John Irving has a lot of great books out there, though this post will focus on two that I really enjoyed: A Prayer for Owen Meany and Cider House Rules. Both of these books had interesting characters and plots – unique is a word I kept coming back to when trying to describe these stories.

A Prayer for Owen Meany. Love it when I laugh out loud in one chapter and cry in the next. The characters in the book are fascinating and I could relate to many of them. Owen Meany is a unique character – God’s instrument or manipulative child or just a really strange guy? Or all of the above? Owen is both brilliant and exasperating. He could be a victim, but instead he learns to harness his power – his intelligence, his voice, his ability to move people to do what he wants them to do. He would probably drive me crazy at times. His ability to “know” what was going on was unnerving. However, he also had a sweet and caring side. Owen is a brilliant, damaged kid who becomes, at least externally, a normal guy. As an adult, he has a girlfriend and a career, He interacts with people. Internally, his reasons for choosing his career and his path in life is determined by “a dream” and he downplays his intelligence.

On the other hand, Johnny is the “normal” kid who becomes a damaged man. As a child, he is likable and not a great student. As an adult, he has few friends, is angry and bitter, is unsure about what to do, and has a somewhat stunted life. He learns to embrace his strengths and a love of learning and reading. That Owen and Johnny are friends is lovely. They really stick up for each other and are each other’s best friends.

The other characters in the book are well-drawn and nuanced. They have good qualities and bad, which is always a positive thing in a book. They seem like people I grew up with – neighbors, family, people I’d see in town. So many details that were interesting enough to be real and little quirky things, but life has quirky elements so that worked. The story is sometimes laugh-out-loud funny and other times, heartbreaking.

It was a story that sometimes required suspension of disbelief … or maybe just an extra dose of faith. It reminded me a little of Life of Pi by Yann Martel in that I wanted to believe in something magical or something spiritual – and in both cases, I was convinced to go along for the ride. That’s good writing.

Cider House Rules. I enjoyed the book, though thought it dragged a bit here and there. I was a little surprise at how the story unfolded. Not every story has to keep me on the edge of my seat, but if what happens is going to be fairly obvious, the story could at least move along faster! This one seemed to be both slow and predictable. That said, the topic and the dilemmas faced by the characters were interesting enough to keep me engaged.

The story focuses on choices and rules at an orphanage and clinic in Maine, and on not only understanding the choices and rules of other people but also one’s own choices and rules. What is right and wrong? What conditions may cause a person to change their mind? How can we judge others when we all make compromises and mistakes along the way? How can we help others? How can we be useful?

I found Dr. Larch very compelling, as he saw a certain hard reality in life and did not sugar-coat that reality. Instead, he responded and he did things that he wasn’t necessarily happy about, but that were needed. He understood the nuances of people’s lives and their opportunities and their options. He understood that many opportunities and options were actually quite limited when you look closely. He didn’t judge the women who came to him for services, though he sometimes judged those who had more options and had greater power in certain situations.

I admired the fact that he made an effort to focus on the important things and not get too caught up in the nonsense – at least until near the end of his life, when his crankiness became more prominent! The rules part of the story was interesting as well, as most of the characters had their own sets of rules, in addition to some of the more general/institutional/common ones. These rules informed their choices, so it was important to see what people were thinking and which elements were given priority. One of the compelling parts of this story was the ability to help others, even if their decisions differ from ones you would make.