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Noah's Wife
Mary McGarry Morris says it best: “Noah’s Wife may be a contemporary allegory, but Lindsay Starck is a classic storyteller…her novel is an engrossing fusion of wisdom and beautiful writing.” Noah’s Wife is a gorgeously written, brilliantly introspective fable-like novel.
Noah’s Wife is a story of a community battered by a relentless downpour from the heavens, a gray and wet little town teeming with eccentric characters who have learned to endure the extraordinary circumstances of the rain with astonishing human fortitude and willfulness.
When Noah’s wife arrives with her minister husband to this small coastal town, she is driven by her desire to help revive the congregation. However, she is thwarted by the resistance of her eccentric new neighbors and her failure to realize that her husband is battling his own internal crisis.
As Noah and his wife strive to bring the townspeople to the church—and keep the strains on their marriage at bay—the rain intensifies, impeding their efforts. Soon the river waters rise, flooding the streets of the town and driving scores of wild animals out of the once-renowned zoo. And so, Noah, his wife, and the townspeople must confront the savage forces of nature and attempt to reinforce the fragile ties that bind them to each other before their world is washed away.
Full of whimsy and gentle ironic humor, Noah’s Wife is a wise and poignant novel that draws upon the motifs of the biblical flood story to explore the true meaning of community, to examine the remarkable strength of the human spirit, and to ask whether hope can exist even where faith has been lost.
Noah’s Wife is a story of a community battered by a relentless downpour from the heavens, a gray and wet little town teeming with eccentric characters who have learned to endure the extraordinary circumstances of the rain with astonishing human fortitude and willfulness.
When Noah’s wife arrives with her minister husband to this small coastal town, she is driven by her desire to help revive the congregation. However, she is thwarted by the resistance of her eccentric new neighbors and her failure to realize that her husband is battling his own internal crisis.
As Noah and his wife strive to bring the townspeople to the church—and keep the strains on their marriage at bay—the rain intensifies, impeding their efforts. Soon the river waters rise, flooding the streets of the town and driving scores of wild animals out of the once-renowned zoo. And so, Noah, his wife, and the townspeople must confront the savage forces of nature and attempt to reinforce the fragile ties that bind them to each other before their world is washed away.
Full of whimsy and gentle ironic humor, Noah’s Wife is a wise and poignant novel that draws upon the motifs of the biblical flood story to explore the true meaning of community, to examine the remarkable strength of the human spirit, and to ask whether hope can exist even where faith has been lost.
383 pages, Hardcover
First published January 26, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 128 reviews
August 15, 2016
Noah's Wife is a phenomenally good book -- one of the most rewarding first novels I've read in years. On the surface, it's a retelling (with broad license) of the Noah/flood story, set in a small mountain town where the rains have not stopped for so long that the inhabitants have forgotten when it started raining. The town is celebrated for its zoo, and when the zoo floods, the townspeople must confront the challenge of rescuing its animals. So that's the plot, more or less. But this is not a "plot" novel any more than it is Christian fiction (which some reviewers have discovered to their chagrin); rather, its a deep philosophical investigation of marriage, relationships and the nature of human connection. At the core of the novel are the magnetic forces, often intangible, that keep the various couples in the town, including Pastor Noah and his wife, together. The prose is pellucid as a mountain stream, sharp and lyrical. The characters are vivid, original and yet highly recognizable. Starck took me on a fantastic journey and I wish it hadn't had to end. As literary fiction goes, it doesn't get much better than this.
November 11, 2019
Three and a half stars.
It has been raining so long the townspeople can barely remember a time when it wasn’t raining. Noah feels called to this little town. His wife does her best to support her minister husband’s choice to revive the congregation. Once this place had been famous for its zoo and tourists used to flock to it. But that was all before the rain came. Personalities of the townspeople and interactions between neighbours and family form the basis of this story, as well as a minister who is battling to maintain his faith. Will he be able to prevail with his own faith as well as draw the people back into the church?
