Brendan (novel)
| Company type | Novel |
|---|---|
| Industry | Literature |
| Founded | 1987 |
| Founder | Frederick Buechner |
| Products | Book |
| Parent | Atheneum Books |
Brendan represents the eleventh novel by American writer and theologian Frederick Buechner, released in 1987 through Atheneum in New York. That same year, it received the Christianity and Literature Book Award in the category of Belles-Lettres.
Plot summary
The narrative of Brendan offers a reinterpretation of the life of the fifth-century Irish saint Brendan the Navigator, who was born in 484 near Tralee, Ireland. His arrival into the world is signaled by an extraordinary forest fire, prompting Bishop Erc to dedicate him to the “new faith,” separating him from his parents, Finnloag and Cara. Brendan grows up studying at Abbot Jarlath's school, where he learns Latin and Christian teachings. He is then sent on a mission to bless the castle at Cashel, where a new monarch is to be crowned. During this journey, Brendan and his companion Finn are captured by a druidic tribe led by King Bauheen, who is miraculously healed after Brendan commands him to “walk.” This event leads to their conversion from the “old faith” to Christianity.
At Cashel, Brendan faces a royal succession conflict between Hugh the Black, who supports the old religion, and Hugh the Handsome, a modest adherent of the new faith. Maeve, a childhood acquaintance turned warrior woman, reveals Hugh the Black’s infertility during a public wrestling contest, which secures Hugh the Handsome’s claim to the throne. Brendan consolidates this triumph by baptizing MacLennin, Hugh Black’s bard, renaming him Colman.
Upon returning to Jarlath's abbey with Finn, Crosan, and Colman, Brendan is inspired by Bishop Erc’s tales of martyrs journeying toward the “land of the blessed” (Tir-na-n-Og). Following Erc’s passing, Brendan embarks on a voyage with companions in search of this mythical paradise. Their expedition is marked by numerous trials: Finn nearly drowns but survives; they encounter giant whales, volcanic eruptions, deranged monks isolated on islands, and enigmatic strangers. The death of monk Dismas profoundly affects the group and causes Gestas to lose his faith.
Back in Ireland, Brendan learns that both his parents have passed away but finds solace in Finn’s survival. Together they found monasteries throughout Ireland that attract many converts to Christianity. However, after the tragic death of their disciple Beothacht—whom Brendan holds himself accountable for—he abandons monastery-building efforts and resumes his quest for Tir-na-n-Og. This expedition ends in disappointment; following an unsuccessful stay on an island, Brendan returns home disillusioned.
In his later years, Brendan becomes a traveling preacher across Wales, dedicating himself to aiding the poor and providing spiritual guidance. His final journey back to Ireland is marked by several miracles and brings harmony to Cashel.
Characters
- Brendan: A dynamic and complex individual whose confidence and apparent miraculous abilities contrast with moments of uncertainty and anger. He refers to himself as ‘Christ’s man’, ‘heaven sent’, and capable of restoring ‘old things as good as new’. Much of his narrative draws from the tenth-century Navigatio Sancti Brendani, which chronicles the life and voyages of this sixth-century saint.
- Finn: The cautious and reflective narrator who resembles characters from Buechner's earlier works. He admires Brendan yet remains skeptical about his extraordinary accounts. Finn faces personal loss including his son’s death and wrestles with guilt over leaving his wife to pursue adventures with Brendan.
- Bishop Erc: A large-hearted and cheerful early Christian convert inspired by Saint Patrick. Erc integrates traditional customs with Christian beliefs, interpreting signs surrounding Brendan’s birth and initiating his mission by sending him to Abbot Jarlath.
- Abbot Jarlath: The head of an abbey responsible for educating Brendan in Christian doctrine, scriptures, and ethics.
- Maeve: A passionate young woman educated alongside Brendan who later escapes convent life to become a warrior. Her exploits influence Cashel’s royal succession and lead her to secretly join Brendan’s final voyage in search of Tir-na-n-Og.
- Crosan: The jester at Cashel whose riddles and humor mask deeper insights into human nature and the state of the kingdom.
- Colman: Initially bard to Hugh the Black and defender of pagan beliefs, he converts after Brendan presents Christ as the ultimate “bard” of creation. Baptized as Colman the Bard, he accompanies Brendan, expressing Christian themes through traditional bardic language: ‘Christ is my druid’, he proclaims, ‘I shall want for nothing’.
Composition
Brendan was composed by Buechner seven years following his tenth novel, Godric. In the intervening period, he released several memoirs, notably The Sacred Journey (1982) and Now and Then (1983). His re-engagement with fiction set in medieval Europe stemmed partly from his own spiritual encounters. In Telling Secrets, Buechner recounts attending St Barnabas Church in Glen Ellyn, IL, while serving as a guest lecturer at Wheaton in 1985. He was deeply moved by the understated preaching of rector Robert MacFarlane within the church’s subdued lighting. Seeking a comparable spiritual experience upon returning to Vermont, Buechner visited a Greek Orthodox Monastery where he listened to a sermon delivered by an imposing monk clad in golden robes. It was shortly after this visit that he embarked on writing Brendan.
Buechner identified closely with ‘Brendan the Navigator’:
He was a weathered figure, resembling myself—red-haired, quick-witted, known for miracles. Brendan may have voyaged as far as Newfoundland or possibly Florida but never discovered what he truly sought. Approaching the end of his life around 580, he questioned whether his expeditions had been futile pursuits rather than a more faithful service to Christ at home.
Concerning its publication history, Brendan first appeared through Atheneum in New York and was subsequently reissued by HarperCollins. In Telling Secrets, Buechner acknowledges Clayton Carlson, head of HarperCollins' religious division, for reprinting nearly all of his prior works.
Themes
Brendan continues many thematic explorations characteristic of Buechner's earlier novels, such as faith, the miraculous manifesting within everyday life, mortality, and uncertainty. Literary analyst Dale Brown places Brendan the Navigator alongside Godric of Finchale within a lineage of ‘literary saints,’ grouping them with figures like Flannery O'Connor’s eccentric saints, Dostoevsky’s Father Zossima, Salinger’s Seymour Glass, and Greene’s whiskey priest. Brown emphasizes the novel’s effective portrayal of 'the profound conflict between paganism and Christianity during early Irish Christian history,' while maintaining essential Buechnerian motifs such as the interplay between truth and falsehood and the potential presence of divine influence in human affairs.
In keeping with many of Buechner’s works, Brendan employs a first-person perspective narrated by Finn, Brendan’s childhood companion. Buechner mentioned in an interview that Irish literary tradition often alters adjective order for stylistic effect—a technique that shaped Finn’s narrative voice.
Critical reception
Reviewers lauded the prose style found in Brendan. Julia O'Faolain praised it in the New York Times as ‘remarkably authentic’ with a ‘lean yet lyrical’ quality. The Los Angeles Times Book Review described it as a ‘robust, bawdy, vibrant, ornate, and dynamic marvel,’ interpreting its central theme as life being fundamentally comedic despite its hardships.
Additional critiques echoed admiration for the novel’s lively style and thematic content. The Atlantic characterized it as ‘an elaborate and flamboyant tale,’ while The Washington Post World commended its spirited nature and its celebration of faith’s capacity to inspire and sustain. Literary scholar Marjorie Casebier McCoy observed that Brendan arises from Buechner’s evolving faith journey, enabling him to fulfill his dual vocation as novelist and theologian. Dale Brown further notes that the novel weaves together influences from Dante, Homer, northern mythologies, along with elements reminiscent of Malory and Tolkien, enriching it with imaginative and fantastical dimensions.