Customer Reviews

The Storm

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
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In addition to being the author of over 30 books, Buechner is an ordained Presbyterian minister and his writing is suffused with a kind of quiet religiosity. The characters seem to be searching for moral guidance and inner peace. They approach the world prepared for the miraculous to occur and, open to the possibility, they tend to perceive such miracles in the circumstances of every day life.

The central character in this story is Kenzie Maxwell, who like Buechner is an author in later life. Twenty years earlier, at a time when he sensed an emptiness in his life, he began attending church and volunteering in the community. While working in a shelter for runaways (on whose Board his attorney brother served), Kenzie fell in love with a graffiti-tagging teenage girl named Kia. Unbeknownst to him, Kia died giving birth to their child in her tenement apartment. But when Kia's grandmother approached the shelter for help with the child, scandal exploded. Kenzie and his brother Dalton became estranged and Kenzie has spent the intervening years seeking absolution and providing for the care and raising of Bree, his daughter with Kia, who has become a professional dancer. Now he lives on an island with his wealthy wife Willow and, among other things, continues to attend church, volunteers with the elderly and works on writing a combination journal/apology to Kia. Therein, he describes his current life:

I will continue to do penance, that's what I will do. I will continue to live off of my wife's money. I will continue to attend the eight o'clock service Sundays in my hooded blue sweatshirt and try to hear the voices of the saints through the Frog Bishop's amiable bromides. In short, I will go on playing, as I have for years, the feckless has-been they take me for with my unmentionable past and queer ways. That is my sackcloth and ashes. I will also, of course, continue to bring what succor I can to the very old because I'm not to be trusted ever, ever again with the very young. I never even trusted myself.

As the passage demonstrates, he has accepted the harsh societal judgment about his relationship with Kia, even though the book makes it clear that they shared a mutual and nonexploitative love. Moreover, the daughter that they produced holds a special place in Kenzie's heart. One night in bed Willow asked him if he believed in miracles:

...his answer, mumbled drowsily through his mustache, was, 'Bree is a miracle.'

He reached out one arm to turn off the light and then , lying there on his back with his eyes open, he tried to tell her what he meant. What he meant was that out of the forlorn and unnecessary death in the cold-water flat with only the hysterical grandmother in attendance, there had come life. It was as if Kia had managed to spray up her name in the most impossible of all places and in colors so fast that, with luck, it would be yeas before the weather or the passage of time effaced it. Bree herself was that name, the long-legged girl with her hair in a bun who smoked cigarettes to his horror and whom he longed above all things to keep safe not only from the weather and the passage of time but also from anything in herself that might threaten her. As she leapt off the practice-room floor in her black leotards or was raised like the Host at St, Mary's by some boy with his hands at her waist--as she did her entrechats and plies and pas de chat with a dancer's imperturbable smile--he thought of her as inscribing the name that she embodied again and again through the stuffy air until Kia, Kia, was everywhere. It might so easily have gotten lost in the shadows, but it hadn't. That was the miracle, that and the knowledge that he of all people--in his own eyes so sybaritic and self-centered, so studiously unserious about almost everything the world took seriously--would at the drop of a hat give whatever was left of his life to save her from harm. He could tell from the sound of Willow's breathing that she had fallen asleep, but he continued to think about miracles as he watched the moon rise over the water.

The plot of the book centers around the gathering of Kenzie's pretty non-nuclear family on the island for his 70th birthday. Even his estranged brother arrives, having been invited down by the bitter old woman who owns and developed the island and resents Kenzie for the whiff of scandal he carries. Each of the characters has his or her own burdens to bear, although each seems to also be a fundamentally good person whose worst critic is him or her self. As they all come together a huge sudden and viscious storm blows up (the whole novel is loosely based on Shakespeare's The Tempest) and leaves in its wake a group of people who are much changed from when first we met them.

