I read “A Prayer for Owen Meany” at least once a year. It’s so brilliant that at first I didn’t understand why I loved it. It’s the first book I can remember reading in which all of the characters, especially the protagonist, are flawed. The story of fate and goodness and innocence never surrendered even in the face of the harsh realities of an unforgiving world always makes me contemplate how little we really know about why we do what we do. It’s a complicated, inspiring story.
And no matter what your politics or beliefs, “The Cider House Rules” should be required reading for anyone who wants a reminder of the gritty reality of life before abortion was legal. Talk about imperfect but inspiring characters. “Goodnight you Princes of Maine, you Kings of New England!” is not just a bedtime sendoff but a rallying cry and a reminder that even an unwanted orphan can rise from his circumstances.
“The World According to Garp” opened my young eyes to the differences that divide us even though they shouldn’t. I wish, and I believe Irving does as well, that the fear, hatred, and bigotry his characters faced in the 70s were in our past. Instead, they endure today. That makes his characters and his writing even more important.
These are just three of Irving’s novels. All of his books, though, share his openness to exploring the darker side of humanity, the weirder tendencies, and fringe ideas that make us such a fascinating species.
Though I don’t write literary fiction and would never be so bold as to expect to ever be compared to the great John Irving, I do hope to bring a sense of literary purpose to my works. Themes as well as thrills. Reality soaked fiction where nobody is pure evil or perfectly good. Because my heroes, fictional and real, have never been perfect.
