The Storm (1998)
Book Description
Pursued by a difficult past and a burgeoning (albeit late) midlife crisis, Kenzie Maxwell flees to Plantation Island with his third wife, Willow. Surrounded by a community of wealthy retirees, the aged writer stews over the repercussions of his misdeeds, chiefly, his affair with a homeless graffiti artist, named Kia, while working at a charitable organization in South Bronx. Two decades later Kia is long dead, and Kenzie is still struggling to relate to the daughter she has left him, Bree.
When Kenzie’s estranged brother, Dalton, arrives at the invitation of Miss Sickert—the stern matriarch of Plantation Island—Willow spots an opportunity to reconcile the two men. Accompanied by his happy-go-lucky stepson, Nandy, Dalton is beset by his own parental difficulties. In an attempt to repair his broken relationship with his stepfather, Nandy organises a fishing excursion, hoping that the time alone will represent an opportunity to reach a mutual understanding, and set out on the road to recovery. As the blue skies of early morning begin to disappear and the boat is swallowed up by a sudden squall, Kenzie, Willow, and Bree race down to the beach, hoping against hope that something, anything, can be salvaged from the wreckage of the storm.
Reviews
“He is one of our greatest novelists…. The Storm is … a miniature epic … a quiet marvel.”
— The Philadelphia Inquirer
“A wonderfully human and satisfying meditative romance. A marvelous adaptation of Shakespeare—one of the best ever.”
— Kirkus Reviews
“[The Storm] leaves readers with admiration (again) for Buechner’s ability to create tension, resolve conflicts, and finally reach reconciliation.”
— Dallas Morning News
“For all its charm and lilt, The Storm, like any among Buechner's best novels, cannot be taken lightly.”
— The San Diego Reader
“The Storm is nothing less than a modern paraphrase of Shakespeare's The Tempest; and it is entirely wonderful.”
— Fort Worth Morning Star-Telegram
“Like other fine books by Frederick Buechner, The Storm is highly original and delights and surprises from first page to last. This is a warm and wonderful novel, a magical story, allusively and gracefully offering us an up-to-date, shadow version of Shakespeare's The Tempest. Stylish, witty, compassionate and charitable. The Storm is a story whose brilliant pleasures lead inevitably to a satisfying wisdom.”
— George Garrett, author
“Buechner ensures that all’s well that ends well.”
— New York Times Book Review