It was both sad and interesting to read this story of unrelenting rain when in Australia so much of our land is in drought and battling bushfires. We could do with some of that rain! There are a range of interesting characters who move the story along with some amusing moments amid the grey and the drama. Itis a picture of a community battling against the odds. Several characters are not called by name but referred to by their relation to someone else. Noah’s wife and Mrs McGinn’s husband are among them. It’s an interesting device, not really sure of the point of it though. Noah’s wife finds herself changing her views of her husband and resorting to actions she never expected to take.
With the unrelenting rain, and a host of animals as well as the name of the main character Noah, it is hard not make connections with the biblical story of Noah and the Ark. But this is not just a re-telling of that story but introduces some new idea and more than a few eccentric characters. I was interested from the start to see where it was heading. It’s definitely a character driven novel and raises some interesting insights into human behaviour as the water continues to rise. While it won’t appeal to everyone, I quite enjoyed it. This is a debut novel so it will be interesting to see what this author writes next.
It has been raining so long the townspeople can barely remember a time when it wasn’t raining. Noah feels called to this little town. His wife does her best to support her minister husband’s choice to revive the congregation. Once this place had been famous for its zoo and tourists used to flock to it. But that was all before the rain came. Personalities of the townspeople and interactions between neighbours and family form the basis of this story, as well as a minister who is battling to maintain his faith. Will he be able to prevail with his own faith as well as draw the people back into the church?
It was both sad and interesting to read this story of unrelenting rain when in Australia so much of our land is in drought and battling bushfires. We could do with some of that rain! There are a range of interesting characters who move the story along with some amusing moments amid the grey and the drama. Itis a picture of a community battling against the odds. Several characters are not called by name but referred to by their relation to someone else. Noah’s wife and Mrs McGinn’s husband are among them. It’s an interesting device, not really sure of the point of it though. Noah’s wife finds herself changing her views of her husband and resorting to actions she never expected to take.
With the unrelenting rain, and a host of animals as well as the name of the main character Noah, it is hard not make connections with the biblical story of Noah and the Ark. But this is not just a re-telling of that story but introduces some new idea and more than a few eccentric characters. I was interested from the start to see where it was heading. It’s definitely a character driven novel and raises some interesting insights into human behaviour as the water continues to rise. While it won’t appeal to everyone, I quite enjoyed it. This is a debut novel so it will be interesting to see what this author writes next.
November 3, 2015
Received as an ARC via my employer Barnes & Noble. Started 10-28-15. When I saw the title of this book, my first thought was that it would contain one line: Noah's wife saying to Noah, "You want to bring HOW MANY PETS into this house??!!!!" Finished 11-2-15. Well-written version of Noah's story from the Old Testament. Minister and his wife come to a small town back in the hills where it's been raining every day for as far back as people can remember------and it eventually floods the town's claim to fame, its zoo. Interesting characters that you want to know more about.
July 29, 2020
I loved every page of this book. The writing is insanely beautiful, and it's like jumping into Gilmore Girls Star's Hollow if instead of string lights and snowflakes, they had constant rain and a zoo. The characters are all defined by each other and their place in this stubborn town that won't let the ceaseless rain or the mysterious drowning of their minister run them out. Then comes Noah, the new town minister, and his wife with Noah's determination to save the dilapidated church and the sobered and soaking town. It's a cozy blanket of a read, with absolutely lovely prose and thoughtful reflective moments for every single character.
And, especially now, in this incredible time of uncertainty, where we all feel a little bit like we are fighting against torrential downpours (metaphors, gotta love 'em), the ending of the book was exactly what I needed. I won't say more than that because boo spoilers.
A novel full of challenge, hope, inspiration, stubborn courage, loss of faith and those that we love, and the never-ending battle of finding yourself within the chaos of life. Love it <3
And, especially now, in this incredible time of uncertainty, where we all feel a little bit like we are fighting against torrential downpours (metaphors, gotta love 'em), the ending of the book was exactly what I needed. I won't say more than that because boo spoilers.
