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The Entrance to Porlock
'The Entrance to Porlock' is the story of a journey, a quest, on the part of Peter Ringkoping, an octogenarian who lives on a small New England mountain where he has converted an old horse barn into a second-hand book store. On his journey he is accompanied by his two middle-aged sons, Tommy, a compulsive comedian, and Nels, dean and disciplinarian at a boys' boarding school. With them is Tommy's nineteen-year-old son, Tip.
Peter Ringkoping, who sees ghosts and has moved ghost-like himself through his own life, has reached the point where he wants to put his affairs in order. Over the years he has accumulated a sizable tract of land on Tinmouth Mountain, and he conceives the idea of deeding it over to Hans Strasser, a kind of holy man-magician who runs a community for [mentally challenged] adults. It is to this community that the Ringkopings make their erratic way, each of them trying to come to terms somehow with himself and with the others. Nels is haunted by the fear of death, Tommy by the inanity of his life, and Tip by his search for an identity. In his own vague, half-heartless way, old Peter both haunts and is haunted by them all. When they reach their destination, they are surprised there by Tommy's wife and her nearly blind mother-in-law, and it is the encounter of all these people with the distorted yet oddly compelling world of Hans Strasser and his charges that provides the resolution of this very moving novel....
Perhaps more than anything else it is the tale of the overlapping of illusion and reality, and of the terrible price of being human.
Peter Ringkoping, who sees ghosts and has moved ghost-like himself through his own life, has reached the point where he wants to put his affairs in order. Over the years he has accumulated a sizable tract of land on Tinmouth Mountain, and he conceives the idea of deeding it over to Hans Strasser, a kind of holy man-magician who runs a community for [mentally challenged] adults. It is to this community that the Ringkopings make their erratic way, each of them trying to come to terms somehow with himself and with the others. Nels is haunted by the fear of death, Tommy by the inanity of his life, and Tip by his search for an identity. In his own vague, half-heartless way, old Peter both haunts and is haunted by them all. When they reach their destination, they are surprised there by Tommy's wife and her nearly blind mother-in-law, and it is the encounter of all these people with the distorted yet oddly compelling world of Hans Strasser and his charges that provides the resolution of this very moving novel....
Perhaps more than anything else it is the tale of the overlapping of illusion and reality, and of the terrible price of being human.
270 pages, Hardcover
First published January 28, 1970
39 people want to read
About the author
Frederick Buechner
93 books1,241 followersFrederick Buechner is a highly influential writer and theologian who has won awards for his poetry, short stories, novels and theological writings. His work pioneered the genre of spiritual memoir, laying the groundwork for writers such as Anne Lamott, Rob Bell and Lauren Winner.
His first book, A Long Day's Dying, was published to acclaim just two years after he graduated from Princeton. He entered Union Theological Seminary in 1954 where he studied under renowned theologians that included Reinhold Niebuhr, Paul Tillich, and James Muilenberg. In 1955, his short story "The Tiger" which had been published in the New Yorker won the O. Henry Prize.
After seminary he spent nine years at Phillips Exeter Academy, establishing a religion department and teaching courses in both religion and English. Among his students was the future author, John Irving. In 1969 he gave the Noble Lectures at Harvard. He presented a theological autobiography on a day in his life, which was published as The Alphabet of Grace.
In the years that followed he began publishing more novels, including the Pulitzer Prize finalist Godric. At the same time, he was also writing a series of spiritual autobiographies. A central theme in his theological writing is looking for God in the everyday, listening and paying attention, to hear God speak to people through their personal lives.
His first book, A Long Day's Dying, was published to acclaim just two years after he graduated from Princeton. He entered Union Theological Seminary in 1954 where he studied under renowned theologians that included Reinhold Niebuhr, Paul Tillich, and James Muilenberg. In 1955, his short story "The Tiger" which had been published in the New Yorker won the O. Henry Prize.
After seminary he spent nine years at Phillips Exeter Academy, establishing a religion department and teaching courses in both religion and English. Among his students was the future author, John Irving. In 1969 he gave the Noble Lectures at Harvard. He presented a theological autobiography on a day in his life, which was published as The Alphabet of Grace.
In the years that followed he began publishing more novels, including the Pulitzer Prize finalist Godric. At the same time, he was also writing a series of spiritual autobiographies. A central theme in his theological writing is looking for God in the everyday, listening and paying attention, to hear God speak to people through their personal lives.
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January 27, 2026
Buechner has a brilliant way of making a point without actually making it. This early novel is confusing and fascinating, and I think it's one of his best
Displaying 1 of 1 review