Rating: 
Summary: Superb, Disturbing Storytelling of Heartwrenching Extremes
Review: This is a serious work of literature and a higher level of horror than I have read in a long time. The perspective might throw off some readers but if you can't adjust to different styles of writing than maybe you should go back to "See Spot Run". The setting and circumstances are all too real and anyone knowing anything about the horrors of disease unchecked will be deeply moved by this book. The sense of helplessness is more than aptly achieved by Mr. O'Nan. My only minor complaint is that the Deacon/Constable's descent into self preservation/insanity was too brief and that maybe, just maybe, the necrophilia could have been done without. But the effect was achieved, at least in my case. I can only hope that this book achieves literary status and wins some type of award because something great has been done here.
Rating:
Summary: HAUNTING AND MAGNIFICENT
Review: "A Prayer For The Dying" was a truly remarkable novel that I read in just two sittings. The novel is one of an ordinary man put in an extraordinary postition after a plague hits his small town. The book is haunting, horrifying and simply a complex, emotional story that will stick with you days after you are finished reading.
Rating:
Summary: A Spiritual Quest
Review: A Prayer For The Dying is an amazingly detailed look at one man's questioning of his faith. How does a simple Everyman reconcile conscience and duty when God and Life have conspired against him. An incrediblely inspiring read, this novelette is impossible to put down with out an in depth examination of the forces that drive our own lives. I am not a fan of horror in general so I hate to think of others missing out on this book because it falls into that genre. O'Nan's writing is a gift.
Rating:
Summary: THE REAL DEAL!!!
Review: Sick of books that run out of steam around the the last 50 pages? This incredible novelette will knock you on your butt! This is no joke. If you haven't read a good horror book for a long time, and are sick of carbon-copy stories by King, Koontz and Rice, stop whatever you are reading and go pick this up! O'nan's story comes out of the clear blue nowhere and leaves you in awe the last 15 pages. You'll have to go back and re-read just to comprehend the scope of what he's just done to you, the reader. People in the field of horror might say that this has already been done before in stories like Faulkner's "A Rose For Emily", but as an overly avid reader of horror I promise you that O'nan's work is fresh, original, and very compelling. This has to be a strong contender for the Bram Stoker award. In most stories you are given the luxury of considering how you would act if you were the main character. In "Prayer for the Dying" you don't have a choice. YOU ARE THE MAIN CHARACTER!! My hat's off to O'nan.
Rating: 
Summary: A shot to the heart
Review: Stewart O'Nan tells this story in the voice of a good man -- a small town constable/undertaker/preacher who loves his family and his town, a man who walks through nightmares, extinquishing fires, shooting to kill, living to tell. In an earlier book, "Speed Queen," O'Nan writes in the voice of a freaky female doper on Death Row. It's a comedy compared to "A Prayer for the Dying." This latest novel is excellent, serious literature. It hits you like a locomotive, leaves you breathless, thinking for days, glad and saddened by life's choices. Robert Stone's books once did that for me, too, though his latest have lost that fist-to-the-gut quality. O'Nan appears to be the writer now most able to pull on the master's gloves and pummel our hearts.
Rating:
Summary: A novel to be read by lovers of serious fiction
Review: I find it hard to say I enjoyed a novel that is so harrowing and filled with such pain. But I was captivated by both the events in the book and the probing questions they raised. O'Nan uses a terse prose style for this book that works chillingly well. A short read, but one that will leave you pondering long afterward.
Rating: 
Summary: Right Idea, Wrong Format
Review: I found O'Nan's book a very difficult read. Writing in the 2nd Person format made the book hard to follow and boring. O'Nan had a good story plot, but should have used the 1st or 3rd Person Format to make the book more enjoyable and exciting read. The plot had the potential to be a page-turner. So much more could have been done with the story. This is the first book of O'nan's that I have read. If this book is considered his best, then I will not be reading any of his others.
Rating:
Summary: Magnificent post-modern historical fiction!
Review: A Prayer for the Dying is beautifully written literature, albeit deeply disturbing (and even frightening). Set in northeast Wisconsin just after the Civil War, this book is a combination plague tale and social criticism, particularly of the choices individuals face during times of disaster. The story is as much about a 19th century Wisconsin town as it is about war, death and personal responsibility. And like much marvelous fiction, there is an unexpected twist at the end. I think this book is destined to be a classic.
Rating:
Summary: Engaging, fascinating but hardly fun.
Review: Rather like a bad auto accident, this book is both magnetic and repulsive. It is far from an enjoyable read, yet I found it to be one of the most emotionally gripping books I've ever read. O'Nan's skillful imagery at once ensnares the reader in this sorroful, sunlit world of Jacob Hansen and presents the entire picture of the events. Even without the use of 2nd person, I would have felt a part of the town of Friendship. It was a most disturbing and "horrible" novel, but I loved it.
Rating:
Summary: Do not leave anonymous trashings, please
Review: Please ignore the comments of the Reader From New England. If you want to drop little turds of ill will, they ought to have your name attached to them. Instead, you sit in smug privacy, immune to rebuttal, the blue glow of the computer screen lighting up your sneering little face. O'Nan's book is terrific and moving, in my opinion.
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