A novel full of challenge, hope, inspiration, stubborn courage, loss of faith and those that we love, and the never-ending battle of finding yourself within the chaos of life. Love it <3
February 3, 2016
http://openbooksociety.com/article/no...
Noah’s Wife
By Lindsay Starck
ISBN13: 9780399159237
Brought to you by OBS reviewer Una
Synopsis:
Noah’s Wife is a story of a community battered by a relentless downpour from the heavens, a gray and wet little town teeming with eccentric characters who have learned to endure the extraordinary circumstances of the rain with astonishing human fortitude and willfulness.
When Noah’s wife arrives with her minister husband to this small coastal town, she is driven by her desire to help revive the congregation. However, she is thwarted by the resistance of her eccentric new neighbors and her failure to realize that her husband is battling his own internal crisis.
As Noah and his wife strive to bring the townspeople to the church—and keep the strains on their marriage at bay—the rain intensifies, impeding their efforts. Soon the river waters rise, flooding the streets of the town and driving scores of wild animals out of the once-renowned zoo. And so, Noah, his wife, and the townspeople must confront the savage forces of nature and attempt to reinforce the fragile ties that bind them to each other before their world is washed away.
Full of whimsy and gentle ironic humor, Noah’s Wife is a wise and poignant novel that draws upon the motifs of the biblical flood story to explore the true meaning of community, to examine the remarkable strength of the human spirit, and to ask whether hope can exist even where faith has been lost.
Review:
I found this story hard to read at times and unbelievably slow. The flow is disjointed as the story tells the tale of multiple complex characters whose stories don’t always connect. Noah the minister in the story comes to save a town immersed in depression from the continuing rain and finally concludes that faith is only an illusion. His wife April, is a minister’s wife who has no real faith or life of her own but gradually becomes the stronger believer of the two.
Mrs McGinn is the patriarch of the town who keeps the false hope that “everything will be all right” however she eventually realizes that hope is the real problem. Her daughter who is engaged to the zookeeper and pregnant just wants to get away. The Zookeeper wants to make the daughter happy however feels obliged to stay with his animals. Mario is the hardware store owner, an Italian who dreams about going back to Italy and distrusts banks so he keeps his money in his boat.
Dr Yu is a childhood friend of April and wants to save everyone. Her widowed Dad gives up his life after the death of his wife to become a really bad magician.
The town itself is becoming destroyed as the rains swell the river to the point of flooding the town. There are animals to be saved and the townspeople end up taking the Zoo animals into their homes when the Zoo goes under water. This part was completely unbelievable.
Too many characters and too many emotional meltdowns made me feel like the story was neither progressing nor regressing. Although I could see the parallel to the Noah’s ark story I kept hoping as I was reading for the rain to stop and for a dove to bring back a green leaf so that there might some brightness and happiness to the ending.
Noah’s Wife
By Lindsay Starck
ISBN13: 9780399159237
Brought to you by OBS reviewer Una
Synopsis:
Noah’s Wife is a story of a community battered by a relentless downpour from the heavens, a gray and wet little town teeming with eccentric characters who have learned to endure the extraordinary circumstances of the rain with astonishing human fortitude and willfulness.
When Noah’s wife arrives with her minister husband to this small coastal town, she is driven by her desire to help revive the congregation. However, she is thwarted by the resistance of her eccentric new neighbors and her failure to realize that her husband is battling his own internal crisis.
As Noah and his wife strive to bring the townspeople to the church—and keep the strains on their marriage at bay—the rain intensifies, impeding their efforts. Soon the river waters rise, flooding the streets of the town and driving scores of wild animals out of the once-renowned zoo. And so, Noah, his wife, and the townspeople must confront the savage forces of nature and attempt to reinforce the fragile ties that bind them to each other before their world is washed away.
