Brendan

An artistic triumph to rivalthe award-winning Godric and Buechner's other outstanding works, this novel about St. Brendan the Navigator reads like inspired biography. Finn, Brendan's friend, recounts events from the saint's birth in 484 until his death at age 94. The chronicle convincingly recreates Ireland of the times and, even more impressively, the many people involved with Brendan: Bishop Erc, ""weaned from druidry by the sainted Patrick,'' at the sound of whose name ``the angels wet their holy breeches,'' and Maeve, the warrior woman whose spit cracks a stone in half, are just two of the company Finn brings to vigorous life. From Brendan himself, the reader learns about the wonders and disappointments of his fabulous sea voyages in search of Tir-na-n-Og, ``Promised Land of Saints.'' Ribald humor, piercing sorrows and miraculous moments join seamlessly in Buechner's latest literary feat. (May 26)