In a world where so many people care so little about morality in general and the quality of their own actions in specific, the denizens of Buechner's world are heartsick at the thought that their behavior does not measure up to the standards they believe in. At times we long for them to ease up on themselves a little, but at the same time, it may be precisely this type of self-judgment and regulation that makes them such essentially decent people.

Their decency, their idiosyncrasies and the beauty of Buechner's storytelling make this a delightful novel.

Grade: A

Buechner's novel examines his familiar themes about sin, grace, miracle, and reconciliation. Readers aware of Buechner's THE ALPHABET OF GRACE will see again this prolific and inspiring writer's use of the common and the ordinary to point his fallen and disgraced and flawed characters toward a holy and wondrous grace.

A story of a completely dysfunctional family (but then, aren't we all?), but hope, faith and caring shine through despite so many histories and challenges. When the daughter asks her elderly father "What are you going to do, dear, now that you're so old. You made me sad when you said your life is like a computer you never found out how to work" I found myself in tears. Very moving story, of normal (and sometimes shallow) people. I'm looking for more reading by this author. My mid-life crisis must be preparing me for the late life angst!

Frederick Buechner has the knack of delivering heartfelt messages in good writing but he doesn't write message books. His latest, "The Storm" is one of his best. It is the Shakespearean story of "The Tempest" set in contemporary New York and Florida with believable well-developed characters who don't have all the answers but will help you find some answers for yourself along the way.

One of Frederick Buechner's most compelling talents, for me, is his ability to create characters that are profoundly real and believable. In all of the novels by this author that I have read so far, this is a firm constant -- and one of his greatest strengths. Whether the setting is Biblical times (as in THE SON OF LAUGHTER or ON THE ROAD WITH THE ARCHANGEL), the mediaeval British Isles (as in BRENDAN and his Pulitzer-nominated masterpiece GODRIC), or present-day Florida (as in THE STORM), Buechner's characters are brimming with a wonderful humanity.

THE STORM concerns the estrangement of two brothers, both now elderly. The central character, a writer named Kenzie Maxwell, is approaching his 70th birthday -- and the storm clouds are gathering around him, both figuratively and literally. His brother Dalton, whom he dismissed several years ago with a wish never to look upon his face again, is coming for a brief stay on the island where Kenzie and his wife Willow live. Kenzie has never forgiven his brother for -- as he sees it -- besmirching the character and spirit of a young woman named Kia, with whom Kenzie shared a brief affair and fathered a child (before his marriage to Willow). The affair caused a bit of a scandal at the time -- Kia was only 17, and Kenzie was already in his 50s, working at a shelter for homeless and abused children in New York City, where Kia had been a client. Kia died giving birth to Kenzie's daughter -- and the older man has never shirked his responsibilities toward her, seeing to it that she is raised in caring surroundings, treating her with love and respect. Part of Kenzie's anger at his brother is actually engendered by his own actions -- although he has a hard time realizing this. I think, deep down, he feels a lot of guilt over the events himself, and has a hard time not only admitting his guilt, but coming to terms with the actions he has taken in his own life.

Kenzie's marriage to Willow is a sweet relationship -- one of the most gently fulfilling unions I've seen portrayed in literature. It's not a tumultuous passion that they share -- but there is love abounding in the form of kindness, respect and support, qualities that are too often nudged aside in stories in favor of heated sexual encounters. Their marriage is a quiet one, but strong, truly built upon a rock.

Kenzie is best-known as an author for a book he has written several years before, documenting the lives of various saints. He has never considered himself to be a profoundly religious man -- he even looks with some amusement of the tactics employed by various subjects in his book in order that they might experience, reach, touch God. As he writes the book, however, he begins to feel more of a pull himself, and winds up living the rest of his life as a quietly spiritual person -- not trying to convince others of how to live their lives, but simply trying to live his own faith through his actions. His epiphany concerning the saints whose lives he is chronicling is expressed beautifully by Buechner.

