On the Road with the Archangel [Hardcover]

Frederick Buechner (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 10, 1997

One of the brightest lights in late-twentieth-century literature, Frederick Buechner has published more than twenty-five works of fiction and nonfiction that continue to dazzle critics and readers alike, adding continuously to the ranks of his fiercely loyal following. On the Road with the Archangel is sure to continue this tradition with its powerful blend of humor, artistry, and insight into the nature of the human and the divine.

Inspired by events in the apocryphal Book of Tobit, from the second century B.C., this is the magical tale of two families brought together, as no mere coincidence, by the devilishly clever archangel Raphael. One is the family of Tobit, a virtuous man who can no longer support his wife and son because of Raguel, the quiet, devoted father of Sarah whose pact with the demon Asmodeus has left her life in tragic shambles.

Assuming human form, Raphael appears before Tabias, Tobit's devoted son, to help him retrieve his father's fortune hidden in a faraway city. Together, they embark on a miraculous journey in search of the answers to both families' prayers--a journey that is made challenging and delightful by Rapheal's artful efficiency.

On the Road with the Archangel is a masterful combination of fluid writing, lyrical storytelling, and ancient truth blended with modern wisdom. And beneath it all lies a subtle, glowing meditation on the nature of the Holy.

Hailed as "one of our most original storytellers" (USA Today), Pulitzer Prize-nominated author Frederick Buechner has written an extraordinary new novel that shines with the mystery and wonder of the divine.Drawn from the ancient apocryphal Book of Tobit, On the Road with the Archangel unravels the tale of a eccentric blind father and his somewhat bumbling song who journeys to seek his family's lost treasure. Narrated by the wry and resourceful archangel Raphael, Buencher's tale is a pure delight, alive with vivid characters, delightful adventures and wondrous revelations.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Buechner's novelization of the Apocrypha's story of Tobit and the Archangel Raphael maintains the biblical and folkloric elements of his source material. Staying close to the original tale of the blind Jew in eighth-century B.C. Nineveh, Buechner covers the struggles of a particular family in the Diaspora: Tobit (whose good deeds include burying those killed by the Assyrian king); his wife, Anna; their son, Tobias; and his wife-to-be, Sarah, whose first seven grooms were murdered on their wedding night by a demon. The Archangel Raphael intervenes on their behalf in the guise of a relative, Azarias, after both Tobit and Sarah pray for death to relieve them of their suffering. Biblical fiction is not an easy genre, but this work succeeds within its narrow scope. It should be appreciated by those who enjoyed Buechner's similar earlier efforts, including The Son of Laughter (LJ 4/15/93).?Ann H. Fisher, Radford P.L., Va.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews

A fable from one of the few writers of Christian fiction to publish in the mainstream press, more recently known for his ongoing spiritual autobiography, The Sacred Journey (1982), Now and Then (1983), and Telling Secrets (1991). Buechner's fable is based on the apocryphal book of Tobit, an account of early Judaism from the second century b.c., when the Jews were an enslaved people. Raphael, one of the seven archangels, narrates Buechner's gentle story with humor and frequent asides about the nature of the Holy One. Raphael's task is to gather up prayers and carry them to God, then carry replies back if replies must be made. This results in some extraordinary passages: the prayer of a dog, for instance, to better please his master, and that of a gigantic fish, in gratitude for the mud and weeds around him. But two prayers in particular form the basis for Raphael's sojourn on Earth--and for Buechner's story. A young woman, Sarah, loves her father so dearly that she doesn't want to be married, and summons a demon who, on her seven wedding nights, kills each of seven bridegrooms. But Sarah is so filled with guilt over these deaths that she prays to God to be killed. Meanwhile, a poor blind man, Tobit, also prays for death, to relieve his miseries and to allow his family to resume normal life. He enjoins his son to undertake a perilous journey both to retrieve a fortune and to find a wife. The son, the amiable, less-than-brilliant Tobias, dutifully starts off. Raphael then joins him, securing the fortune and helping Tobias to court Sarah, devising antidotes both for demons and for the blindness of Tobit. Buechner, a Presbyterian minister, emphasizes the goodness of God, playing down suffering, playing up faith. A slight tale, though often quite charming. -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: HarperOne; 1st edition (September 10, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060611251
• ISBN-13: 978-0060611255
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 5.6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #268,777 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Frederick Buechner is the popular author of such nonfiction titles as Telling the Truth, Wishful Thinking, and Peculiar Treasures. The New York Times Book Review described his recently published memoir, The Sacred Journey, as a "beautifully successful experiment." In addition to The Final Beast, which was originally published in 1965, Mr. Buechner is the author of ten other novels, including the bestselling A Long Day's Dying and, most recently, Godric. He makes his home in Rupert, Vermont.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars How do we see God?, December 19, 2000

By 

NotATameLion (Michigan) - See all my reviews

This review is from: On the Road with the Archangel (Hardcover)

"On the Road With the Archangel: A Novel" by Frederick Buechner is a small book; yet it contains a HUGE message...God is bigger, greater, deeper, more incomprehensible and loving than we can ever even begin to imagine. The mortal characters of the story are eloquent representations of misconceptions of God that a lot of us share with them:

Some of us are like Sarah and her Father--we have a hard time trusting the God who, though ever present, sometimes seems quite hidden.

