A Prayer for Owen Meany

By: John Irving

Narrated by: Joe Barrett

Length: 27 hrs and 19 mins

Publisher's summary

Earphones Award Winner (AudioFile Magazine)

Of all of John Irving's books, this is the one that lends itself best to audio. In print, Owen Meany's dialogue is set in capital letters; for this production, Irving himself selected Joe Barrett to deliver Meany's difficult voice as intended.

In the summer of 1953, two 11-year-old boys – best friends – are playing in a Little League baseball game in Gravesend, New Hampshire. One of the boys hits a foul ball that kills the other boy's mother. The boy who hits the ball doesn't believe in accidents; Owen Meany believes he is God's instrument. What happens to Owen after that 1953 foul ball is extraordinary and terrifying.

As an added bonus, when you purchase our Audible Modern Vanguard production of John Irving's book, you'll also get an exclusive Jim Atlas interview that begins when the audiobook ends.

Why we think it's a great listen: For 20 years, John Irving believed that his ambitious novel could never be adequately executed in audio – and then he met narrator Joe Barrett.... In the summer of 1953, two 11-year-old boys - best friends - are playing in a Little League baseball game in Gravesend, New Hampshire. One of the boys hits a foul ball that kills the other boy's mother. The boy who hits the ball doesn't believe in accidents; Owen Meany believes he is God's instrument.

This production is part of our Audible Modern Vanguard line, a collection of important works from groundbreaking authors.

©1989 Garp Enterprises Ltd (P)2008 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"This moving book comes across like a concerto in this audio version, with a soloist—Owen's voice—rising from the background of an orchestral narration. This book, one of the finest of its time, gets the narration that it deserves." ( AudioFile)

“John Irving, who writes novels in the unglamorous but effective way Babe Ruth used to hit home runs, deserves a medal not only for writing this book but for the way he has written it. . . . A Prayer for Owen Meany is a rare creation in the somehow exhausted world of late twentieth-century fiction—it is an amazingly brave piece of work . . . so extraordinary, so original, and so enriching. . . . Readers will come to the end feeling sorry to leave [this] richly textured and carefully wrought world.” (Stephen King)

"Roomy, intelligent, exhilarating, and darkly comic...Dickensian in scope....Quite stunning and very ambitious." ( Los Angeles Times Book Review)

Favorite

My most favorite book of all time! I’ve read it twice plus listened on Audible. I always recommend it.

An absolute joy!

One of my favourite books. Excellent narration. Moving, hilarious just wondrous. that is a mr Irving story.

Stunning Narration

This beautiful, compelling book becomes even grander in the narration. Don't miss listening to this one.

Great Book!

This is an Absolutely great book. at times hilarious, sometimes sad. Always relatable. The narration was nothing less than superb.

My first Irving, definitely not my last

I just loved this book, my only complaint was the long bible parts that I just tuned out. It is part of the story but I know next to nothing about religion. I have not really cried reading a book but this one made me. Not just a sniffle but a sob. I love Owen Meany and will never forget him.

Strong story and AMAZING audible performance.

As I note above, this was a strong story and an even more amazing Audible narrative performance.

One of my new favorites

Super entertaining and very moving ; hilarious laughing out loud and then crying! I’m sure I’ll be rereading quite often

Stunning and also frustrating

The characters in this book are built so completely, and with such detail I have to remind myself they don’t actually exist. The story is compelling and mysterious and drives you forward with only occasional loss of energy. It’s touching and entertaining, and smacks of realness, particularly in the coming of age portions. The underlying message is not direct or blunt enough to ruin the enjoyment of the read and honestly, I think those complaining about the religious aspects of the story are missing the point; the actual stance on faith and religion in this book is not at all rosy or clear-cut. I agree with the complaints that the non-linear story-telling flow damages some of the impact of certain events, particularly near the very end. I saw some of the twists/reveals coming from halfway through the book and it watered down what was meant to be a powerful sense of awe and surprise. The narrator passes overly-harsh judgements on several characters, the idea being that they deserved it due to their actions and the impact of them but the narrator deals out vitriol so intensely it comes across cruel, and ends up making him seem like a self-righteous asshole, particularly as it relates to characters with clear mental illness. The book suffers a little from its era, I’m sure the anti war message hit harder in 1989 but the specific examples from that era have lost some of their power with the passage of time, some of the examples of warmongering behavior seem quaint compared to the atrocities we’ve seen in the decades since.

All in all this is a big, engaging, messy, and weird story that is well worth delving into.

My new favorite Narrator!

This is an excellently written story. It’s hard to put down. The narrator created an original voice for every character and made the story come alive. Wow. I’ll look for more books by John Irving.

Incredible

Incredibly moving. Owen Meany is the most inspiring character in all of literature. Owen’s life as told by Johnny is a love letter of the greatest caliber.