The Father's Tale

A Novel

By: Michael O'Brien

Narrated by: Kevin O'Brien

Canadian bookseller Alex Graham is a middle-age widower whose quiet life is turned upside down when his college-age son disappears without any explanation or trace of where he has gone. With minimal resources, the father begins a long journey that takes him away from his safe and orderly world for the first time.

As he stumbles across the merest thread of a trail, he follows it in blind desperation, and is led step by step on an odyssey that takes him to fascinating places and, sometimes, to frightening people and perils.

Through the uncertainty and the anguish, the loss and the longing, Graham is pulled into conflicts between nations, as well as the eternal conflict between good and evil. Stretched nearly to the breaking point by the inexplicable suffering he witnesses and experiences, he discovers unexpected sources of strength as he presses onward in the hope of recovering his son—and himself.

©2011 Ignatius Press (P)2023 Ignatius Press

Terrible narrator

I returned it after the first hour or so. I haven't finished the book so I don't know if it's good, but I imagine it is. The narrator is insufferable. He creates these outlandish voices for characters. And he has a sing song monotone. Absolutely Annoying.

A beautiful story of a father’s faith and love

This story broke my heart and healed it all at once. “A broken heart is the only whole heart”. The unexpected twists and turns, connections will keep you hoping and guessing the whole time. The cast of characters is so memorable and I really wish I could visit the Kingfisher bookstore, not to mention Siberia in Spring. I was sad this story had to end.

Keep listening despite the voice

The voice the narrator choose for the lead character sounded like a not very bright adolescent boy, which was very distracting. However the story is so good, you need to keep listening!!

Great story despite the narration

I really enjoyed this book however, the voices that the narrator created were grating at times

Wonderful Book

I really enjoyed this book. Touching on an incredibly deep level. Many times had me in tears. Would highly recommend.

The Father’s Tale

A lovely story which speaks to the soul. We are left with much to ponder.

compelling story of a man's personal growth towards God

I felt this book would have worked better as a series of short stories. The presumptive plot gets lost in the side events that are actually the point of the book. Many of the episodes are beautifully written and stay with you. Perhaps this book is better read than listened to.

Good story. Weird narration.

it's a well written, entertaining story. The narrator chooses strange voices for most characters. Sometimes yelling in his character voice when it doesn't seem to warrant it.

The of story tellers

Best book I’ve heard since the last book I read by this author. The gospel told through an amazing story of love.

What stood out most was the intolerable narration.

I don’t like to write critical reviews in the belief that if you can’t say anything nice you shouldn’t say anything at all. But the narration of this story is just impossible for me to listen to, bad enough that I want to warn against buying it. The book itself has such glowing reviews on Amazon that I hope to read it some day soon. Michael O’Brien’s novels are quite expensive so it may be a while until I can invest in it. But with narration this annoying - the voices used for the characters are worse than the cheapest cartoon productions I’ve ever heard - made it impossible for me to get past the first few chapters. I’m going to have to return it and get my credit back.