A Handbook of American Prayer

Description

"Wardlin Stuart is an American messiah, a man who seems to have a direct line to God - but if he does, it's a divinity unlike any you may have prayed to." "Stuart's story begins when he kills a man in a bar. He is sentenced to ten years for manslaughter. In prison, he composes prose poems, prayers addressed to no recognizable god. He intends to produce only small benefits, not miracles. But what he asks for happens, whether it's a girlfriend for himself or special privileges for fellow prisoners. Soon Wardlin is regarded as a local shaman, and he emerges from prison a national celebrity." "Stardom pushes Wardlin into conflict with a fundamentalist minister. The two are destined for a showdown. In the meantime, it seems as if the god to whom Stuart prays has come into being, and is walking the earth." "In this novel about America's conflicting love triangle - celebrity, spirituality, and money - Shepard negotiates the thin line between the real and the surreal, expounding upon violence and redemption along the way."--BOOK JACKET.

First Sentence

When people look back at things they're ashamed of having done and say it must have been another person who did those things, and they have no idea who that person was, what they're actually saying, though they may not understand it, is that they do know that person and they don't know who they are now.

Subjects

Other Editions

• A Handbook of American Prayer: A NovelPaperbackThunder's Mouth Press2005-12-13
• Handbook of American PrayerMark V Ziesing2000-07-10
• A handbook of American prayerThunder's Mouth Press2004-01-01
• A handbook of American prayerThunder's Mouth Press2004-01-01
• A handbook of American prayerThunder's Mouth Press2004-01-01
• Ein Handbuch Amerikanischer GebetePaperbackEdition Phantasia2006-07-22