Kenzie's brother Dalton -- who, after all the years that have passed, is still in the dark as to why his brother has banished him from his life -- is an intelligent, thoughtful man, an attorney, but one living with many doubts as to the value of his own life. Like his brother's guilt, these doubts are hidden deeply below the surface and are not seen for what they are by their bearer. He has experienced a couple of 'breakdown' episodes in his life -- and is therefore treated a bit with kid gloves by those around him. He sometimes makes pronouncements at dinners or parties that cause people to think he's a little odd -- and he's all too aware of these 'lapses'.

The wealthy woman who owns most of Plantation Island in Florida, where the bulk of this story takes place, has retained Dalton as her attorney. Loving to play games with other people's lives, and knowing full well about the estrangement between the two brothers, she invites Dalton to come to the island to help her with her will -- on the same weekend as Kenzie's 70th birthday celebration, hoping to engender and witness an entertaining confrontation.

Also coming to the island is Kenzie's daughter Bree -- the child born of his 'scandalous' affair years earlier with the 17 year-old Kia. Dalton's stepson lives on the mainland nearby, and is invited by his father to come to the island as well. Kenzie knows about his brother's impending visit, and concludes that it is probably time to at least attempt to bury the hatchet. As Willow so succinctly puts it, 'You're too old to do anything else with it'.

The (literal) storm of the title blows up while Dalton and his stepson are out on the ocean in a borrowed boat -- neither of them being sufficiently familiar with it, especially under foul weather conditions. The potential of losing his brother forever touches Kenzie -- and, indeed, all of those gathered for the birthday party -- in a deep way, causing them to rethink the ways they have lived their lives and reflect on things that are truly meaningful and important, the things that last, that make our lives blessed, each in our own way.

Buechner brings all of these elements together masterfully. His narrative abilities are astounding and subtle -- he never stoops to literary pyrotechnics -- and the spirituality that has filled every work I have read of his is like a gentle light, not the force-fed, raving bombast that passes for such in other authors' works. There is a great deal of subtle humor in several of these characters (and in his other works as well) -- the woman who owns the island and the bishop who oversees her chapel, most notably. The story is gripping and moving, intelligently conceived and executed -- and one that, I think, will leave a lasting impression on the reader.

Although not replete with action, I found the book difficult to put down. Buechner's superb character development leaves you with new acquaintences or enemies. Stirring and meaningful.

Buechner's latest has left me feeling like this novel was rather lackluster. The characters and their relations to one another became confusing over time, and far too much time was spent developing them, only to have them do basically nothing. Buechner seems to try too hard in this novel to make his characters "unusual," giving them odd quirks that, over time, make them unbelievable. Also, there is virtually no movement of the plot -- the entire 200-page book is spent developing characters, only to have them radically change, reconciling past differences, suddenly in the last few pages. For all the plot development in this novel, it perhaps would have served better as a short story or novella, rather than a full-blown novel. Buechner is a gifted writer, whose work I have enjoyed in the past; this novel, however, left me feeling like I was reading about selfish characters who did nothing, and whom I cared little about.

Forgiveness. Reconciliation. These are very up-front themes in this story. The main character, Kenzie is in need of both... and he, in turn, needs to demonstrate both of these towards his brother Dalton. But even above this, I think that The Storm has much to say about the power of "belonging" and the lessons learned while rebuilding one's life after an experience of profound loss and disgrace. Kenzie comes closest to a realization of BELONGING through his relationship with Willow, but according to Kenzie, the world is not famous for happy endings... his is a sort of morose character who is quietly seeking his sense of "home". Does he ever really find it?

Sometimes it may take a real storm (some sort of mutually experienced calamity) to make us aware of the importance of living in community, the need to live "grace"fully, the need for brotherly love to be freely given as much as it is possible. It is remarkable how Buechner's book has left me with a sense of the importance of "family". This is a worthwhile read!

