In the Shadow of the Ark

October 25, 2004
Provoost (Falling
) retells the story of Noah's ark, with Noah here referred to as "the Builder," from Re Jana's outsider perspective. After she, her father and her crippled mother learn from the wandering Rrattika people that a great ship is under construction, Re Jana's father, a skilled carpenter, hires Alem (also a Rrattika) to lead them from the rising waters of their marshland to the building site. Her father goes to work on the ark, and Re Jana falls in love with the Builder's son Ham; he disguises her as a boy and she finds favor not only for her gift of divining water but also for bathing and soothing the men ("We daughters of Kan have a talent for water," she explains to readers). But another woman, Neelata, also vies for Ham's attention—and a place on the ark. Re Jana's point of view allows readers to consider the incredulity and the desperation of ordinary people when faced with this impending alleged cataclysm. However, the author glosses over several major elements in the relationships between characters: the heroine's sexual connection to Alem; her father's change of heart in deciding to work with the Builder; Re Jana's decision to save Neelata. Issues raised in the narrative may well provoke readers' thoughts about the nature of faith, goodness and cruelty, but the characters unfortunately remain sketchily outlined rather than fully formed. Ages 14-up.

October 1, 2004
Gr 11 Up -This novel has a biblical backdrop, but unfortunately, the passage in which it is grounded (Genesis 7:11) is better than the story this author works too hard to create. "In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of the heaven were opened." Provoost relates the well-known story about the building and sailing of Noah's ark, but the pacing is slow, the characters are simplistic and undeveloped, and the prose is uneven and wordy. Re Jana, an outsider due to her race and background, is the daughter of a shipbuilder seeking work, and upon arriving at Noah's shipyard with her family, she meets Ham, a privileged son of the Great Builder (Noah). Their love is built on their sexual attraction, and they work hard for Re Jana and her father to become "chosen by the Unnameable" (the Christian term for God) to board the ark in an effort to escape the impending and life-threatening downpour. The writing is adult in tone and sensibility, and few teens will be engaged enough to grapple with the philosophical concerns it raises about who is chosen and who is left behind. In the end, this book should remain "in [a] shadow."-Kelly Berner Richards, St. George's School, Newport, RI

Copyright 2004 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 1, 2004
Gr. 10-up. In the tradition of the adult novel " The Red Tent" comes this story of the biblical Flood, recounted by Re Jana, whose family leaves the marshes to find the ark. The passion Re Jana finds with Ham, son of the Builder, leads to a place on the ark, but this "safe haven," with the stink and sounds of the animals, starvation, and repeated (if not lustful) rapes by Ham's brothers, tests her in every way, even as she carries new life into the New World. Exquisitely detailed and intelligently written, this is a YA novel only in the broadest sense; no one would blink if it appeared on an adult list. Teens will find themselves alternately caught up in the story's tension, especially once the rain starts falling, and bored by some of the religious and philosophical underpinnings. There are subtly portrayed sexual incidents, too (including a relationship between Re Jana and Ham's wife) but these are small stitches in a vast piece that strikingly reveals the human condition at the hour of its destruction.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2004, American Library Association.)