137 pages into "A Prayer for Owen Meany" and I've decided to give up. I wanted to love this book as much as "The World According to Garp," but I don't. There is no cohesive plot to the book, as far as I can see. The book isn't really "about" anything; it's more like a series of anecdotes which jump around in time. I didn't need the lecture on the Vietnam War or the endless comments of how Owen Meany was always right and could essentially predict the future.
I could probably get more out of this novel if I kept reading it, but I'm really not invested in it and don't care to keep going.
And 40 or so minutes into the film "The World According to Garp" I gave up. It's very different than the book; a lot is missing or changed from the book, which I don't appreciate (New York City instead of Vienna? No thank you. Also, I don't really care for Glenn Close's interpretation of Jenny; she's kind of a cold, superior bitch.). In general, though, the movie wasn't all that interesting; it looked like random snapshots of Garp's life with no real purpose. I don't know. Maybe I'll give it another shot.
But I don't want to completely give up on John Irving because I really did love "The World According to Garp." I'll try a different novel of his. But not "Cider House Rules." I saw that movie and I don't feel the need to read the book.
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