Full of whimsy and gentle ironic humor, Noah’s Wife is a wise and poignant novel that draws upon the motifs of the biblical flood story to explore the true meaning of community, to examine the remarkable strength of the human spirit, and to ask whether hope can exist even where faith has been lost.
Review:
I found this story hard to read at times and unbelievably slow. The flow is disjointed as the story tells the tale of multiple complex characters whose stories don’t always connect. Noah the minister in the story comes to save a town immersed in depression from the continuing rain and finally concludes that faith is only an illusion. His wife April, is a minister’s wife who has no real faith or life of her own but gradually becomes the stronger believer of the two.
Mrs McGinn is the patriarch of the town who keeps the false hope that “everything will be all right” however she eventually realizes that hope is the real problem. Her daughter who is engaged to the zookeeper and pregnant just wants to get away. The Zookeeper wants to make the daughter happy however feels obliged to stay with his animals. Mario is the hardware store owner, an Italian who dreams about going back to Italy and distrusts banks so he keeps his money in his boat.
Dr Yu is a childhood friend of April and wants to save everyone. Her widowed Dad gives up his life after the death of his wife to become a really bad magician.
The town itself is becoming destroyed as the rains swell the river to the point of flooding the town. There are animals to be saved and the townspeople end up taking the Zoo animals into their homes when the Zoo goes under water. This part was completely unbelievable.
Too many characters and too many emotional meltdowns made me feel like the story was neither progressing nor regressing. Although I could see the parallel to the Noah’s ark story I kept hoping as I was reading for the rain to stop and for a dove to bring back a green leaf so that there might some brightness and happiness to the ending.
September 17, 2016
I really wanted to like this book. It had so many interesting and compelling ideas. But it just became a slog to read and I quit half way through.
December 6, 2016
I really wanted to like this book but after getting half way through with nothing major happening (except a lot of rain), I flipped to the end and called it done.
January 22, 2016
Noah's Wife was an interesting book to say the least. Noah is a minister who takes a position at a church in a small town where the minister has apparently "gone missing" in the ever-rising waters. It seems it has been raining in this town for what seems like an eternity and there appears to be no end. Hope is dwindling, faith is waning and raindrops keep falling. Noah (accompanied by his wife) have been assigned to the local church to help bring unity and hope to the town's people. There you have the beginning of the story. You meet some comical -- and some not so comical -- characters along the way that collectively create a colorful township. My favorite moments occurred when the townspeople took in all of the animals from the zoo when disaster strikes without complaining, without a second thought -- just because it was the right thing to do at the time.
My greatest difficulty with the story was that, for the most part, only the men in the story had names (Noah - the man sent to save everyone from the torrential rains; Adam -- who like the Biblical Adam and first keeper of the animals, is the town's zookeeper; and Jonah -- the weatherman who arrives to warn everyone of their fate due to the rising waters but gets swallowed up in his own guilt and remorse in not being able to make them evacuate). All of the women were referred to as "someone's wife" as in "Noah's wife". It reminded me a bit of Daphne Du'Maurier's Rebecca where we never knew Mrs. DeWinter's first name. What struck me odd was that while few of the women were referred to by first name, they were the ones portrayed as the stronger sex, the keepers of faith, the glue holding it all together, the axis from which everything rotated. (Was there an underlying feminist statement being made?)
I think the story was supposed to show the strength of relationships, taking chances, facing the unknown, have faith and courage for whatever lies ahead and working together for a common good. But quite frankly, I just wanted to go stand outside and turn my face towards the sun and feel something other than the gloom and despair showered upon this town and their plight. Maybe I just need to ponder it for a few days and let the story soak in - pardon the pun.
I received a copy of this book free of charge in exchange for an honest review.
