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glutenfreemaggie's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
5.0
saskia16's review against another edition
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
Content Warnings
desecration of corpses
_kiwi_'s review
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
this book was so hauntingly depressing, and just, the way the misfortunes and horrors keep piling one on top of the other with no solution really adds to the sense of impending doom and sucks
you into the book, leaving you slightly disoriented when you put it down. this was also all accomplished in less than 200 pages which i devoured in one sitting. dont know if ill ever bring myself to read it again, but its definitely a read my mind will be circling back to for some time.
you into the book, leaving you slightly disoriented when you put it down. this was also all accomplished in less than 200 pages which i devoured in one sitting. dont know if ill ever bring myself to read it again, but its definitely a read my mind will be circling back to for some time.
ridgewaygirl's review
4.0
Stewart O'Nan can write rings around almost anybody. He can take the banal (closing a Red Lobster on the outskirts of a mall) and make it interesting. His writing is never showy, even when it could be, and he tends to use as few words as he can get away with, never embellishing unnecessarily. With A Prayer for the Dying, O'Nan piles one terrible situation after another on top of despair and makes a hopeful novel out of it all.
Jacob Hansen is undertaker, sheriff and preacher to the small town of Friendship, Wisconsin. He's a veteran of the Civil War, fighting memories with a devotion to duty, faith and a deep love for his wife and infant daughter. He's asked to come remove a body found on a farmer's land and as he's hauling the body away, he finds a woman, ill, by the side of the road. He delivers both to the doctor and finds himself at the beginning point of an epidemic that will challenge everything he believes.
This book is described as a cross between Stephen Crane and Stephen King, and there is a sense of horror piling on horror in this book, despite the absence of the supernatural. Jacob is the best of protagonists; a deeply thoughtful man of action and integrity, as aware of his own weaknesses as he is compassionate of the people around him. O'Nan has chosen the second person in which to tell the story, which was the only choice for this book; the first person would have brought the suffering so close as to be unreadable, and the third person would have provided a comfortable remove.
Jacob Hansen is undertaker, sheriff and preacher to the small town of Friendship, Wisconsin. He's a veteran of the Civil War, fighting memories with a devotion to duty, faith and a deep love for his wife and infant daughter. He's asked to come remove a body found on a farmer's land and as he's hauling the body away, he finds a woman, ill, by the side of the road. He delivers both to the doctor and finds himself at the beginning point of an epidemic that will challenge everything he believes.
This book is described as a cross between Stephen Crane and Stephen King, and there is a sense of horror piling on horror in this book, despite the absence of the supernatural. Jacob is the best of protagonists; a deeply thoughtful man of action and integrity, as aware of his own weaknesses as he is compassionate of the people around him. O'Nan has chosen the second person in which to tell the story, which was the only choice for this book; the first person would have brought the suffering so close as to be unreadable, and the third person would have provided a comfortable remove.
scheu's review
5.0
I'm very glad that I read Wisconsin Death Trip before reading this novel. It's like a macabre vignette from the earlier book. O'Nan has a spare style that lends itself well to the isolation and simple lifestyle in Friendship. As people start to fall sick from diptheria, you get the impression that the world really IS ending. Even though there were other towns close by, the community of Friendship (or any community from the time period) was so close-knit that nothing will remain when everything disintegrates.
kathrinpassig's review
3.0
Punktabzug wegen a) Kitsch, b) Ausbuchstabierens sämtlicher Ăberlegungen des Autors zur Motivation seiner Figur und c) weil ich den Handlungsstrang mit der toten Frau irgendwoher kenne, und ich bin mir ziemlich sicher, dass er dort, wo ich ihn vor ein paar Jahren schon mal gelesen habe, intelligenter umgesetzt war.
jamieh2024's review
4.0
Post Civil War era setting Friendship, Wisconsin, high Summer, raging forest fires and a diptheria epidemic hits town. Jacob Hansen, Friendship's sheriff, undertaker and pastor soon finds himself overwhelmed, though he continues to do what he can. A dark and poetic novel, A Prayer for the Dying was an interesting reading experience. I can't say its the best reading experience I've had but it was definitely more interesting than the last several books I've read.