This Novel I use all the time. It breaks down every character in parts. To call God the Fear struck as most interesting. I must say the reading is great and shows how we Fear God but seldom listen.
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Frederick Buechner's training and experience as an ordained Presbyterian minister, combined with his incredible literary skills make reading his works a pure joy. His retelling here of the story of Jacob, son of Isaac (whose name means Laughter), brings to life like no other author I've read the struggle toward God, the intra-family strife, and the sheer battle to stay alive in harsh times and an unforgiving landscape.Jacob...
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Jacob, to be truthful, had never really spoken to me before this novel. This hauntingly beautiful retelling seeks to explain why he acted the way he did without whitewashing him.The well known stories of his relationships with his parents and twin brother Esau are here, as well as his two wives and sons and the famous ladder dream and wrestling match with the angel. Jacob is no saint (for instance, the fact that he barely...
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Buechner captures both the human and the divine once again as he traces the life of Jacob, the son of Laughter (Isaac). While the biblical events of Jacob's life are present, Buechner fills in the biblical gaps with emotive images, powerful reflections, and realistic human commentary. Buechner simultaneously captures the human tendeny towards sin, and hope in a God who is not content to strand us in our wretchedness...
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This biography of Jacob walks a fine line between Biblical correctness and speculation. Buechner never adds data in conflict with the Bible, but certainly the character traits, motivations, and numerous small details that bring the story to life are certainly speculative. Such as I know of it, Buechner appears to have borrowed from rabbinical traditions to fill in some of the gaps in the story. (For example, just how...
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