Review
Writing an historic novel is fraught with pitfalls. The author must set the scene and explain the background in such a way that the reader appreciates the problems and limitations which restrict the characters. The extensive reaearch must be sufficient to convince but must not show through or distract from the narrative. When the novel has also to be translated an extra challenge is set to the story. Author Anne Provoost and translater John Nieuwenhuizen prove to be a superbly successful combination. In the Shadow of the Ark is a beautifully-written tale told with real insight into the actions and thoughts of a doomed society. The story of the preparation of the Ark to secure a future for mankind against the all-consuming flood is amongst the best known in world literature. Anne Provoost has breathed new life into the tale, telling the story from the view-point of the many labourers whose role is to prepare the magnificent vessel which will secure the future of the animals of the earth and very few humans. They are kept in the dark about their fate for as long as possible. As realisation dawns the workers do not rebel against their fate. Instead they distract themselves with unnecessary routines, they invent news stories and rumours to reinterpret the future, and they try, in vain, to appease the powerful few in the expectation of being saved. What chance has the beautiful Re Jana of being saved when Noah's son, whom she loves, choses another as his wife? What future for her unborn child? Provoost's real achievement is to write a beautiful and many-layered story. The achievement of her translator is to convey the beauty of her language as if it were written in English. This is a book to be enjoyed on many levels. (Kirkus UK)
--This text refers to an alternate
Hardcover
edition.
Product Description
Re Jana and her parents have heard stories about a man building an enormous ship in the desert, and decide to leave their home to go there and find work. Re Jana's father becomes the right-hand man to desert patriach, Noah. Re Jana, an attractive girl on the verge of adulthood, teaches the people the benefits of pure clean water and fragrant oils. Ham, Noah's youngest son, succumbs to her charms, confiding in Re Jana that his god intends to submerge the world and that only Noah and his family will be saved. When the Flood finally arrives, Re Jana is smuggled on-board by Ham. Life on the ark is gruelling and dangerous but, when at last the ship runs aground, a pregnant Re Jana realises she will be instrumental in founding a new dynasty in a new world.
--This text refers to an alternate
Hardcover
edition.
