March 2009 Host: Karen

A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving

Summary

Amazon.com Review

Owen Meany is a dwarfish boy with a strange voice who accidentally kills his best friend's mom with a baseball and believes--accurately--that he is an instrument of God, to be redeemed by martyrdom. John Irving's novel, which inspired the 1998 Jim Carrey movie Simon Birch, is his most popular book in Britain, and perhaps the oddest Christian mystic novel since Flannery O'Connor's work. Irving fans will find much that is familiar: the New England prep-school-town setting, symbolic amputations of man and beast, the Garp-like unknown father of the narrator (Owen's orphaned best friend), the rough comedy. The scene of the doltish headmaster driving a trashed VW down the school's marble staircase is a marvelous set piece. So are the Christmas pageants Owen stars in. But it's all, as Highlights magazine used to put it, "fun with a purpose." When Owen plays baby Jesus in the pageants, and glimpses a tombstone with his death date while enacting A Christmas Carol, the slapstick doesn't cancel the fact that he was born to be martyred. The book's countless subplots add up to a moral argument, specifically an indictment of American foreign policy--from Vietnam to the Contras.
The book's mystic religiosity is steeped in Robertson Davies's Deptford trilogy, and the fatal baseball relates to the fatefully misdirected snowball in the first Deptford novel, Fifth Business. Tiny, symbolic Owen echoes the hero of Irving's teacher Günter Grass's The Tin Drum--the two characters share the same initials. A rollicking entertainment, Owen Meany is also a meditation on literature, history, and God. --Tim Appelo --This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

Discussion

-Not everyone finished the book, including myself (ergo borrowed review). We all agreed that this was an excellent piece of fiction, even if this book is unique and a bit off the beaten path.

-The author is very good at weaving satire through what are normally serious subjects such as religion, politics and death.

-Owen Meany believes that he is God's instrument. He freely tells this to people, all the time. Even though many in our group weren't able to finish this book in time for our discussion, we were able to discuss a couple of different themes that occur throughout the book: Owen's voice, the Armadillo, the dressmaker's dummy, and the baseball.

-Irving's style is engaging. His use of CAPITAL LETTERS for OWEN'S VOICE was distracting to some in our group, however it was effective in getting the point across that Owen's voice was, well different. His voice becomes an instrument and important piece of the ending where everything comes together.

-Along the way you get to know the characters and start to feel as if you are part of their odd yet intriguing family. Irving has a unique style, and you feel like you are in Owen and John's world. We get a glimpse of John as an older man and it makes you wonder what Owen would have been like in his 30s, 40s etc.

-In the end, you finally see why Irving has put together all of these miscellaneous pieces of a puzzle--the significance of the Armadillo is revealed, the dressmaker's dummy brings the Rev. back to God, the baseball and the death of Owen's mother eventually reveals to us who John's father is, and you finally understand why on earth Owen and John have to get their basketball shot down under 4 seconds.

-It's a compelling book that is sure to leave an imprint on you for a long time after you've finished reading the book.

Menu

Spring Vegetable Salad with Buttermilk Dressing

Perogies

Cabbage Rolls

Pork and Saurkraut

Pie, cake and ice cream

Spring Vegetable Salad with Buttermilk Dressing

Ingredients

1 ½ cups asparagus, cut into 2-inch lengths
10 medium baby carrots, halved lengthwise if thick
1 cup sugar snap peas, stem ends snipped
1 medium English cucumber, halved lengthwise
1/3 cup buttermilk
3 tbsp reduced calorie mayonnaise
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
½ tsp Dijon mustard
¼ tsp table salt
¼ tsp black pepper, freshly ground
2 tbsp chives, fresh sliced
T tbsp dill, fresh, chopped
6 cups mixed baby greens
4 oz semi soft goat cheese, crumbled

Bring a large skillet half full of water to a boil. Add asparagus and carrots; cook 1 minute. Add sugar snap peas; cook until vegetables are crisp-tender, about 1 to 2 minutes more. Drain, rinse under cold water until cool and drain again. Put vegetables in a medium bowl and add cucumbers; toss to mix.

In a small bowl, whisk together buttermilk, mayonnaise, vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper until smooth; stir in chives and dill.

To serve, place 1 1/2 cups of salad greens on each of 4 salad plates. Place about 1 cup of vegetable mixture in center of each; drizzle each with about 3 tablespoons of dressing and 1 ounce of goat cheese.

Perogies

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg, beaten
2/3 cup cold water
1 pound bacon
5 pounds baking potatoes
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 pound bacon
1 (32 ounce) jar sauerkraut - drained, rinsed and minced
3 tablespoons sour cream
salt and pepper to taste

To Make Dough: In a medium bowl combine the flour, salt, egg and water. Mix all together to form dough; cover bowl and set aside.

To Make Potato Filling: Place potatoes in a large pot. Add water to cover, bring to a boil, and boil for 25 to 35 minutes or until tender. Remove potatoes from water and mash. Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, crumble and stir into mashed potatoes. Stir in cheese and season with salt and pepper.

To Make Sauerkraut Filling: Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, crumble and place in a medium bowl. Stir in sauerkraut, then sour cream. Mix well.

Roll reserved dough out on a floured surface. Cut circles out of dough, using a small round container. Place a spoonful of potato or sauerkraut filling in the center of each circle and fold over, pinching edges together to seal. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil; drop perogies in boiling water and cook for 4 to 5 minutes, or until they float.

Cabbage Rolls

Ingredients

12 leaves cabbage
1 cup cooked white rice
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup minced onion
1 pound extra-lean ground beef
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 1/4 teaspoons ground black pepper
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Boil cabbage leaves 2 minutes; drain.
In large bowl, combine 1 cup cooked rice, egg, milk, onion, ground beef, salt, and pepper. Place about 1/4 cup of meat mixture in center of each cabbage leaf, and roll up, tucking in ends. Place rolls in slow cooker.
In a small bowl, mix together tomato sauce, brown sugar, lemon juice, and Worcestershire sauce. Pour over cabbage rolls.
Cover, and cook on Low 8 to 9 hours.

Pork and Saurkraut

Ingredients

3-4 pound pork loin
1 28 ounce can saurkraut
1 tbsp garlic cloves
Salt and pepper to taste

Pour some of juice from can of saurkraut into slow cooker. Place pork roast in slow cooker. Place garlic cloves on top of roast and salt and pepper to taste. Pour can of saurkraut over roast and cook on low 8-9 hours. So easy!