It is, in short, the story about evil and redemption that is wrapped up in the lives of РІР‚Сљthe seed of Abraham, the bearers of luck and blessing.'Р”Р‡ive scintillating stars. РІР‚СљThe Son of LaughterРІР‚Сњ is a benign title for a story about faith and doubt, love and rivalry, favoritism and jealousy, passion and murder, loss and grief, forgetting and remembering. Buechner did his research well and his story had an authentic sense of place and time. (view spoiler) Р”В¬ulturally and historically, РІР‚СљThe Son of LaughterРІР‚Сњ made for fascinating reading. (view spoiler) There was an exquisitely lovely episode where Jacob, fleeing the wrath of his brother, first met his beloved Rachel in Haran.

In one of the most heart-wrenching episodes, Isaac bared his heart to Jacob about his childhood experience on Mount Moriah when Abraham bound him and placed him on the altar as a gift to the Fear. Hence, the title, РІР‚СљThe Son of LaughterРІР‚Сњ, could well refer to Jacob rather than Isaac. The story was told from HeelsРІР‚в„ў perspective. He was the smooth-skinned, cunning, go-getter who coveted the Promise and robbed his twin of his birthright.

Jacob) emerged from his mother's womb grabbling the heels of his brother. Esau), the older twin, was portrayed as a simple-minded, bumbling, but lovable red-haired hunter who lived to hunt, cook, and eat. Then there were Hairy and Heels - the pair of twins born to Isaac, as different as chalk and cheese. He was also Laughter because he was the 'luck bearer' the Fear had designated as the Son of Promise. Isaac, AbrahamРІР‚в„ўs son, was Laughter because both Abraham and his wife, Sarah, laughed themselves into a fit at his improbable birth. The nature of the characters was summed up in the names Buechner created for them. Abraham was described as РІР‚Сљa barrel-chested old man with a beard dyed crimson and the hooded eyes of the desert.' I could picture him in my mindРІР‚в„ўs eye. I marveled at how Buechner fully fleshed out the characters based on their principal personality traits.

It was the first thing I read on waking up and the last thing I read before sleeping. Frederick Buechner retold an old story with startling freshness, wit, and humor. If you had been attentive in Sunday School, you would recognize this as the story of the patriarchs: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph. The Friend of the Fear beget a son at age 100 and called him Laughter. But how was that possible when he had no children and his wife was past child-bearing? Yet not only was the Fear true to his word, he also had a great sense of humor. He was already 99 years old when the Fear promised to make him a father of a multitude of nations. If you had been attentive in Sunday School, you would recognize this as the story of Once upon a time, there was an old man who was called the Friend of the Fear. Once upon a time, there was an old man who was called the Friend of the Fear.

The laughter of my father full story