The Front Porch Prophet

The Front Porch Prophet
by Raymond L. Atkins

The Front Porch Prophet
List Price: $25.95
Our Price: $15.15
You Save: $10.80 (42%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions


(Click here)
Buy this book at online book store in your country
Canada | UK | Germany | France

Book Summary Information

Author: Raymond L. Atkins
Edition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2008-07-01
ISBN: 1933836385
Number of pages: 400
Publisher: Medallion Press

Book Reviews of The Front Porch Prophet

Book Review: Raymond Atkins is the Garrison Keillor of the South.
Summary: 5 Stars

I grew up listening to Garrison Keillor every Sunday morning on the radio, and I love his gentle, easygoing narratives of small-town life. Sequoyah, Georgia, Raymond L. Atkin's quirky town, is the Lake Wobegone of the South. The rural community is populated with a never-ending stream of strange characters. There's Hoghead, a cook who proudly makes the world's worst coffee and proudly posts the Daily Special in the front window every morning, as well as a cheerful Christian message. Unfortunately, he isn't too good at separating his thoughts, so you might see advertised "THE ROAD TO HELL IS PAVED WITH COUNTRY-FRIED STEAK" or "CHRIST DIED FOR THE BEST FRIED CHICKEN IN THE COUNTY." A.J.'s wife Maggie is pretty normal, except that all of her family members are named after famous authors, so her full name is Margaret Mitchell Callahan Longstreet, and her children are named Emily Charlotte (named for BOTH the Bronte sisters in a break with tradition), Harper Lee and James Joyce. Police officer Slim could be the twin brother of Hazzard County's Sheriff Roscoe. But everyone in the town basks in the glow of small-town friendliness, and the community happily takes its turn irritating and taking care of each other.


Part of the way Eugene amuses himself is by writing letters to all the people he knows to be sent after he dies. There's an excerpt from each one at the beginning of every chapter. Some of them are sweet, most of them are sarcastic (Being dead is not that bad. There are a lot of people here I know. In fact, most of them were your patients.) All of them hare hilarious.

The joy of this book comes from the variety of characters and their tangled relationships. It's really a fun read; page after page made me laugh like a hyena (I even snorted within hearing distance of some clients; that was embarrassing) but at the end I may have been sniffling a little bit. It's very authentic and comfortable; if The Front Porch Prophet were an article of clothing it would definitely be a soft, worn, slightly dirty brown leather jacket that's been heated in the sun so that it's snug and warm and has that perfect old-leathery smell to it.


Summary of The Front Porch Prophet

What do a trigger-happy bootlegger with pancreatic cancer, an alcoholic helicopter pilot who is afraid to fly, and a dead guy with his feet in a camp stove have in common? What are the similarities between a fire department that cannot put out fires, a policeman who has a historic cabin fall on him from out of the sky, and an entire family dedicated to a variety of deceased authors? Where can you find a war hero named Termite with a long knife stuck in his liver, a cook named Hoghead who makes the world?s worst coffee, and a supervisor named Pillsbury who nearly gets hung by his employees? Sequoyah, Georgia is the answer to all three questions. They arise from the relationship between A. J. Longstreet and his best friend since childhood, Eugene Purdue. After a parting of ways due to Eugene?s inability to accept the constraints of adulthood, he reenters A.J.?s life with terminal cancer and the dilemma of executing a mercy killing when the time arrives. Take this gripping journey to Sequoyah, Georgia and witness A.J.?s battle with mortality, euthanasia, and his adventure back to the past and people who made him what he is - and helps him make the decision that will alter his life forever.

Categories

Book Subjects
Most talked about in Categories
Computer Science Illuminated, Fourth Edition ImageComputer Science Illuminated, Fourth Edition
by Nell Dale
Jones and Bartlett Publishers, Inc.; Published: 2009-11-25; Paperback; Book
Best price: $56.03
Price in other shops: $101.95
Well Played 1.0: Video Games, Value and Meaning ImageWell Played 1.0: Video Games, Value and Meaning
by Drew Davidson
lulu.com; Published: 2010-03-30; Paperback; Book
Best price: $28.95
New Perspectives on the Internet: Comprehensive (New Perspectives (Course Technology Paperback)) ImageNew Perspectives on the Internet: Comprehensive (New Perspectives (Course Technology Paperback))
by Gary P. Schneider, Jessica Evans
Course Technology; Published: 2009-11-18; Paperback; Book
Best price: $91.95
Price in other shops: $130.95
Natural Hazards and Disasters ImageNatural Hazards and Disasters
by Donald Hyndman, David Hyndman
Brooks Cole; Published: 2008-04-03; Paperback; Book
Best price: $60.00
Price in other shops: $177.95
Dear and Glorious Physician. ImageDear and Glorious Physician.
by Taylor Caldwell
Doubleday; Published: 1959-06; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $39.99
Elspeth (Shadow of the Dragon) (Bk. 2) ImageElspeth (Shadow of the Dragon) (Bk. 2)
by Kate OHearn
Hodder Childrens; Published: 2009-05-21; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.42
One Hundred Years Of Solitude ImageOne Hundred Years Of Solitude
by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Picador; Published: 1978; Paperback; Book
Introductory Chemistry Essentials with  MasteringChemistry® (4th Edition) ImageIntroductory Chemistry Essentials with MasteringChemistry® (4th Edition)
by Nivaldo J. Tro
Prentice Hall; Published: 2011-01-24; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $116.00
Price in other shops: $159.27
How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth ImageHow to Read the Bible for All Its Worth
by Gordon D. Fee, Douglas Stuart
Zondervan; Published: 2003-10-28; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.50
Price in other shops: $16.99
Physics of Everyday Phenomena ImagePhysics of Everyday Phenomena
by W. Thomas Griffith
McGraw-Hill Science/Engineering/Math; Published: 2008-09-08; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $59.57
Similar Books and other products
The Winter Sea ImageThe Winter Sea
by Susanna Kearsley
Sourcebooks, Inc.; Published: 2010-12-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.98
Price in other shops: $16.99
The Dry Grass of August ImageThe Dry Grass of August
by Anna Jean Mayhew
Kensington Publishing Corporation; Published: 2011-04-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.88
Price in other shops: $15.00
The Misadventures of Oliver Booth: Life in the Lap of Luxury ImageThe Misadventures of Oliver Booth: Life in the Lap of Luxury
by David Desmond
Greenleaf Book Group; Published: 2008-10-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.99
Price in other shops: $14.95
The Tennis Partner ImageThe Tennis Partner
by Abraham Verghese
Harper Perennial; Published: 1999-09-22; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.99
Price in other shops: $14.99
Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter: A Novel (P.S.) ImageCrooked Letter, Crooked Letter: A Novel (P.S.)
by Tom Franklin
William Morrow Paperbacks; Published: 2011-05-17; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.51
Price in other shops: $14.99
Sorrow Wood ImageSorrow Wood
by Raymond L. Atkins
Medallion Press; Published: 2009-08-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $15.02
Price in other shops: $24.95
The Murderous Urges Of Ordinary Women ImageThe Murderous Urges Of Ordinary Women
by Lois Meltzer
Certain Age Press; Published: 2007-11-15; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.35
Price in other shops: $12.98
Book store. Illustrated catalog of books on different categories