The Front Porch Prophet
Dec 19, 2011
Author: Raymond Atkins
Hardcover: 400 pages
Publisher: Medallion Press;(July 1, 2008)
ISBN-10: 1933836385
ISBN-13: 978-1933836386
2009 IPPY Gold Medal Award winner
for Southeast Best Regional Fiction
2009 Georgia Author of the Year Award Winner
Publisher Description:
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.
After a long absence, A. J. Longstreet finds his best friend since childhood, Eugene Purdue, on his doorstep. Eugene now has terminal cancer, and he confronts A. J. with the dilemma of executing a mercy killing when the time arrives. An adventure into the past begins for the both of them, and soon one must make a decision that will alter his life forever.
What Idgie has to say:
Lord but that man can turn a phrase!
I greatly enjoyed reading Sorrow Wood a few months ago and was hoping this book (actually his first) would also be as pleasing to the " mind ear". I am happy to say that it met all expectations. Some of the wording just makes me bust into giggles and as with Sorrow Wood, the characters are captivating from the moment you meet them.
The central story is A.J. and Eugene - but the flashbacks and current situations bring many fine folks into being, along with several tall tales that can't help but make you smile.
Another enjoyable book from Raymond that I can see sitting down and enjoying again when I need a lift.
