From Publisher's weekly:
"Visitations from God are a mixed blessing for Noah and his family in Maine's spirited, imaginative debut. Noah (aka "Noe") may have pissed himself upon hearing God's instructions to build an arc, but he sets to the task without delay. He crosses the desert to buy lumber from giants; his eldest, Sem, fetches Cham, the son with shipbuilding skills; Sem's wife, Bera, and Cham's wife, Ilya, gather the animals; and Japheth, Noe's youngest, helps, too, in between goofing off and "rutting" with wife Mirn. And, of course, there's "the wife," 600-year-old Noe's once-teenage bride, who takes everything "Himself" (that's Noe, not God) dishes out with time-tested practicality. Wildly different in temperament, age and provenance, these characters, each telling part of the story, help create a brilliant kaleidoscopic analysis of the situation..."

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The author makes some interesting decisions IMO - the "wives" are strong, hardworking and vastly intelligent. The husbands, less so when it comes to brains, but strong on loyalty. This stark, gritty account has some choice insights although it lacks warmth in that it portrays a family who survives together without friendship, affection, kinship, humor, joy or mutual contentment. I realize there may be several points the writer is attempting to put across in painting such a loveless family but unfortunately the lack of warmth made the story feel flat throughout. There are a few fleeting moments of warmth for a some (mostly between mother and baby), these moments are too few a far between for the account to feel real.
Grade: B-

semi-controlled - public bookswap