I took the chance and went to see Simon Birch this weekend. It is a sweet endeavor, and while Simon comes close to my imagined appearence of Owen, his voice seems nothing unusual. The central theme of Simon knowing he will be a hero is explored superficially, but the strong religous explorations of Owen Meany are lacking. The search for John's father is the most important plot point and given far more weight in the movie than in the novel. Still, it was a pleasent way to spend a few hours and Jan Hooks gives a fantastic performance. As far as Widow, I finsished it this summer and strongly disagree. I enjoyed it a great deal, and while it didn't have the puck of Owen, Garo or New Hampshire, it was still explored character in only the way Irving is today. That is all I'll spend on this off topic discussion. I digresses too much already. -- Sincerely, Marc Wondra Founder & Publisher roofbeam Magazine -- Where Words Count http://www.roofbeam.com