The Yellow Leaves (2008)
A miscellany
Book Description
Frederick Buechner surprises, enthralls, and guides readers old and new with The Yellow Leaves—an anthology of original essays, memoir pieces, short stories, and poetry.
Within the commonplace moments, chores, and activities of daily existence, Buechner finds the presence of the divine and points toward the possibility of transcendence. Alongside these meditations on the beauties of ordinary life, family, and faith, the author also offers rich glimpses into significant moments in his own journey, from meeting Presidents Eisenhower, Roosevelt, and Truman, to his friendship with Maya Angelou, and his adventures in Europe as a young man.
Among his other reflections, Buechner also remembers the publication of his first two novels, A Long Day’s Dying and The Season’s Difference, offers a tantalizing glimpse into what might have been with a return to the Bebb tetralogy in the form of a short story, and forays into literary criticism once more with an essay on Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol.
All around us the sea was nothing but whitecaps, and as the wind whipped off their spray, the sun turned it every color of the spectrum so that we were surrounded by an endless meadow of rainbows. Another moment I have always remembered was walking out on deck one night after supper and finding a young red-haired officer peering into the dark through binoculars. He told me he was scanning the horizon for signs of other ships, and the way to do that, he explained, was to look not at the horizon but just above it. He said you could see better that way than by looking straight on, and I have found it to be an invaluable truth in many ways. Listen not just to the words being spoken but to the silences between the words, and watch not just the drama unfolding on the stage but the faces all around you watching it unfold.
Reviews
"Before there was Rob Bell, Anne Lamott and Brian McLaren, there was—and still is—Frederick Buechner. Frederick Buechner was—and remains—a pioneer in spiritual memoir."
— David Crumm, Editor of www.ReadTheSpirit.com
"Heartbreaking, sardonic, whimsical, elegiac, crazy-funny: this is a book to be sipped like a rare wine, the last bottle of a fabled vintage, brought up from the cellar for our delectation."
— John Wilson, editor Books & Culture
"Here, yet again, is Fred with his compelling talent for storytelling, his artistry with image and phrase, and his cunning sense of depth and hiddenness in the ordinary. The tales he tells of mother and Johnny and presidents and aunts will be echoed in our laughing and our weeping."
— Walter Bruggemann, theologian
"This book is cause for rejoicing. Buechner’s remarkable way with words continues. From presidents to teachers, from famous folk to family, Buechner’s subjects become poignant portraits that bespeak his artful attentiveness. Ranging from memoir to short story, from book review to poetry, this book will be good company for longtime Buechner readers and a revelation to those just arriving."
— W. Dale Brown, author
