The First Annual Grand Prairie Rabbit Festival - Softcover

Wheaton, Ken

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0758238525 ISBN 13: 9780758238528

Publisher: Kensington Trade, 2010

Synopsis

Welcome to Grand Prairie, Louisiana-land of confounding accents, hard-drinking senior citizens, and charming sinners-brought to hilarious life in a bracing, heartfelt debut novel simmering with Cajun spice . . . Father Steve Sibille has come home to the bayou to take charge of St. Pete's church. Among his challenges are teenybopper altar girls, insomnia-curing confessions, and alarmingly alluring congregant Vicky Carrier. Then there's Miss Rita, an irrepressible centenarian with a taste for whiskey, cracklins, and sticking her nose in other people's business. When an outsider threatens to poach Father Steve's flock, Miss Rita suggests he fight back by staging an event that will keep St. Pete's parishioners loyal forever. As The First Annual Grand Prairie Rabbit Festival draws near, help comes from the strangest places. And while the road to the festival may be paved with good intentions-not to mention bake sales, an elephant, and the most bizarre cook-out ever-where it will lead is anyone's guess . . .

About this title

About the Author

Ken Wheaton was born in Opelousas, Louisiana, and raised deep in the heart of Cajun Country. He is the author of "Duck Duck Gator," "Sweet as Cane, Salty as Tears," "The First Annual Grand Prairie Rabbit Festival" and "Bacon and Egg Man." Wheaton has been a Pushcart nominee for fiction and in 2016 was awarded the Jesse H. Neal Awards for commentary and the 2016 Crain Communications Editorial Excellence Award for Commentary. He was also included in the recently-released "Voices from Louisiana: Profiles of Contemporary Writers." Previously the Editor of Advertising Age, Wheaton now pays his bills as a content strategist and editorial consultant. After living in Brooklyn for almost 20 years, he and his wife Cara (also from Louisiana) packed up and moved to the mountains of Colorado.

Reviews

Authentic Cajun touches (and recipes) spice up Wheaton's delightful debut yarn about faith and the yearnings of the flesh. Fr. Steve Sibille, the reflective protagonist, is re-evaluating his vow of celibacy after being tempted by Vicky Carrier, the sinfully conceived but beloved daughter of St. Peter's church's former padre. Father Steve considers the repeated advice of his family friend Miss Rita, a scene-stealing African-American centenarian who tells Father Steve that what he needs is a woman. Things get stickier for Father Steve when his gay friend, Fr. Mark Johnson, quits the priesthood and the Rev. Paul Tompkins attempts to woo St. Pete congregants to his Pentecostal church, leading to a big showdown and the festival of the title. Wheaton writes with an infectious energy, and his affection for the characters and culture is authentic without being overbearing or cheesy. Do the bon temps rouler? In Wheaton's hands, they sure do. (Jan.)
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*Starred Review* Father Steve, a small-town Louisiana priest, has major problems. First, the women. Denise, a self-styled Lolita, is one of his two altar girls. Miss Rita, a centenarian daughter of a slave who helped raised Steve, lives on the booze, pork skins, and other illegal foods he sneaks into the nursing home. Four female congregants have stopped coming to morning mass because he made eye contact during the service. And Vicky, the illegitimate daughter of the previous priest, is becoming much more than a friend. Father Steve’s other friend, the charming Father Mark, is leaving the priesthood because of issues with his homosexuality. Yet Father Steve considers the Pentecostals to be the biggest thorn in his side. Their charismatic preacher has set up shop just down the road, and will stop at nothing to build his own flock, including wooing the local Catholics. So Father Steve does the only thing he can to keep his church intact: he organizes the First Annual Grand Prairie Rabbit Festival. Readers need to hold onto their hats because Wheaton’s roller-coaster ride of a book has hilarious highs that plunge to soul-baring angst, then zoom back up to the top. --Shelley Mosley

Edition details

• Publisher: Kensington Trade
• Publication date: 2010
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0758238525
• ISBN 13: 9780758238528
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 320