The Dwarves in the Stable Summary and Analysis

In November, 1936, Frederick Buechner's father commits suicide by running his automobile engine in the family's closed garage. There is no funeral or church rite of passing, only a memorial service for his Princeton class the next spring—the man is unceremoniously cremated a few days after his death. A short while after the tragedy, Frederick, his brother and mother move from the family home in New Jersey to Bermuda and barely ever speak about the man again.

Frederick, emulating his mother's behavior, learns to never speak about his father—either within the family or without. Many questions and feelings remain buried for decades. Finally, Frederick all but forgets that his father ever existed. In later years, when he pens the novel, "Godric," he understands that the main character Godric, who travels...