A Prayer for the Dying - Stewart O'Nan • BookLikes (ISBN:0312255012)

A Prayer for the Dying

by: Stewart O'Nan (author)

4.75 80

A New York Times Book Review Notable Book of the YearSet in Friendship, Wisconsin, just after the Civil War, A Prayer for the Dying tells of a horrible epidemic that is suddenly and gruesomely killing the town's residents and setting off a terrifying paranoia. Jacob Hansen, Friendship's sheriff, undertaker, and pastor, is soon overwhelmed by the fear and anguish around him, and his sanity begins to fray. Dark, poetic, and chilling, A Prayer for the Dying examines the effect of madness and violence on the morality of a once-decent man.

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Format: paperback

ISBN: 9780312255015 (0312255012)

Publish date: April 1st 2000

Publisher: Picador Usa

Pages no: 208

Edition language: English

Category:

Novels, Literature, Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction, 20th Century, 19th Century, Horror, Death, Dark, Illness, Disease

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Community Reviews

Lisa (Harmony) rated it

12 years ago

http://LisaMariaC.booklikes.com Lisa (Harmony) 5.0 A Prayer for the Dying: A Novel

text A Prayer for the Dying: A Novel

This is the kind of novel you end a little stunned. I have a friend whose literary tastes I greatly respect, a gifted writer herself, who raved about O'Nan to me--this is the first novel of his I've ever read, but won't be the last. She actually gave me her copy of this book when I mentioned I could...

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MochaMike rated it

13 years ago

http://MochaMike.booklikes.com MochaMike 4.0

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The paperback cover carries a blurb: “A cross between Stephen Crane and Stephen King.” Maybe. It is a post-Civil War tale in that the protagonist is haunted by his memories of the war, memories that are revealed slowly, then differently. (It’s challenging to write about this one without revealing s...

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snoylna rated it

14 years ago

http://snoylna.booklikes.com snoylna 5.0

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I really wish someone had told me about Stewart O'Nan sooner.

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Caleb J. Ross' booklikes rated it

16 years ago

http://calebjross.booklikes.com Caleb J. Ross' booklikes 5.0 Prayer for the Dying

text Prayer for the Dying

A Prayer for the Dying is what would happen if José Saramago wrote a Cormac McCarthy southern gothic novel. A stark and immensely powerful short novel, A Prayer for the Dying culminates to one of the best choreographed endings I have ever read.

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makinghismark rated it

17 years ago

http://makinghismark.booklikes.com makinghismark 5.0

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This novel will slowly take you down a dark path, as Jacob Hansen, preacher, sheriff and undertaker, tries to keep his small Wisconsin town alive against a diphtheria outbreak. He is also haunted by his recent experiences in the Civil War, which pushed him to the brink of sanity. This book has the f...

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