Reviews for The Storm: A Novel

The average rating for The Storm: A Novel based on 2 reviews is 4.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2018-11-20 00:00:00 Chris Brown ‘Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?’ – Mary Oliver On the surface, The Storm by Frederick Buechner is the story of two elderly, estranged brothers making peace with each other on Plantation Island off the coast of Florida. It is a modern day reworking of William Shakespeare’s The Tempest. On a deeper level, The Storm is about flawed individuals making peace with themselves and finding an anchor for their restless, storm-tossed lives. Buechner’s novel has a cast of characters who are messed-up but real and beautiful in their eccentricities. The chief protagonist is near 70-year-old Kenzie Maxwell, married not just for the third time but also thrice to women of means and unashamedly living off their wealth. He is in exile on Plantation Island owing to a scandal involving an adolescent (Kia) he impregnated while volunteering at a shelter for abused children. He cannot forgive himself; neither can he forgive his older brother, Dalton Maxwell, a lawyer, who takes him to task for his sexual indiscretion. Dalton has previously initiated Kenzie’s involvement in the shelter and feels duty bound to evict the latter from the shelter that unfortunately lost public confidence and funding when the scandal came to light. Kenzie is celebrating his 70th birthday and wonders if he should invite his brother whom he has not seen for about twenty years. Both Kenzie and Dalton have adult stepchildren who seem content to drift and live life on the fringes: Averill, the 40-year-old stepson of Willow, Kenzie’s third wife; and Nandy, Dalton’s stepson in his early twenties. Averill’s full time occupation is to surf and meditate. Nandy has dropped out of college, does odd jobs, lives in barracks with Cubans, and travels to escape a highly critical and exacting stepfather. There is Bree, Kenzie’s illegitimate daughter with Kia, who is raised by her paternal aunt and aspires to be a ballerina. They converge onto Plantation Island, owned by Mrs. Sickert, the arrogant, snobbish and wealthy spinster who fears death and has no one to bequeath her wealth. She has a wicked bone and intentionally invites her lawyer, Dalton, to the island on the eve of Kenzie’s birthday party ostensibly to work on her will but really to punish Kenzie whom she despises for his shady past and relative poverty. I believe the heart of this novel rests on Bree’s question to Kenzie on his 70th birthday: “What are you going to do, Kenzie dear, now that you’re so old?” Kenzie does not answer her question. But in the quiet of his room, Kenzie jots down in a letter he writes to Kia that he will continue to do penance. That includes living on his rich wife’s money, attending eight o’clock Sunday services and volunteering at the Old People’s Home. It is clear though that what gnaws at Kenzie are sadness, guilt and shame. What recourse is left to folks who have transgressed and want so much to be forgiven? Kenzie hopes to do better by helping others in need. In totally different ways, the other characters are each trying to define what they wish to do with their lives, and part of that lies in finding acceptance with and a sense of belonging to the people they are haplessly thrown together. What does it take for estranged family members to stem the course of wasted time and make the most out of the remaining years? As the book title suggests, it takes a storm - a severe tempest that threatens to annihilate loved ones whom one is afraid to love. It is ironic that it takes a storm to quell familial unrest. But Buechner writes with insight into the duality of human nature and its potential for both good and evil. What emerges from these pages is the realization that there remains in our stubborn and hardened selves a soft and tender spot that is redeemable. The Storm may not be everyone’s cup of tea. There are underlying currents that churn slowly as you turn the pages. However, a reader who enjoys a quiet and reflective (subtly humorous) novel may find this heartwarming. This is my ninth book by Frederick Buechner and he does not disappoint. He is a writer I have grown to love and respect.

Review # 2 was written on 2017-08-25 00:00:00 Aaron Colby Heartbreaking and delightful. Beautiful adaptation of The Tempest.