The Son of Laughter

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

Seeing this book takes me back to my afternoon strolls through the towering national library, colonial style still fresh and beautiful against the backdrop of my rapidly changing and crumbling city. That library was a refuge. I remember finding this book and reading it in one sitting.

Adding this to my personal library soon.

A contemporary retelling of the story of Jacob.

Fictional account of Jacob's story.