A Christmas gift books for adults and teens, this is a moving account of a child growing out of mystery and into understanding through the death of his father. Ending at Christmas, the hope of the season is the book's true meaning. "What I wanted to do in this little book was to convey as directly and completely and as honestly as I could what it felt like to be the ten year old child I was at the time of my father's death in 1936." This story of Teddy Schroeder and his sister Bean is a moving account of a child growing out of mystery (the mysteries of the world) into understanding. As a novel it is simple and evocative, focused on the inner feelings more than outward events. The big event is the death of the narrator's father and what it does to Teddy and Bean. The book ends at Christmas, and while it is not about Christmas the hope of the season is the book's meaning (and the author's intention). At the end, when the children are in church, they sing from the hymn "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" the "This holy tide of Christmas doth bring redeeming grace." Teddy reflects on this, what the word "tide" means and whether it is about the beach where they had been with their father. Bean asks Teddy, "What is the tide of Christmas if you think you're so smart?" and Teddy "It's the high tide, Bean. It's the Wizard of Oz tide. It's the one that brings you home." "Everybody?" Bean said. "Everybody," Teddy said. "Then he said just one more thing even though he nearly didn't because he was afraid it might make Bean cry the way she had been crying the time he found her under the bridge table. 'Even Daddy,' he said." — From the author's introduction This book was originally published as The Wizard's Tide .
Author
Frederick Buechner is a highly influential writer and theologian who has won awards for his poetry, short stories, novels and theological writings. His work pioneered the genre of spiritual memoir, laying the groundwork for writers such as Anne Lamott, Rob Bell and Lauren Winner. His first book, A Long Day's Dying, was published to acclaim just two years after he graduated from Princeton. He entered Union Theological Seminary in 1954 where he studied under renowned theologians that included Reinhold Niebuhr, Paul Tillich, and James Muilenberg. In 1955, his short story "The Tiger" which had been published in the New Yorker won the O. Henry Prize. After seminary he spent nine years at Phillips Exeter Academy, establishing a religion department and teaching courses in both religion and English. Among his students was the future author, John Irving. In 1969 he gave the Noble Lectures at Harvard. He presented a theological autobiography on a day in his life, which was published as The Alphabet of Grace. In the years that followed he began publishing more novels, including the Pulitzer Prize finalist Godric. At the same time, he was also writing a series of spiritual autobiographies. A central theme in his theological writing is looking for God in the everyday, listening and paying attention, to hear God speak to people through their personal lives.
