Preservationist

Rating:
Summary: witty, original and moving
Review: This is an original and witty take on Noah and the Ark. Fleshing out the biblical characters (and their bodily functions), the difficulties in rounding up species to replicate a world, and the practical problems of co-habitation on an ark, are all recounted in elegantly deadpan prose. I'm really looking forward to the next book.

Rating:
Summary: A great retelling of an unbelievable Bible story
Review: This novel captured my attention because of the wonderful cover art, one of the best I've seen. Last year, I read the great "Life of Pi" and enjoyed that story so much, I guess I wanted to read a similar novel...spiritual story of people at sea with a bunch of animals. For anyone who loves "The Life of Pi", I recommend checking out this novel.

I've always had a lot of difficulty with the whole Noah's Ark story, because the idea of ancient man creating a big enough boat to hold two of every species on earth for months (plus the constant feeding and waste removal), that a perfect, all knowing God would become angry enough to kill all of His creation save Noah's family instead of punishing only the guilty, along with the idea of the whole earth under water (which would have to cover the peak of Mount Everest) always seemed a bit far fetched to me. It makes an interesting fictional account and I'm glad that a writer was confident enough to sketch out the details of the Biblical story.

What this novel presents is a very interesting character drama, written from different points of view, which I really enjoyed. I found myself liking the women a lot. They were clever thinkers and intelligent, and I especially liked the part about one of them using knowledge of a coming eclipse of the sun to scare a group of thuggish men to follow her lead. The sentences are well crafted and an immense joy to read. My favorite character is Chem, the more independent son of Noe, and the one who struggles the most in his faith, yet dutifully helps in the building of the ark and keeping up the maintenance while they are afloat. He's not a bad guy at all...just doesn't understand what kind of God would do the kind of things to His creation that they all were witness to and saved from.

Even when delivered to safety to begin human society anew, God still makes demands of Noe, which can be seen as a test of his faith and devotion. Though a slim read, it is worth one's time and won't take long to finish. When I finished reading it, it made me want to go back to the Biblical account of the great flood. I believe this author has found a unique niche and I would love to see his take on other Bible stories. This novel would make an excellent reading selection in Sunday School, if churches are willing to have their own book reading clubs. There are a few profanities and mentions of procreation...but it's done quite tastefully and shouldn't embarrass even the most sensitive of readers. I recommend this novel.

Rating:
Summary: Rollicking good!
Review: Who would have thought the Noah's ark story could be fresh, delightful, thought provoking, and even sometimes funny? Great character development -- especially the daughters-in-law, and their surprising contributions to the success of the journey. David Maine has done a great job of telling a story that puts us right there on the ark.