The Story of B

The Story of B: An Adventure of the Mind and Spirit is a work of philosophical fiction by Daniel Quinn. It’s the second book in the Ishmael series and follows a priest as he investigates a rogue preacher who ends up challenging his firmest-held beliefs. The Story of B was published in 1996 and is praised for making us rethink our own beliefs and philosophies. Quinn left a successful corporate career to become a writer and Ishmael, the first in the series, won the prestigious Turner Tomorrow Award.

The protagonist is Father Jared Osborne. He’s a Roman Catholic priest who writes a diary about his experiences, which is how the narrative unfolds. He’s a member of what’s called the Laurentian Order—the order which recognizes the Antichrist. Jared is driven, just like other Laurentians, to uphold their principles and be the first order to vanquish this being. He’s motivated by duty and a sense of responsibility to his faith.

One day, a senior member of the order, Father Bernard Lulfre, gives Jared a special assignment. Word’s spreading of a lecturer in America, Charles Atterley, who spouts ideas and powerful rhetoric which questions Laurentian teachings and endanger humanity. Eager to please his superiors, Jared goes to investigate.



Jared struggles to find Charles. He’s always just missing him. Eventually, he tracks Charles down, who goes by the alias, “B.” After listening to B’s teachings in underground spaces, Jared reports back and the real danger becomes clear—B might be the Antichrist, and it’s up to Jared to find out for sure. B’s teachings are very particular, and they’re worth going over in more detail.

Firstly, B believes that agriculture causes famines because it encourages more people to live in an area than the area’s natural resources can sustain. He wants to return to hunter-gathering society which will save us all. It’s not humankind which is the problem—it’s a culture, and that’s changeable.

Secondly, he wants us to return to Animism—that is, looking for truth in the universe and understanding how it works as opposed to following books and religious authorities. It’s obvious why Jared and the others find this a threat to their order. B declares that anyone who thinks as he does is also “B.” His followers are becoming more organised and confident.



The church is alarmed and Jared’s under pressure to stop B before the movement can grow any further. He tries to befriend B, but B’s suspicious of intentions. However, before Jared makes any progress, he finds B dead in a car, and B’s followers all suspect Jared of murder.

Jared tries to clear his name and his church order doesn’t help him. They’re still only driven by ending B. Jared sees that they don’t care what happens to him, and he starts listening to B’s followers and their teachings. He knows he must decide whether to follow B’s order or go back to his church. Surprisingly for him, it’s not an easy decision to make.

At this point, The Story of B takes an odd turn and the narrative method shifts. We’re no longer reading Jared’s diary, because he wakes up in a hospital in the US. He’s been trying to work through his memories to understand what happened to B and the rest of his order, because it looks like they’ve all been killed. It’s not long before Jared learns that his own order executed B and tried to kill everyone else associated with him. However, they’re not sure if they’ve killed everyone yet.



Jared’s outraged, and he must choose between his order and B’s people, who could still be out there. There’s a confrontation with his superiors, and he leaves the hospital after denouncing his order. He returns to Europe, where he last recalled hearing of B’s followers, and looks for them in the places he once listened to the teachings.

Jared eventually finds some of them after sourcing their contact information from a secret location in an underground space. He’s horrified about what happened, but they reassure him that they’re only alive because he told them to run before a bomb went off. Jared doesn’t remember this at first, but his memories slowly return to him.

At this point, Jared doesn’t know what to do with his life. He decides that he’ll help spread B’s teachings so that the work isn’t wasted. He focuses on the main principle that, although humankind is barrelling towards extinction of our own making, we can change our whole future by changing the single culture we all serve.



Essentially, if we stop believing we’re born to control the world and instead live in harmony with it, our population will stabilize, cultural diversity will flourish, and we’ll survive. B’s message is supposed to be hopeful—there’s redemption for us yet if we’re willing to fight for it.