Rating: 
Summary: Poetic, Powerful, Persuasive
Review: MK Wren's tale of a post-nuclear world is told with quiet alarm and charm. Two women, Mary and Rachel, attempt to maintain what they see as either the last remnant or the first stirrings of civilization - books. They must live within a community of religious Fanatics, the Ark, who think that books are not only evil but blasphemous. (Why anyone would call books blasphemous and then quote Scripture from a "Book" is a little...wacky, but forget that.) The novel is a look back at a life of long, quiet struggle with minor interruptions. Mary meets Rachel, kindred spirits who are determined to reclaim a spark of humanity through learning and books. The leader of the Ark agrees that Mary can be the teacher of the Ark children. She pushes them to think, to challenge, to question. She meets Luke, a member of the Ark, and becomes pregnant. Rachel and she bury the books out of desperation, Rachel dies, her child dies, yet she perseveres and in the end manages to come to terms with her world and her hopes. As in similar books, the survivors are rabid fundamentalists who reject teaching, intellect and even practical applications of science. This is not only absurd it's totally unrealistic. After all, it is secular societies who today are the greatest enemies of freedom. Still, it was a touching story that bears rereading every now and then.
Rating:
Summary: Poetic, Powerful, Persuasive
Review: MK Wren's tale of a post-nuclear world is told with quiet alarm and charm. Two women, Mary and Rachel, attempt to maintain what they see as either the last remnant or the first stirrings of civilization - books. They must live within a community of religious Fanatics, the Ark, who think that books are not only evil but blasphemous. (Why anyone would call books blasphemous and then quote Scripture from a "Book" is a little...wacky, but forget that.) The novel is a look back at a life of long, quiet struggle with minor interruptions. Mary meets Rachel, kindred spirits who are determined to reclaim a spark of humanity through learning and books. The leader of the Ark agrees that Mary can be the teacher of the Ark children. She pushes them to think, to challenge, to question. She meets Luke, a member of the Ark, and becomes pregnant. Rachel and she bury the books out of desperation, Rachel dies, her child dies, yet she perseveres and in the end manages to come to terms with her world and her hopes. As in similar books, the survivors are rabid fundamentalists who reject teaching, intellect and even practical applications of science. This is not only absurd it's totally unrealistic. After all, it is secular societies who today are the greatest enemies of freedom. Still, it was a touching story that bears rereading every now and then.
Rating: 
Summary: Not what you might expect from the description.
Review: Perhaps the best thing that might be said of this book is
that it will make you think. Though the premise (an all-
out nuclear holocaust) that begins the book is a little
weak, what follows is an incredible, very human story that
has a very spiritual feel. An ex-girlfriend who I gave the
book to said "I feel smarter after reading it." Even if you
don't, there IS plenty of food for thought. It's the only
book by this author I've read, so I don't know if her
writing is consistently of this quality, but I do think this
little-noticed book is good enough to keep your attention
for a few days. Give it a read.
Rating:
Summary: transcends words, pierces the heart, and lets flow emotion
Review: Set against a post-apocalyptic background, the story focuses on the platonic love of two women, their struggle to survive in the face of extinction, and their love for free thought and unjudged beauty.
Seldom have I become so involved in a novel's characters. I found myself mirroring Mary Hope's pain, anger, and frustration, as well as her overwhelming love of Rachel. This is a book to share with love and friendship.
Rating:
Summary: What a beautiful, beautiful story.
Review: Thank you so much M.K.Wren! The story is so well done. The characters so well portrayed. And women heroines, how fabulous. I read so much and this is a great read for anybody. Not just the end of the world fans or science fiction, Jean Auel bookreaders. Ms. Wren you truly run with the wolves! My parents were both artists and I really could smell the gesso and encaustics while reading. Very accurate with science and art.
BRAVO!
Rating:
Summary: What a beautiful, beautiful story.
Review: Thank you so much M.K.Wren! The story is so well done. The characters so well portrayed. And women heroines, how fabulous. I read so much and this is a great read for anybody. Not just the end of the world fans or science fiction, Jean Auel bookreaders. Ms. Wren you truly run with the wolves! My parents were both artists and I really could smell the gesso and encaustics while reading. Very accurate with science and art.
BRAVO!
Rating:
Summary: 10 Stars If I Could!
Review: This novel supposedly takes place in the near future, beginning just before a nuclear war and subsequent plague decimates the human population. Mary Hope is the principle character, and she relates a story that begins when she is a young woman and progresses until she is older, in her 60's, this story being told to a young man named Stephen as Mary attempts to prepare him to eventually replace her as the teacher of their small group on the Oregon coast. Most of the group is of a fanatical religious bent and she has to carefully navigate through this. Author M. K. Wren gives us this interesting tale through the perspective of a woman, and I am aware that women tend to be more introspective than men are, of emotions and their environment, and also more attuned and sensitive to interpersonal relationships, this is all very evident in this novel, and well done. The story is very philosophical, I loved it. The underlying message is that the human race has squandered precious resources preparing for war, plunging us into worldwide recession, culminating in nuclear war and plague. There is no ultimate right and wrong, only human values and the importance we ourselves place on them. The story gives graphic detail of events at the "end" and far past it, made me feel as though I was really there. It illustrates the strong will and determination some people possess in the face of calamity, and a quest to save part of civilization. I loved the rational world-view of the two principal characters, Mary and Rachel, no mythmaking or herd behavior with these ladies, they accept the true nature of the universe. A very poetic novel, always reflective, I savored every word.
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