will be matched to the job that needs to be accomplished. There must have been other ways for God to bring about the events in the climax.

Then, the relationship between Owen and the narrator (whose name, rather appropriately, I've forgotten). Owen was the leading figure and the narrator his best buddy, Ron Weasley to his Harry Potter. The narrator is consumed by thoughts of his friend and his story (he is the one offering the prayer of the title). But it seems to me that he has failed to realize his own life, and his brilliant friend has contributed to that. Owen actively obstructs his friend from participating in some life experiences -- joining the military for example or, I think, feeling comfortable and confident sexually. Early in the book, you find out that the narrator does not know the identity of his father: Owen tells him that at very least, he knew his father had slept with his mother, so when he feels lustful this is a connection and clue (actually, Owen seems more interested in this question than the narrator does). The narrator is, let's say, no Lothario, and I wondered if Owen's suggestion had made him connect desire with the abandonment of his mother. At any rate, what little life force the narrator has seems to be concentrated on thoughts of his friend -- he saw Owen's potential but not his own.

So ultimately, I found Owen Meany an interesting and engaging book until the end, when suddenly the entire outcome became a downer and based on moral premises I found highly questionable. I've been mad at Irving for making me care about Owen and his friend ever since. (less)

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06/22/07

Ashley rated it:

(review of isbn 0552135399)

bookshelves: currentlyreading

Read in June, 2007

a whole-hearted kind of irving novel. my irving kick started with the cider house rules and burned quickly through garp (good to start with the classics), a widow for one year (didn't like very much), hotel new hampshire, and then owen meany. irving has a kind of roundness and soulfulness on the one hand that really brings you into the characters. they have full and complex voices and sometimes nearly inscrutable relationships. hardly any other authors i can think of have such a light touch that...more

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06/04/07

Davis rated it:

bookshelves: favorites, fiction

Read in May, 2007

recommends it for: everyone!

I reread this book about once every four years or so. For a long time, I counted it as my single most favorite book in the whole world ever. After this past reading about a month or so ago, I still place it on my favorites shelf, but no longer defend Owen Meany's place as the best book I have ever read.

Don't get me wrong, it's definitely a great read. This book is written in the first person, but the main character is the narrator's best friend, Owen Meany. Owen is a very gifted ...more

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12/31/07

Tom rated it:

(review of isbn 0345361792)

bookshelves: my-favorites

I'm sure you can read a million reviews about this book. It seems to be many people's favorite. Let me just say that I have read 5 or 6 John Irving books, and this is the only one that is much more than a good story. About 10 years ago I was assisting a photography class for adults, and one of the particpants, a minister, saw that I was reading this book. He said that A prayer for Owen Meany had more to say about the nature of God than anything he had ever read. We had a fabulous conversation ab...more

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10/18/08

Jil rated it:

Has a copy to sell/swap — Read in December, 2008

recommended to Jil by: Micah's mother
recommends it for: the faithful, the political, the tiny

Much like Garcia Marquez's Vivir Para Contarlo, this book took FOREVER, and I sometimes felt embarrassed to have been carrying it around for weeks. I felt obligated to apologize to people: "I swear I'm a fast reader! I've just had a lot of work to do, and... this fucking thing is 550 pages!"

Somehow, though, it never felt that long. It never felt tedious, I mean; it felt long in the sense that it seemed I had known Owen and Johnny forever. It felt long in that the passage o...more Much like Garcia Marquez's Vivir Para Contarlo, this book took FOREVER, and I sometimes felt embarrassed to have been carrying it around for weeks. I felt obligated to apologize to people: "I swear I'm a fast reader! I've just had a lot of work to do, and... this fucking thing is 550 pages!"

Somehow, though, it never felt that long. It never felt tedious, I mean; it felt long in the sense that it seemed I had known Owen and Johnny forever. It felt long in that the passage of time was steady and purposeful, never choppy, but never sluggish. In these 550 pages, I became introduced to a world so rich and so comic that I felt entirely a part of it, familiar with every character and every nuance.

I had seen Simon Birch when I was 8 or so; I remember being horrified because one of the boys says, "You look like shit," and I had never heard the s-word in a movie before. I found out the movie was based on this book before I started reading it, and throughout the first half, scenes from the movie kept flashing into my head. As the book progressed, though, the story changed entirely and lost a lot of what made it so powerful.

