Trivia / A Prayer for Owen Meany

• Adaptation Title Change: The Film of the Book is titled Simon Birch, itself an Adaptational Name Change for the title character Owen Meany. This change was in part because John Irving wanted to distance himself from the adaptation, claiming it had very little to do with the story he wrote.
• Reality Subtext: Johnny's search for his biological father mirrors the experience of John Irving himself, who grew up never knowing who his own father was, as his relatives all but forbade from even asking about him. Irving came to believe his father must have been some sort of monster to warrant such protectiveness.
• Word of Gay: John Wheelwright. The author has said that he made it apparent that Johnny loves Owen, but kept it more subtle that he is in love with him. Perhaps a bit too subtle, though, since many readers don't pick up on this at all, despite John never sleeping with a girl and being called a "non-practicing homosexual" in later life. The issue of Johnny's sexuality seems to be more complex than that, though. While it's possible, even likely, that he has homoromantic feelings for his best friend, he is clearly described- at least when he's a kid- as being very much attracted to girls. The problem is that they are just as firmly not attracted to him.