Re: John Irving

Marc Wondra (marc@roofbeam.com)
Mon, 14 Sep 1998 20:08:57 -0700

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