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Slim Neal, the trigger-happy cop with the brain of a squirrel, spends the book trying to solve the long-ago theft of a school bus -- A. People like these are all over this book and the author delights in just raring back and letting go with a good story about them. It is, like Eudora Welty's Losing Battles , a book of tall tales about the members of a small community. Most of the stories are hilarious, making this the funniest book centering on the inevitable death of one of the central characters you will read in a long time.
Yes, it's a book about death, but it's also about life. Raymond L. Atkins, The Front Porch Prophet Medallion Press, Down South where I grew up, if a group of three or more people got together anywhere for any reason, they'd start telling stories. Rating details. More filters. Sort order. Aug 04, Maryann rated it it was amazing. While The Front Porch Prophet is described as a humorous work of Southern fiction about two young men who come of age in North Georgia, it is at times as serious as a rattlesnake. Longstreet and his friend Eugene Purdue have been through a lot since their carefree childhood days spent playing fo While The Front Porch Prophet is described as a humorous work of Southern fiction about two young men who come of age in North Georgia, it is at times as serious as a rattlesnake.
Longstreet and his friend Eugene Purdue have been through a lot since their carefree childhood days spent playing football, pulling pranks, and trying to be the first to lose his virginity. Yet, the toughest days are ahead. One day Eugene asks A.
J to come to his cabin — no easy feat as A. The point of the visit becomes painfully clear when Eugene tells A.
A gentle breeze blew through the branches, but the words would not disappear. The dialogue is some of the best ever written. On the flip side of the humor is the very serious matter of death and dying and the fact that Eugene wants A. If you want to shoot yourself or blow yourself up, go ahead. But leave me out of it. J wrestles with that request, and during that time the two men visit weekly and sift through the experiences of their lives and try to make sense of it all.
The remembering is as poignant for the reader as it is for the characters. Nov 23, Ken Medernach rated it it was amazing Recommends it for: anyone with a thirst for a great read I own a copy that I want to keep and re-read. Up in the Northwestern corner of Georgia, live a folk like everywhere in Appalachia, torn between the old ways and the new, life in the country and "just makin' do" and the life in the 'mill town', these are the folks that Ray captures and inserts in the lines of "The Front Porch Propet", I say that Ramond captures these characters because no one could "make them up" , he hsd to have been there.
Ray 'Front Porch Prophet' kept me between tears, that is tears of human emotion and tears of laughter. Ray has nailed the country folk of this small North Georgia region with it's daily life and the down home humor. I am looking forward to Ray's next venture , there is a real literary talent lurking in North Georgia in the guise of Raymond L. This book surprised me.
Our protagonist, A. I love the style of this author From the first page to the last, Sweetwater Blues takes the reader on a journey filled with consequences, courage, and redemption. This is a novel I will be reading again many times. Had a writer with equal skill but who grew up outside of the south written To Kill a Mockingbird , the novel would have been condescending and the characters a mere stereotype.
When my E-Reader was new and short of titles, I worked to fill it up. Since this was a Nook Free Friday selection, I figured why not. The first thing that appealed to me was the fact that the story is set in the Northwest Georgia Mountains and has a wonderfully slow country feel. The characters are full and complete and even the minor characters have depth. The two main characters This book surprised me. Both are ruff around the edges and somewhat abusive to each other, but are lifelong friends with a deep affection for one another. More than a few times this story made me laugh out loud and I kept a smile going thru most of it.
The ending is inevitable and emotional. The depth of friendship is tested. An incredible decision must be reached and in the end I think friendship prevails. It is a wonderful story about life and death. A reminder that life is a one way ticket and the destination is the same for everyone, but what counts is how you make the journey. This is an extraordinary story and I encourage you to give it a try.
Well done Mr. This book would have so much more enjoyable if some of the language had been cleaned up. The writing style is excellent, I just don't enjoy the 'F' word, I think it's crude and unneccessary. The story is about A. Mostly the wild escapades of the two. Eugene lives up on a mountain in a cabin, A..
