A prayer for Owen Meany: a novel by John Irving

Author:John Irving
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Death, Male friendship, Modern & contemporary fiction (post c 1945), Fiction, Literary, War & Military, Psychological fiction, Young men, Mothers - Death, Predestination, Birthfathers, Classic fiction, John - Prose & Criticism, Irving, Fiction - General, Boys, New Hampshire, Religious fiction, Vietnam War, Mothers, United States, Military, Sports, Friendship, History, Vietnamese Conflict, General, Psychological, General & Literary Fiction, 1961-1975, Belief and doubt, 1961-1975 - United States
ISBN: 9780679642596
Publisher: Random House, Inc.
Published: 2002-03-15T06:21:23.968000+00:00

"Yes, I see," Dr. Dolder said. "Are you tired now? Are you getting tired?"

"It's the spelling," I told him. "The spelling and the reading."

There were photographs on the wall of his office in the Hubbard Infirmary-they were old black-and-white photographs of the clockfaces on the church spires in Zurich; and photographs of the water birds in the Limmat, and of the people feeding the birds from those funny, arched footbridges. Many of the people wore hats; you could almost hear those cathedral clocks sounding the hour. Dr. Dolder had a quizzical expression on his long, goat-shaped face; his silver-white Vandyke beard was neatly trimmed, but the doctor often tugged its point.

"A baseball," he said thoughtfully. "Next time, you will bring a baseball-yes?"

"Yes, of course," I said.

"And this little baseball-hitter-The Voice, yes?-I would very much like to talk to him, too," said Dr. Dolder.

"I'll ask Owen if he's free," I said.

"NOT A CHANCE," said Owen Meany, when I asked him. "THERE'S NOTHING THE MATTER WITH MY SPELLING!"

Toronto: May , -I regret that I had the right change to get The Globe and Mail out of the street-corner box; I had three dimes in my pocket, and a sentence in a front-page article proved irresistible. "It was unclear how Mr. Reagan intended to have his Administration maintain support for the contras while remaining within the law."

Since when did Mr. Reagan care about "remaining within the law"? I wish the president would spend a weekend with a Miami model; he could do a lot less harm that way. Think how relieved the Nicaraguans would be, if only for a weekend! We ought to find a model for the president to spend every weekend with! If we could tire the old geezer out, he wouldn't be capable of more damaging mischief. Oh, what a nation of moralists the Americans are! With what fervor do they relish bringing their sexual misconduct to light! A pity that they do not bring their moral outrage to bear on their president's arrogance above the law; a pity that they do not unleash their moral zest on an administration that runs guns to terrorists. But, of course, boudoir morality takes less imagination, and can be indulged in without the effort of keeping up with world affairs-or even bothering to know "the whole story" behind the sexual adventure. It's sunny again in Toronto today; the fruit trees are blossoming-especially the pears and apples and crab apples. There's a chance of showers. Owen liked the rain. In the summer, in the bottom of a quarry, it could be brutally hot, and the dust was always a factor; the rain cooled the rock slabs, the rain held the dust down. "ALL QUARRYMEN LIKE RAIN," said Owen Meany. I told my Grade English class that they should reread what Hardy called the first ' 'phase'' of Tess of the d' Urber-villes, the part called "The Maiden"; although I had drawn their attention to Hardy's fondness for foreshadowing, the class was especially sleepyheaded at spotting these devices.

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