The religious part of this book, I'll admit, was nearly lost on me - that is to say, I understood and appreciated the language, but I am so entirely unfaithful, so entirely non-believing, that a good chunk of the book's theme was just unrelatable for me. Still, Irving presented Owen's (and later, Johnny's) beliefs in such a compelling, sincere, and apolitical way that I couldn't help but be admiring of their faith rather than cynical.

Further, the political themes in this play were SO compelling that everything else had been shit, it still would have been a masterpiece. Reading Owen Meany's assessment of Kennedy: "I THINK HE'S A KIND OF SAVIOR... HE'S GOT SOMETHING WE NEED", his hope and optimism and belief in a better government, was incredibly resounding after Obama's election. It's a bit sad, too; the optimism for Kennedy obviously didn't pan out, and one can only hope that the cyclical nature of poor government doesn't continue. This cyclical nature is painfully evident in the narrator's complaints about the Vietnam war and later, the Iran-Contra scandal - he laments a government so willing to put boys in an unjust war, so willing to lie to its people. Obviously, things have not changed at all. But like Owen Meany, I will have faith in something - in this case, faith that things will get better - even if there is no evidence to support it. (less)

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07/27/07

Jenni rated it:

(review of isbn 0552135399)

bookshelves: fiction

I'm reading this again after several years and I have to say it's still a great story. Last time I was in my late teens, and now I can appreciate the craft of his storytelling on a different level. First off, how he manipulates time, and does it so seamlessly is just amazing. One can learn a great deal about easing in and out of time periods from Irving because you barely notice the time shifts, even though they can be as large as a decade between paragraphs. For the first 100 or so pages, he mo...more

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08/14/08

Choupette rated it:

(review of isbn 0552135399)

bookshelves: 1001-books, to-be-re-read

Read in April, 2008

recommended to Choupette by: 1001

I liked this book. I didn't find it powerful, or moving - it wasn't one of those books that seemed to have singled me out at a crowded party, taken me to a quiet bedroom and stolen my literary virginity - but I enjoyed it. It never dragged, was never boring, always entertaining, often good for a laugh... but I don't think I quite got it.

I was waiting for something more spectacular to happen at the end. That there was all this build up just for him to do something that I won't spoil h...more

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8 comments

11/20/08

N.M. rated it:

(review of isbn 0552135399)

bookshelves: currently-reading, just-finished

Now that I've stopped weeping, I can say that I'm just amazed at this book. Yes, it feels dated and it is long but certainly worth it. Owen Meany is one of the most memorable characters in modern fiction. The Vietnam sections, in light of Iraq, are moving and certainly makes one feel uncomfortable about the direction of the country today. Hopefully we can rewrite our own ending and look forward to a new day.

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12 comments

12/18/06

Courtney rated it:

(review of isbn 0552135399)

bookshelves: fiction

Read in July, 1996

recommends it for: anyone - funny and poignant

Irving's books are filled with oddly endearing characters and off-center humor. Owen Meany is a little person with a strange voice who believes he is the instrument of God after he kills his friend's mom with a baseball. Often hilarious and poignant, this is a fun, engrossing read.

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10/21/08

Kerfe rated it:

(review of isbn 0552135399)

Read in October, 2008

The characters and stories in this book linger. It's messy with contradiction. Religion, faith and doubt, politics, war, life and death, truth, sex, family, education, America, the nature of love and friendship, growing up (or not)--all bases are covered, denied, embraced, refused, embellished and stripped bare.

Moving between the narrator John Wheelwright's present, during the Reagan administration, and his youth in the 50's and 60's in a small New Hampshire town, the central charac...more

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05/06/08

Skylar Burris rated it:

(review of isbn 0552135399)

bookshelves: general-fiction

Read in June, 2008

This is a well written book, with unique characters, and it was a "good read," but I don't think I can say I actually liked it. A Prayer for Owen Meany, despite the narrator's insistence that the Resurrection is the heart of Christianity, presents a joyless Christianity. Christ said, "I have come to give you life, and to give it more abundantly," yet no Christian in this story seems to have an "abundant" life.

