The Son of Laughter - Hardcover

Buechner, Frederick

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 006250116X ISBN 13: 9780062501165

Publisher: HarperCollins, 1993

Synopsis

A retelling of the Biblical tale of Jacob, father of the twelve tribes of Israel

About this title

Review:

"The Bible's account of Jacob is a pungent seed found in a tomb," wrote the poet James Merrill about this novel. "Frederick Buechner has planted it and the result is this beautiful swaying tree of a book." The fact that Merrill was an old friend of Buechner's does not disqualify this eloquent testimony. Indeed, Jacob is powerfully translated here through Buechner's honest and humorous--and cantankerous--voice. We see a living, human character, as always in Buechner's work, whether fiction or nonfiction. From this archetypal tale of feuding brothers he draws a story of family and fear, and a tale of a living God with whom Jacob wrestles in more ways than one. The tale of this life is a rich one: the two wives, Leah and Rachel, the journeys and the dreams--all of it takes on a coloring that is both strange and yet familiar: here is a Jacob both larger than life and yet very much human, very much one of us. --Doug Thorpe

About the Author:

Frederick Buechner, author of more than thirty works of fiction and nonfiction, is an ordained Presbyterian minister. He has been a finalist for both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award and was honored by the American Academy of Arts and Letters. His most recent work is Beyond Words: Daily Readings in the ABC’s of Faith.

About this edition

• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Publication date: 1993
• ISBN 10: 006250116X
• ISBN 13: 9780062501165
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 274