A Prayer for Owen Meany

Causalities and traumas of the Vietnam War, an accidental death caused by a fly baseball, a chopped finger (intentionally dismembered to avoid the draft), and fights and bullying among siblings are all here. There's also a traumatic scene involving a bomb and children, during which a main character dies.

John was born of an illicit love affair and much of the book is spent trying to find out who his father is; his mother calls him her "little fling." Breasts are a topic of discussion from early on, those of John's mother and also bawdy parishioner Barb Wiggins, who runs the Christmas pageant. As Owen and John become teenagers, they share many candid conversations about sex as they become sexually active (with varying degrees of success). And while the descriptions of sex aren't explicit, there's a lot of tempestuous behavior and plenty of talk about it. Hester's regarded as sexually promiscuous; one of her (many) divulged exploits was with a much older man. She and Owen end up having a romantic, sexual relationship.

All the big ones are in here -- "f--k," "s--t," "damn," "hell," "ass," "bitch," "goddam" are strewn liberally throughout the book.

Owen and John smoke cigarettes and drink to get drunk on several occasions. Many of the adult characters drink and smoke. Hester becomes known for her bawdy drunk behavior and gets drunk enough to throw up (in the grandmother's rose garden) every New Year's Eve.

Parents need to know that A Prayer for Owen Meany, American novelist John Irving's seventh novel, is about two childhood friends whose lives intersect with class, war, family, and faith. There are lots of mature themes in this darkly comedic read, particularly about politics, war, and religion, and there is some candid sex talk. There's drinking and smoking, sometimes to excess, destruction of property, causalities of war, and class issues. Though it's dense and challenging at times, A Prayer for Owen Meany is also a deeply affecting story with unforgettable characters and thought-provoking themes.