I noticed that all of the characters who are...more This is a well written book, with unique characters, and it was a "good read," but I don't think I can say I actually liked it. A Prayer for Owen Meany, despite the narrator's insistence that the Resurrection is the heart of Christianity, presents a joyless Christianity. Christ said, "I have come to give you life, and to give it more abundantly," yet no Christian in this story seems to have an "abundant" life.

I noticed that all of the characters who are representatives of Christianity, even Owen Meany, seem to have one thing in common: their Christianity is a Christianity without joy. There is the narrator, who is isolated, lonely, judgmental, and bitter, constantly condemning the Pharisees; there is the minister whose faith is dry, whose belief is purely academic, whose family is portrayed as dead inside; there are the parents who are burdened by the weight of superstition and live an almost ghostly existence. Even the hero's Christianity, the Christianity that is the narrator's ideal, the Christianity of Owen Meany, is ultimately a Christianity without joy. Owen has faith in God, but he is resigned, even bordering on fatalistic; he may arguably be content, but to me he seems to utterly lack joy. Like the narrator, he spends a great deal of his life judging others, and he is described as difficult to live with; at times he even seems miserable. The narrator (or Owen?) says: "watch out for people who call themselves religious; make sure you know what they mean—make sure they know they mean!" Does the narrator know what he means by "religious"? Does Owen Meany? Do they know what it means to be a "Christian"?

The narrator delights in railing against those he deems to be false Christians. He takes little pity on others for their lack of faith, though he himself wrestles with doubt; he has no mercy for politicians forced to make hard choices in a fallen world beset by sin. He spends a good part of the book raging with polemics against Americans, America, and Ronald Reagan, as well as against evangelical Christians. His best friend and hero Owen Meany would agree: "What's wrong with…them is that they're so sure they're right." But so too is Owen Meany "so sure" he's right, so too is the narrator; and with that assurance they condemn those who are not as they are.

The narrator does admit that his "lack of forgiveness" is the least Christian thing about him, and yet he does not seem to strive to do anything about it. For me, the lonely, isolated, embittered narrator is an uncomfortable reminder of how easy it is for any one of us to waste our lives in washing the outside of the cup and in pointing fingers of censure, instead of simply getting on with the business of living and loving and praying and serving and laughing. A Prayer for Owen Meany shows us a Christianity of mystery, of blood, of fate, and of miracles, but never a Christianity of joy.
(less)

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12/27/07

Kirstie rated it:

(review of isbn 0552135399)

Read in February, 1995

recommends it for: people who love literature

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 Hampsh...more

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02/08/08

Suzanne rated it:

(review of isbn 0345361792)

bookshelves: classic

I had read many Irving books but not this one until my sister recommended it. I agreed with her assessment that it is an extraordinarily fine piece of literature. What is just so "Irving" is his unpredictability in developing a character. He continues to write about life in a New England prep school yet finds a way to tell a story not yet told. The townies vs the preppies has been done before but not Owen the dwarf who accidently kills someone, and plays baby Jesus in the school Ch...more

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01/02/09

Antof9 rated it:

(review of isbn 0345363523)

bookshelves: 2005-read, made-me-cry, made-me-think, upsetting

Read in January, 2005

The review I wrote on BookCrossing, 5 months after I read it: The biggest problem in writing a journal entry for this book is that I read it about 6 months ago. *sigh* I had every intention of writing a journal entry right away, and even started one once, but had computer problems, and lost it before I ever saved. That was a good entry, too.

So.. . I did and didn't like this book. I'd love to talk to John Irving about it. Is this true? Quasi-true? Did he know someone sort of l...more

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08/11/08

Darby rated it:

(review of isbn 0552135399)

This is probably my all-time favorite. I've teach it in class from time to time, which is probably a mistake, as there are always students who feel the need to criticize it, something no one should do in my prescense! This book focuses on one of my favorite themes in literature: the power of that which we cannot see. In this case, the invisible power is faith - namely, Owen's faith in God. I'm not really a religious person at all, but this book was life-changing for me.

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01/09/08

Emma rated it:

(review of isbn 0552135399)

Read in November, 2006

This is quite possibly my favorite book of all time. I think that it is Irving at his best. There are events set out early on in the book that tie back in at the end beautifully. I finished this book on the bus from Mont st. Michelle and cried my eyes out. The characters were just believable enough and yet still stretched the bounds of what you would expect. I hope that someday I find a stuffed armadillo...