It takes a lot of nerve to update Shakespeare and I'm sure there have been failed attempts in the past. But Frederick Buechner takes it one step further and not only updates The Tempest, but adds a Christian element to it as well. Well, what you do you expect from a Presbyterian minister who is as comfortable with fiction as he is theology and has a sense of humor to boot.


The Storm uses Shakespeare's play as the basis, but Buechner avoids trying to recreate the scenario item by item. Considering the fantastical nature of much of the play, this is a good idea and someone unfamiliar with Shakespeare could read the book, find an interesting story, and never the connection make (or need). [Anyone wishing for a quick refresher on The Tempest could read the BBC's humorous, tabloid, 60-second version.]

Buechner's story centers around Kenzie (Prospero) who has left New York in disgrace after fathering a child with a young woman he should have been caring for (this episode alone could keep us talking for some time). His brother, Dalton (Antonio), in an effort at clarity exposes and shames not only Kenzie, but the young woman who gave birth to daughter named Bree (Miranda). It is the shame for the mother that Kenzie cannot forgive his brother. Eventually Kenzie finds himself living on an island after marrying Willow (wink, wink, nudge, nudge) who shares the house with her 40-something, wind surfing Averill (Ariel) and served by Clavert (Caliban). Dalton is called to the island by Miss Sickert (Sycorax), who owns the island and oversees much of what happens. He calls on his semi-estranged stepson, Nandy (Ferdinand), to accompany him.

Thus with all the characters assembled we have simply the action to take place, and it does. Perhaps because we know the ending already Buechner rushes this section along to quickly. It is not often I wish for a book to be longer, but the meeting of the brothers and the subsequent tempest could have been expanded. The strength of the book lies in the outset where Kenzie's wandering life as an author is pulled into focus as he begins to work with the homeless. He throws himself into this new understanding of life, even losing friends and a wife with his commitment, until finally he becomes to close to what he is learning about.

Buechner is a Christian, but this no "Jesus-in-a-box" type story. Kenzie's religious leanings are mystical rather than dogmatic, and much of what he believes is inspired by the saints he studied in writing one of his books. His new life is clearly that of a conversion, although he himself does not understand it. But he senses a greater power when describing his time in the "rich people's chapel" he notes that "[e]ven on the warmest, most breathless Sundays he sometimes felt a stirring of cool air about his nostrils. He could not make it happen although he had tried...He was not prepared to say where it came from or to what purpose, but what he took it to mean was that the weather of the world is as distinct from true weather as the sultry stillness is from the coming storm." This Prospero is no sorcerer, but he is tied into something more powerful than he is. More importantly, in a life seeking forgiveness he realizes he is already forgiven and has the power to forgive others, namely his brother. This is certainly an interpretation Shakespeare could live with.

This is perhaps one of the more thoughtful readings of the past year. It is a very slim book that packs quite a punch within these pages. It is lyrical and realistic enough where I, the reader, can relate to just about every character in the book.

There's Kenzie who is married to Willow, a rich woman who lives on Plantation Island in Florida. Both have secrets that neither really knows. Kenzie was wildly in love with one of his proteges in New York, a young graffiti artist named Kia, who died in childbirth. Bree, his daughter, was raised by Kenzie's sister. Kenzie's affair with Kia caused an estrangement with his brother, Dalton, who is also stepfather to Nandy, his wife's son. Then there's Violet who owns most of the Plantation Island. There's Willow's son, Averill who happens to live there with Kenzie and Willow. All of their stories come together in the end during a big storm that nearly caused the end of Dalton and Nandy's lives.

These are stories of love, anger, forgiveness and redemption. These are thoughtful stories and stories that are entwined among the characters that they're not even fully aware of. They are just reflections of the human race.

It is my first introduction to Frederick Buechner's writings and hopefully, it will not be my last book of his. It is incredibly lyrical ~~ even now, when I am flipping among the pages, I find myself wanting to read it again. That doesn't happen very often.

1-1-07