The Father's Tale
SKU: 23548351006

The Father's Tale

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The Father's Taleby Michael O'Brien Discussion Guide "A modern retelling of the parables The Good Shepherd and The Prodigal Son." Michael 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 for the first time away from his safe and orderly world. As he

by Michael O'Brien

Discussion Guide

"A modern retelling of the parables The Good Shepherd and The Prodigal Son."
Michael 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 for the first time away from his safe and orderly world. 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.

Michael O'Brien, iconographer, painter, and writer, is the popular author of many best-selling novels including Father Elijah, Eclipse of the Sun, Sophia House, Theophilos and Island of the World. He lives in Canada with his wife and family.

“This is a magnum opus in quality as well as quantity.  All of O’Brien’s large and human soul is in this book as in none of his shorter ones: father, Catholic, Russophile, Canadian, personalist, artist, storyteller, romantic. There is not one boring or superfluous page. When you finish The Father's Tale you will say of it what Tolkien said of The Lord of the Rings: it has one fault: it is too short. A thousand pages of Michael O'Brien is like a thousand sunrises: who's complaining?”
Peter Kreeft, Ph.D., Boston College, Author, You Can Understand the Bible

“To enter the domain into which this book takes its readers is to find oneself in the precincts of Holiness, really. Everything is here: suspense, poignancy, darkness, goodness, radiance, courage and  joy. George Macdonald, Charles Williams, Chesterton, Lewis, and, yes, Dostoyevski, have ventured across the borders of this terrain. The scrim that lies between ordinariness and That Which lies beyond ordinariness is pierced. Michael O'Brien's achievement here is, I think, titanic.”
Thomas Howard, Author, Dove Descending: T.S. Eliot’s Four Quartets
 
"The best of Michael O’Brien’s novels. He creates characters like Dickens, explores human relationships like Austen, and has the epic scope of Tolstoy and Dostoevsky. I believe this novel will merit inclusion in any list of the world’s greatest novels."
Fr. Joseph Fessio, SJ

"In this epic tale of the complex and mysterious workings of love, O'Brien takes his readers on a harrowing intercontinental odyssey, offering them an inside view both of brutal torture and mystical transport in which the dark incongruities of divine providence reorder faith and hope so that love becomes fully possible."
David Lyle Jeffrey, Ph.D.  Distinguished Professor of Literature and the Humanities, Baylor University

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SKU: 23548351006

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Carnegie, US
★★★★★ 5
Corgi goes crazy for this ball
Six months now, still five stars. It is still easily our Corgi’s favorite ball & she still enjoys it all kinds of ways. Rather than tiring of it she likes it even more. She really likes the tabs that make it so easy to grab & hold onto. The ball is all roughed up & torn up still but held up well & has not had to be pumped back up at all. As others noted a small manual ball pump, about 10” with i think 3 different attachments, is included with each order. The glow in the dark stuff is apparently a coating of some kind which has been totally rubbed off. I used an art pen with glow liquid to trace the pattern on the ball for a glow refresh, we’ll see how long that lasts. It is hard to find toys she likes that much, i highly recommend! Our Welsh Corgi goes nuts for this slightly smaller size soccer ball. She had a full-sized ball that we left slightly deflated so she could run with it. This one is even better than i ever would’ve guessed it would be! The tabs, including a longer tab useful as a handle for humans, make it easy for her to grab it or run all over playing keep away with it. Not interested in herding this ball when she can run all over the yard with it or carry it everywhere with her. She’s a super strong chewer in spite of being small so it is extra durable by our tough standards & it appears that it will last at least a year im guessing. Quality materials & craftsmanship. It’s held up over a month - roughed up but not excessively. The glow in the dark feature is not as bright as the photos - don’t buy it just for that - but it glows some given enough daytime sun, and a dark night so the glow can show. Only the top side of the ball that’s facing up can absorb the sunlight at a time so it’s unlikely that the entire ball could get the amount of sunlight needed to glow brightly all at once. All and all this is the best, most well used toy purchased for her during her one year with us, well worth the $$ and recommend buying it if your pet enjoys balls, keep away, herding, and/or fetch, anything like that. She also likes to hide it from me, just the right size for that.
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Reviewed in the United States on May 13, 2023
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Dee123
Waukegan, US
★★★★★ 5
Pawsome product!
Color: Glow in the dark I, Size: Medium
Pawsome for our doggos! We have bought 5 because the puppy chewed the tags off. Our dogs are border / aussie mix and love the challenge of these balls. We named them "Wilson" because they treat them like their best friend.
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Reviewed in the United States on May 12, 2026
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Crystal Davis
Alexandria, US
★★★★★ 4
Good ball but does not glow.
Color: Glow in the dark I, Size: Medium
My Frenchie loves this ball and it seems to be made well, but it does not glow in the dark.
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Reviewed in the United States on November 18, 2025
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Nana
Lexington, US
★★★★★ 1
My Monster Dogs destroyed these balls
Color: Glow in the dark II, Size: Large
I was so excited to get two of these balls for my doodle puppies to have to play with . THEY DESTROYED THEM IN ALL OF TEN MINUTES. I don't believe that there was anything wrong with the balls. They were beautiful, high quality balls. Just not durable enough for my doodles.
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Reviewed in the United States on March 25, 2026
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Deborah Goellner
Grantham, US
★★★★★ 3
Doesn't glow in the dark but my dog still enjoyed
Color: Glow in the dark Ⅳ, Size: Medium
Great
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Reviewed in the United States on May 4, 2026

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