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On the Road with the Archangel

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"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.

...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.

"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.

Just because I'm an active Presbyterian I started reading Frederick Buechner, and he is a wonderful writer. Both his novels and his non-fiction are compelling. Reading ARCHANGEL made me go to the Apocrypha to read the Book of Tobit, and I found Buechner's story was very close to the book. It's a charming tale of a boy and his dog, a father made blind by bird droppings, and a beautiful woman who is like a princes in a fairy tale. I'm so glad that Rev. Buechner used his writing talents to point out an ancient story of Hebrew tradition. This is not a book for those who have made angels trivial. but reveals the God behind the angel.

I've recently had the treat of reading a novel by Frederick Buechner.

You don't have to be a longtime patron of Foolish Knight to know that I am something of a Buechner (pronounced beek-ner) aficionado and since I don't often get the opportunity to read his stories I'm grateful for every chance I do get. The particular yarn I've just finished, which is possibly Frederick Buechner's most recommendable, is the delightful fairy tale, On the Road With the Archangel. It is a first-person narrative based upon the Apocryphal Book of Tobit.

At least I call it a fairy tale. The reason being that its elements; a blind man, cunning animals, a journey for treasure, angels, a courageous hero, ill fated bridegrooms and a peculiarly large and hungry fish remind me of the folk tales and brothers Grimm stories I have read. This is certainly woven from the same stuff those craftsmen used.

The man from whom the ancient book derives its title is a Jew who (along with a good many other Jews) has been taken captive by the Assyrians to their capital city of Nineveh (yes that Nineveh). The story follows the many deeds and misdeeds of Tobit and his son Tobias as told by the archangel Raphael.

It's Raphael's charge to bring into the presence of the Almighty the praises and petitions of "all who pray and of those who don't even know that they're praying". Two prayers in particular catch his attention; one of Tobit and another of a young girl both wanting to die to be released from there shame. When the prayers are received Raphael is sent to earth to "set things right". I won't say any more than that for fear of spoiling what there is of this little story to spoil.

I will only say that Frederick Buechner continues to show that when it comes to storytellers he is one of the most thoughtful - and entertaining - around.

as all buechners work, this book is marked by magnificent writing. the retelling of the apochyrphal book of tobit, brings faith and doubt and perspective into a tide of characters whose experiences are both laughable and heart warming. easy to read and thoughtful, faithful without being overbearing...another small masterpeice.

This book is a real page-turner and fun to read. I would describe it as a light and lyrical fable with refreshing moral undertones. Because the narrator of the story is the archangel Raphael, the reader is afforded inside information from someone in direct contact with the Holy One. We get to identify with the characters in the story as they struggle with discerning the will of God in certain areas... and we get to hear Raphael's often humorous impression of these struggles. No-one in the story is aware of Raphael's real identity because he has assumed the personage of a normal man named Azarias and commits to accompany the main character Tobias in quest of a family fortune. Hence, the book's title.

Along the way, Raphael lets us in on the following paradox. He tells us that too often the world not only BELIEVES in God for all the wrong reasons, but it also DISBELIEVES in God for all the wrong reasons. There is a subtle, yet clear message in this story that the Holy One is not the cosmic "Scorekeeper" that the characters continually make him out to be. Although all earthly indications may appear as such, the Holy One never looks upon his creation with indifference.

But this is not a textbook, it's just a really good "out-there-on-the-beach-blanket" whimsical story with a dash of sound theology sprinkled throughout... by an angel.

To convey an idea does not require thousands of pages, to tell a story that one remembers does not require the excess of words either. Some what similar at times to stories told in the unabridged version of Arabian Nights and by the Brothers Grim among others - A pleasant story of alls well that ends well. I liked it well enought to tell you to read the book.

Charming tales of the Apocryphal Book of Tobit. Largely written, with colourful characters. If you enjoy fantasy, this is the book for you. For a more telling story of 'things biblical', take a look at the extraodinary "THE Autobiography of Jesus of Nazareth and the Missing Years" by Richard G. Patton. Both these writers had given us truly original offerings. Buechner recalls the days of lost innocence but may be trying a little too hard not to offend. Patton has none of these reservations and delivers a Jesus that, beside being truly believable, does not pay lip-service to orthodox religion. Buechner is careful not to rock the boat and delivers a bequiling world that encompasses the early offerings of Monty Python. Recommended.