""Stephen Mitchell's gift is to breathe new life into ancient classics. In Joseph and the Way of Forgiveness, he offers us his riveting novelistic version of the Biblical tale in which Jacob's favorite son is sold into slavery and eventually becomes viceroy of Egypt. Tolstoy called it the most beautiful story in the world. What's new here is the lyrical, witty, vivid prose, informed by a wisdom that brings fresh insight to this foundational legend of betrayal and all-embracing forgiveness. Mitchell's retelling, which reads like a postmodern novel, interweaves the narrative with brief meditations that, with their Zen surprises, expand the narrative and illuminate its main themes. By stepping inside the minds of Joseph and the other characters, Mitchell reanimates one of the central stories of Western culture. The engrossing tale that he has created will capture the hearts and minds of modern readers and show them that this ancient story can still challenge, delight, and astonish"--

A fourteen-year-old living with his grandparents learns his father is to be released from prison after killing his mother and feels apprehensive about renewing the relationship. Based on true events.

"A bearded man in a badly soiled suit known only The Stranger wanders the fringes of a dying metropolis, looking for a way to 'get back on top.' Thwarted and rejected at every turn--even by the author of this novel, whom he visits repeatedly in unsuccessful attempts to determine the outcome of his own narrative--his impotence and rage drive him to acts of seemingly senseless violence. He encounters various characters on his journey: three skinheads who beat him senseless, a pack of sadistic boys who torture him, a deaf-mute woman who tries to heal him, and a deranged man who identifies him as The One. A sidewalk preacher and a crew of lost souls attempt to follow his trail, and an innocent boy ignites a fire that threatens to consume them all."--P. [4] of cover.