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06/25/08

Nicole Vecchiotti rated it:

(review of isbn 0552135399)

Might easily be the best book ever...Oh, Owen!

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Sometimes the first line of a book just grabs you by the nostrils and drags your fool head into its pages, preventing escape in any way, shape or form. Which of these opening lines has its phalanges most firmly planted in your nasal cavities?

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Neuromancer by William Gibson

30 votes, 2.6%

"Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show."

David Copperfield by Charles Dickens

16 votes, 1.4%

"If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don't feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth."

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

46 votes, 4.0%

"The sun shone, having no alternative, on the nothing new."

Murphy by Samuel Beckett

8 votes, 0.7%

"It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen."

1984 by George Orwell

34 votes, 3.0%

"Many years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendía was to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice."

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez

35 votes, 3.0%

"Every summer Lin Kong returned to Goose Village to divorce his wife, Shuyu."

Waiting by Ha Jin

9 votes, 0.8%

"Call me Ishmael."

Moby Dick by Herman Melville

16 votes, 1.4%

"In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit."

The Hobbit: Or There and Back Again by J.R.R. Tolkien

37 votes, 3.2%

"As Gregor Samsa awoke from a night of uneasy dreaming, he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect."

The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka

29 votes, 2.5%

"Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way."

Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

30 votes, 2.6%

"Mr and Mrs Dursley, of number four Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much."

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J.K. Rowling

37 votes, 3.2%

"Mother died today."

The Stranger by Albert Camus

15 votes, 1.3%

"When I was three and Bailey was four, we had arrived in the musty little town, wearing tags on our wrists which instructed - 'To Whom It May Concern' - that we were Marguerite and Bailey Johnson Jr., from Long Beach, California, en route to Stamps, Arkansas, c/o Mrs. Annie Henderson."

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

3 votes, 0.3%

"Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the western spiral arm of the Galaxy lies a small, unregarded yellow sun."

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

40 votes, 3.5%

"There was a hand in the darkness, and it held a knife."

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

42 votes, 3.7%

"Somewhere in la Mancha, in a place whose name I do not care to remember, a gentleman lived not long ago, one of those who has a lance and ancient shield on a shelf and keeps a skinny nag and a greyhound for racing."

Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra

5 votes, 0.4%

"Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins."

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov

30 votes, 2.6%

"Of Herbert West, who was my friend in college and in after life, I can speak only with extreme terror."

Herbert West: Reanimator and Other Stories by H.P. Lovecraft

4 votes, 0.3%

"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife."

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

57 votes, 5.0%

"When a day that you happen to know is Wednesday starts off by sounding like Sunday, there is something seriously wrong somewhere."

The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham

12 votes, 1.0%

"All children, except one, grow up."

Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie

34 votes, 3.0%

"My lady and I are being shut up in a tower for seven years"

Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale

4 votes, 0.3%

"'Barabbas came to us by sea', the child Clara wrote in her delicate calligraphy."

The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende

4 votes, 0.3%

"No one would have believed, in the last years of the nineteenth century, that this world was being watched keenly and closely by intelligences greater than man's and yet as mortal as his own; that as men busied themselves about their various concerns they were being scrutinized and studied, perhaps almost as narrowly as a man with a microscope might scrutinize the transient creatures that swarm and multiply in a drop of water."

The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells

17 votes, 1.5%

"Dr. Weiss, at forty, knew that her life had been ruined by literature."

The Debut by Anita Brookner

0 votes, 0.0%

"There was me, that is Alex, and my three droogs, that is Pete, Georgie and Dim and we sat in the Korova milkbar trying to make up our rassoodocks what to do with the evening."

A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess

13 votes, 1.1%

"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 Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving

28 votes, 2.4%

"It was a dark and stormy night; the rain fell in torrents, except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which swept up the streets (for it is in London that our scene lies), rattling along the house-tops, and fiercely agitating the scanty flame of the lamps that struggled against the darkness."

Paul Clifford by Edward George Bulwer-Lytton

5 votes, 0.4%

Bah! Foolish poll-maker-person! The nostril seizing power of these paltry lines is minimal, at best! Look to the comments section where I shall carefully type out my choice, which you have so imprudently omitted!

35 votes, 3.0%

1148 total votes

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