My greatest difficulty with the story was that, for the most part, only the men in the story had names (Noah - the man sent to save everyone from the torrential rains; Adam -- who like the Biblical Adam and first keeper of the animals, is the town's zookeeper; and Jonah -- the weatherman who arrives to warn everyone of their fate due to the rising waters but gets swallowed up in his own guilt and remorse in not being able to make them evacuate). All of the women were referred to as "someone's wife" as in "Noah's wife". It reminded me a bit of Daphne Du'Maurier's Rebecca where we never knew Mrs. DeWinter's first name. What struck me odd was that while few of the women were referred to by first name, they were the ones portrayed as the stronger sex, the keepers of faith, the glue holding it all together, the axis from which everything rotated. (Was there an underlying feminist statement being made?)
I think the story was supposed to show the strength of relationships, taking chances, facing the unknown, have faith and courage for whatever lies ahead and working together for a common good. But quite frankly, I just wanted to go stand outside and turn my face towards the sun and feel something other than the gloom and despair showered upon this town and their plight. Maybe I just need to ponder it for a few days and let the story soak in - pardon the pun.
I received a copy of this book free of charge in exchange for an honest review.
July 16, 2016
Noah's Wife by Lindsay Starck
3.5★'s
Book Description:
When young minister Noah and his dutiful wife arrive at their new post in the hills, they've reached a gray and wet little town where it’s been raining for as long as anyone can remember. Noah’s wife is determined to help her husband revive this soggy congregation but soon finds her efforts thwarted by her eccentric new neighbors, among them an idiom-wielding Italian hardware store owner, a towering town matriarch, and a lovelorn zookeeper determined to stand by his charges. Overwhelmed, Noah’s wife fails to realize that Noah, too, is battling his own internal crisis. Soon the river waters rise, flooding the streets of the town and driving scores of wild animals out of the once-renowned zoo. As the water swallows up the houses, the telephone poles, and the single highway out of town, Noah, his wife, and the townspeople must confront not only the savage forces of nature but also the fragile ties that bind them to one another, all before their world is washed away.
My Thoughts:
The setting for this whimsical tale is a spot that was once a charming tourist destination in the hills but which, after the nonstop downpour, has become almost a ghost town. Throw in that it's the 21st century... complete with TV, cars and trucks, and a visiting weatherman who warns the townsfolk that no end to the rain is in sight and that they are doomed unless they evacuate within the next week. Of course the townspeople ignore his advise...when has the weather people ever been right after all? The local zoo animals aren't fairing so well so the townsfolk set about a rescue. This is where the comedy in the situation comes to light with penguins in the walk in freezer...ostrich and emu's in the general store... and Noah...who is the town's new, young minister, sadly fails to live up to his predecessor in the Bible whose name he is either fortunate or unfortunate to share. As the waters continue to rise the towns people learn to work together for a common cause...the animal's show them the way to safety....and Pastor Noah and Mrs. Noah learn a valuable lesson about life and love. Overall, it is an upbeat, and fanciable tale and well worth the read. And my mother handed me the book and said "Here, read this." Can't argue with Mom.
3.5★'s
Book Description:
When young minister Noah and his dutiful wife arrive at their new post in the hills, they've reached a gray and wet little town where it’s been raining for as long as anyone can remember. Noah’s wife is determined to help her husband revive this soggy congregation but soon finds her efforts thwarted by her eccentric new neighbors, among them an idiom-wielding Italian hardware store owner, a towering town matriarch, and a lovelorn zookeeper determined to stand by his charges. Overwhelmed, Noah’s wife fails to realize that Noah, too, is battling his own internal crisis. Soon the river waters rise, flooding the streets of the town and driving scores of wild animals out of the once-renowned zoo. As the water swallows up the houses, the telephone poles, and the single highway out of town, Noah, his wife, and the townspeople must confront not only the savage forces of nature but also the fragile ties that bind them to one another, all before their world is washed away.
