"The Father's Tale" praised as deeply Catholic, beautiful, entertaining, thoughtful, and "a tour de force"

Fr. Z(uhlsdorf) writes the following about Michael O'Brien's most recent book, The Father's Tale: A Novel:

O’Brien writes with a strong undertone of mysticism.  His works are deeply Catholic, in the sense that he writes from a Catholic worldview, not in the sense that his stories have to do with priests and bishops, etc.  Ordinary people live lordinary lives, but with extraordinary responses when challenges arrive.

O’Brien also is notable for his willingness to present good as good and evil as evil, without smearing the one into the other.  He may present something as beautiful in merely worldly terms, but by the time he is done with you, as a reader, you see what the difference is between that which is mired in the world (and its prince) and what is directed to heaven and the King.  There is also a strong Marian thread in his books.

I have been marking passage in the book about which I thought, “I have to share that with the readers!”

And from a review on the Vivificat site:

Michael O’Brien’s book, The Father's Tale: A Novel, was brought to me as a healing balm, as just the medicine that the doctor ordered. 

 The Father's Tale: A Novel is the story of a man about my age, father of two sons like I am, and one of them went astray. The father, Alexander Graham by name, a reclusive widower and bookstore keeper, resigned to die. He left everything behind, his bucolic Canadian town, his shop, his friends, and his eldest son, starting a desperate race against time and distance to bring his youngest son, his stray lamb, back into the fold.

Spanning Great Britain, Finland, the entire length of Russia and beyond, Mr. O’Brien gives us a tour de force that includes music, poetry, revolution; as well as deepest darkness and incredible light. We see Alex Graham’s heart expand, then break, and then expand into greater love.

Two takeaways from this book, the first one a lesson taught also in several other books by Mr. O’Brien which I have read, and that is that the battle against evil is not going to be won by any human means at our disposal. No one knows can begin to image how the battle will be won, but it will be won. In fact, it has been won already.

The second lesson reminds me of words spoken by the Francis character in Brother Sun, Sister Moon: there no more sons, there are no more fathers. But Alex Graham went deeper into his meditation, discovering that fathers will become sons and sons, fathers and above all of them, Our Father who is in heaven.

Finally, Jeff Miller (aka, The Curt Jester), writes:

At over a 1000 pages this is not a simple adventure story and a rescuing of a son, but something deeper and richer. Again you can see aspects of Michael O’Brien the iconographer in his writing along with the theological emphasis of the Eastern Catholic and Orthodox Churches. This aspect especially shines through here. O’Brien certainly has a tendency to monologue via his characters at times, but I forgive him this because he has something to say that is worth hearing. You might think there should have been plenty of room for an editor to scale back the size of the book, but there is not a section I would have wanted cut. The novel left me both entertained and thoughtful afterwards. The plot itself took so many twists and turns that I came to not be able to anticipate what was going to happen next other than the general flow of the theme. It is always hard to evaluate a novel fresh after reading it in comparison to the author’s other novels. Regardless, I feel this is his finest novel to date.

The Ignatius Press audiobook version is again done by Kevin O’Brien. I listen to a fair amount of professionally done audiobooks and i would place Kevin O’Brien skills in the upper tier. His ensemble of voices and performance brings something extra to an already good story.

The novel is available in hardcover, downloadable audio format, and e-book format. 

On Ignatius Insight:

• The Opening Pages of The Father's Tale: A Novel | Michael D. O'Brien

Comments

[kDan Deeny]

Father Zuhlsdorf writes "mired in the world (and its prince)." I wonder if he could explain a bit. Is he a Cathar? A Calvinist? Isn't the world good? True, the prince of darkness wanders in the world. But doesn't he try to make it evil, and make us believe the world is evil? Isn't that one of his tricks?

[Carl E. Olson]

Dan: Fr. Z's usage is assuredly biblical. The thing to keep in mind is that the New Testament talks about "the world" in different ways, but mostly negative; that is, "the world" is usually referring to the fallen, sin-drenched order that is in desperate need of redemption and, in the end, judgment and re-creation. "Do not be conformed to this world", wrote St. Paul, "but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may prove what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect" (Rom 12:2).