The Front Porch Prophet

This book is a true gem of Southern fiction. Gentle humor, sadness, just good people living their lives to the best of their capabilities. I love this story, the wonderful character development, and genuine sweetness of good Southern neighbors. I am in the NC Blue Ridge Mtns. and I recognized some of these characters in family and friends. I have read this several times and never tire of it. I've also read Mr. Atkins' other books and all are good. But this one is the best. I hope that he keeps writing and decides to grace us with another story from the Georgia mountains.

This book is clever and yet doesn't overdo it. The characters are so real that I felt I knew them--perhaps because I'm from the South. Each chapter starts with an excerpt from the letters of a dying man--and are perfectly hysterical. It is a fun read.

Amazing story . None of it would fly in today's time. But it works beautifully. A snippit of life .my favorite story.

As a southerner, many people who write about the south achieve "humor" by mocking/making fun of/characterizing southerners. I find them insulting and without any appreciation for the real feel of southerners. Atkins had me laughing out loud many times, often in recognition of the shared truthfulness of his observations. There is a saying about Southerners not hiding our insane relatives but proudly putting them on display, and Atkins manages to proudly put on display a variety of characters. Appealing, heart-stirring and a resonance to community and family ties that should appeal to anyone, no matter their geographic location. One of the most enjoyable books I have read in a while, and I read a lot.

I'm from North Georgia where this book is set and The Front Porch Prophet is the unicorn (Bigfoot?) of a novel that I look for - one that evokes the region without, as a professor of mine once called it, "too much country store." The characters are colorful but realistic, nobody kicks a good dog, and the main character, A. J. 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 highly recommend this book to North Georgians and anyone who has suspected that their Southern fiction is stuffed with a little too much country store.

I read this for book club this month and enjoyed the stories that were woven to illuninate the characters. They helped me to get to know them as real people living their lives in Georgia. I particularly loved the gentleness of A.J. and his love for the people in his life. And the way he respected the wishes of his brother at the end letting him die with dignity and love yet showing how difficult it to was for him to act on those wishes. We all agreed it was a good story.

This book was a barrel full of fun but also poignant and sad. Being raised in a small, midwestern town, I especially related to the men in the story. Many of the shenanigans they got into reminded me of stories my dad told me about him and his brothers. LOVED the name of the local eatery! Atkins in a great writer. I also really enjoyed Sorrow Wood. Check him out!

I read this book because I have a family member who is a friend of the author. i am not sure what I expected, but what ever it was , I received much more. The characters became like family members and friends that I have known all my life. I laughed out loud in resturants or where ever I was at the time. I cried some also. As I came closer to the conclusion, I was hoping the next book was to be a continuation. I am an avid reader. I love southern writers. Ray is one of the best.I consider him in the company of Ferrol Sams, Pat Conroy,and even Faulkner and Welty. I was blown away by his first novel.

I read tens and tens of books a year, always crime/murder/mystery, and then suddenly I just got bored, so I started looking around for something new. Not interested in history/sci-fi/spies etc and definitely no female heroines thrown together with mysterious cleft chinned steel eyed neighbours. I bought Sorrow Wood by this author as it was free - yes i'm a cheapskate too - but i've paid for some books with 5* reviews that turned out to be so not worth it.... Sorrow Wood was good, so I bought this, and it was great. I loved the characters, I loved the way it was written and I was particularly taken by the encounter between the porch and the dog! I'm only sorry that the story didn't start when the characters were younger so that it could grow into a series of books. If only I could justify £17.25 for Camp Redemption. More, more please........

This is a book I'll read again in a couple of years, enjoyed it so much. The writing is so warm, well observed and witty. It's not your average story with somewhere to go. It's a meander through AJ's life as he tries to help his friend Eugene cope with his illness.But it's such a hard book to describe because all along the way there are little nuggets of brilliance as the picture builds of the background and past history of a tapestry of rich and colourful characters in this southern town.You have to try this book.

this was a storythat i read till the wee small hours. Housework left in abeyance that same morning until it was finished.

Another wonderful book by this author. I had downloaded sorrow wood by the same author for free, and absolutely loved his prose and sense of humour. As soon as I finished that I bought the front porch prophet. Atkins creates characters that jump out of the page and leave you chuckling and wanting more. It is a real page turner, utterly engrossing and I would highly recommend it.

This was my second Raymond L Atkins book and I wish that his third wasn't so expensive to download onto my Kindle, so I guess I'll just have to wait. I love his style, sense of humour and interesting view of things, His characters are alive and you wish you could meet some of them. Although this could have been an extremely sad and depressing tale, it wasn't.