Some rather wild things happen such as a house being moved by helicopter and the por This book would have so much more enjoyable if some of the language had been cleaned up. Some rather wild things happen such as a house being moved by helicopter and the porch falls off and lands on one of the characters dog. Rather unrealistic, but the writer adds a lot of humor from the situation. Not that having a dog die is funny, far from it, but the way the situation is handled is funny.
Eugene gets cancer and A. Does he do it or not? View all 3 comments. Nov 09, Heather rated it really liked it. This was a free download for the Nook a while back and it sat there on my Nook kind of rotting. I finally got around to reading it this week, and I was pleasantly surprised. The reason why I was putting off reading it was because I wasn't entirely convinced I was going to like it, but the more I read, the more I realized it was right up my alley.
A book about a terminal cancer patient and his and everyone elses' coming to grips with the finality of his condition? What more could an aspiring nu This was a free download for the Nook a while back and it sat there on my Nook kind of rotting. What more could an aspiring nurse want, really? There was humor interspersed throughout, and although I don't know anyone who I can directly compare to AJ or Eugene, I still felt like I could identify with them, which was a nice touch.
The nook book had an excerpt from the author's next novel, Sorrow Wood - which I might end up borrowing from a Nook friend. LendMe is a fabulous thing lol Apr 17, Steve Diamond rated it really liked it Shelves: fiction-literary. A surprising gem. Beautifully constructed, very moving, and very enjoyable to read. Atkins gives us deeply felt portraits of life in rural Georgia, alternately laugh-out-loud funny, deadly serious, and poignantly personal -- sometimes all three at once.
Don't be put off by the setting if you think you don't like "southern novels.
Some of the set pieces are a little too pat. Otherwise I'd give it 5 stars. Highly recommended. Dec 16, Diana rated it it was amazing Recommends it for: Everyone. Shelves: cerebral , end-of-life , drama-llama , relational , favorites , wit , freefriday , intellectual. I can hardly do this book justice, but I will try.
If you are curious about this book, you truly need to sit down and absorb it. I can assure you that it will not be what you are expecting. Atkins is a genius with words. Yes, I said Stephen King. I do not care for King's subjects and foulness, but I can't help but admire his way with words and describing scenes. Atkins has that same aptness, without the foulness.
The Front Porch Prophet [Raymond L Atkins] on giuliettasprint.konfer.eu *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. What do a trigger-happy bootlegger with pancreatic cancer. The Front Porch Prophet book. Read reviews from the world's largest community for readers. What do a trigger-happy bootlegger with pancreatic cancer.
Upon fi I can hardly do this book justice, but I will try. I will definitely be returning this book-- both in thought and in re-reading it. Who knows, maybe someday I'll name a kid Ray Atkins Williams. Dec 31, Jennifer Dunn rated it it was amazing.
Longstreet could just as well be my dad. Heck, the town, known if it's cotton mill "famous for its denim products and its abuse of the hired help" could be my town! Atkins is a true Southern wordsmith, and my Kindle version of this book is well-highlighted with phrases that rang true, such as "Billy was an old country boy who had done extremely well for himself by adhering to the simple belief that every vehicle had some problem that could be repaired by Billy.
I never usually give up on books, but this one I had to. I actually found myself skipping whole pages at a time. At first the book was awesome but then the author kept delineating from the main plot with all this nonsense stuff from the character past.
I'm all for using the past to tell a story but an actually example from the book I don't want to hear about the main characters Co-workers life from when he was born, then continue on to the girl the co-worker liked and he whole life story, which I never usually give up on books, but this one I had to. I'm all for using the past to tell a story but an actually example from the book I don't want to hear about the main characters Co-workers life from when he was born, then continue on to the girl the co-worker liked and he whole life story, which included her father and his whole life story.
I just want to know what happens with A. View 2 comments.
Feb 19, June rated it it was amazing. A book to be read and absorbed. Atkins is definitely a "word craftsman.