Some of us are a lot like Tobit--God is, for us, an all-too-ever-present scorekeeper who likes to stick his nose into all our actions and motivations in order to cast judgment upon us.

A lot of us are like Tobias--We simply ignore God in the midst of our busyness. The greatness of "On the Road With the Archangel" is that it acknowledges just how prevalent these human misperceptions are; and then moves on to a truer picture of God.

The story is told by the Archangel Raphael. Raphael gets involved in the lives of the human characters in order to answer a couple of their prayers. Raphael finds great humor in the humanity's misconceptions of God. A he narrates the story, he contrasts the mortals misperceptions of God with his experience of being in God's presence. In end, "On the Road With the Archangel" teaches us the same lesson that Tobit learns. We must come to the point (as Tobit finally does after his blinding and the events that follow it) where we stop relying on what we think of as our vision in order to truly see

This retelling of the apocryphal story of Tobit is both humorous and touching. Reading it is like a going to a spiritual optometrist. It helps us to see just how skewed our own vision of God is.

I give "On the Road With the Archangel" my full recommendation.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A CLASSIC STORY RETOLD MASTERFULLY..., March 5, 2002

By 

Larry L. Looney (Austin, Texas USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: On the Road with the Archangel (Hardcover)

...and Frederick Buechner does the job gracefully and with a gentle humor worthy of some of our most revered writers (Mark Twain comes to mind, for one). Buechner's story is based on the apocryphal Book of Tobit, and tells the tale of two families brought together -- by fate or by subtle miracles, you be the judge.

A Presbyterian minister and the author of many works of fiction and non-fiction as well, Beuchner's style flows effortlessly along. Where others -- particularly those of a ministerial vocation -- might be rempted to let their narrative become 'preachy', Beuchner never makes that mistake. After reading just this one book, I get the strong impression that it would not be in his nature to allow that to happen.

The story is told from the perspective of the Archangel Raphael, who comes to earth and assumes human form -- not wishing to reveal his true identity -- in order to accompany young Tobias, son of Tobit, on a journey from Niniveh to Media and back again. He is being sent there by his father to retrieve a treasure left in the care of a former associate -- a treasure that will hopefully support Tobias and his mother for the rest of their lives. Tobit is blind and, weary of feeling useless to his family, has prayed to God that he might die soon.

In Media lives another family, considerably more well-off than that of Tobit. The one child of the family, a daughter, Sarah, has entered into a regretful contract with a demon to discourage any suitors that may approach her -- she loves her father Raguel dearly, and dreads being parted from him. Unfortunately, the demon falls in love with her, and his 'discouragement' takes the form of killing any man she marries on their wedding night. After seven such deaths, her reputation -- and that of her family -- has begun to suffer a bit, to say the least.

Buechner's novel brings these two threads together into a rich tapestry -- his characters are fleshed out perfectly, each with their own strengths, weaknesses and often humorous foibles. The wry observations of Raphael -- along with his kind and loving nature -- add immeasurably to the enjoyment of this book. Also, the author's characterization of the love of God -- voiced through Raphael's comments as well as throughout the meat of the story itself -- is one that should appeal to all but the most rigid fundamentalists in the Judeo-Christian world.

This is a book that made me feel good -- and it also caused me to reflect on my own beliefs. It's a beautiful story, well-told -- by no means a piece of fluff. This is an artful creation that speaks to the way we live our lives, the way we interact with and treat our fellow human beings. It's an uplifting and enlightening experience.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Buechnerian classic, March 12, 2001

By 

NYJ (Atlantic Coast, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: On the Road with the Archangel (Hardcover)

"On the Road With the Archangel", is in my opinion, one of Frederick Buechners best books. It is based on the Book of Tobit, which in the Catholic Bible is one of the deuterocanonicals and to the Protestants is one of the apocryphal books. Though Buechner is not Catholic, he treats the Book of Tobit with a reverence that is greatly appreciated, and he shows for Protestants that even though they do not recognize these books, that valuable lessons can be learned from them. Frederick Buechner, like he did with the "Son of Laughter", fleshes out the characters like only he can do. After a few minutes one can already begin to relate to the characters, and as with every good book, when it is over, you'll feel as if a good, close friend has moved away. Not only has Buechner transformed the Book of Tobit into an easy to read storyline, he takes us to an ancient time and has us instantly recognize the problems the characters face as problems we encounter as well. Not satisfied with just a simple story, Buechner takes us into a soul-searching journey along with Tobias (the main character) and forces us to analyze our own relationship with God. Do we realize our relationship with God in the proper light, do we recognize His love for us and how He views His creation in a proper light? I think Buechner does an excellent job of shining a light on the answers to these questions.

Definitely a great book to sit down with and enjoy. I would recommend it to any Christian.