My Thoughts:
The setting for this whimsical tale is a spot that was once a charming tourist destination in the hills but which, after the nonstop downpour, has become almost a ghost town. Throw in that it's the 21st century... complete with TV, cars and trucks, and a visiting weatherman who warns the townsfolk that no end to the rain is in sight and that they are doomed unless they evacuate within the next week. Of course the townspeople ignore his advise...when has the weather people ever been right after all? The local zoo animals aren't fairing so well so the townsfolk set about a rescue. This is where the comedy in the situation comes to light with penguins in the walk in freezer...ostrich and emu's in the general store... and Noah...who is the town's new, young minister, sadly fails to live up to his predecessor in the Bible whose name he is either fortunate or unfortunate to share. As the waters continue to rise the towns people learn to work together for a common cause...the animal's show them the way to safety....and Pastor Noah and Mrs. Noah learn a valuable lesson about life and love. Overall, it is an upbeat, and fanciable tale and well worth the read. And my mother handed me the book and said "Here, read this." Can't argue with Mom.
December 22, 2016
Lindsay Starck’s debut novel is a loose retelling of the Biblical story of Noah’s Ark. The main points carried over into Noah’s Wife is that there is man named Noah whose purpose is to save, and there are animals, so if you aren’t terribly familiar with the Biblical story, you still know enough!
Excerpt of my review:
You learn each character so well that before you know it, you have the backstory and future dreams of many people, causing you to feel like you're part of the town and these are your neighbors....
Getting to know a bunch of characters isn't enough, though; there has to be a deeper message in a novel, especially one that is almost 400 pages. A few messages I got from Lindsay Starck's book is that love is an abstract concept, and people's definitions vary much more than I had personally thought. To Mrs. McGinn, love, like beauty, is not painless. For Dr. Yu, Noah's wife's best friend, love means that the ones we love never find mates that we feel are good enough for them. For Leesl, love means not being with the one she loves and instead yearning. For Mrs. McGinn's daughter, who has witnessed her mother's many divorces, love means monogamy, and she tells her fiance (the zookeeper) to list off the animals that mate for life in what almost sounds like verbal foreplay.
Full review at Grab the Lapels!
Excerpt of my review:
You learn each character so well that before you know it, you have the backstory and future dreams of many people, causing you to feel like you're part of the town and these are your neighbors....
Getting to know a bunch of characters isn't enough, though; there has to be a deeper message in a novel, especially one that is almost 400 pages. A few messages I got from Lindsay Starck's book is that love is an abstract concept, and people's definitions vary much more than I had personally thought. To Mrs. McGinn, love, like beauty, is not painless. For Dr. Yu, Noah's wife's best friend, love means that the ones we love never find mates that we feel are good enough for them. For Leesl, love means not being with the one she loves and instead yearning. For Mrs. McGinn's daughter, who has witnessed her mother's many divorces, love means monogamy, and she tells her fiance (the zookeeper) to list off the animals that mate for life in what almost sounds like verbal foreplay.
Full review at Grab the Lapels!
February 25, 2016
I liked the untidiness of this book. I was afraid it was going to wrap up into a neat god sends a miracle package, but it leaves the characters questioning their beliefs about faith, and not just religious faith. I did find it a little frustrating that it took nearly 400 pages for Noah's wife to assert herself, and even then, she never got a name, but that's one of the points. Noah's wife has lived for other people, and when her minister husband crumbles, she finally starts realizing her own power. In a town in the hills where it never stops raining, the residents who have stubbornly chosen to stay, when they've been warned that the river will soon overflow and flood the town,end up taking care of zoo animals in their homes when the zoo that put them on the map is flooded. There is plenty of humor, but the characters are too broadly sketched to really care about them. It's the bigger ideas that are of interest. Good fun and a great candidate for book discussions.
March 10, 2017
This book is the only "literary fiction" novel I've ever read that I would refer to as a page turner. I couldn't wait to see what would happen next. The characters were richly developed and just absurd enough to be completely engaging. I loved every bit of it, from Noah's Wife's own journey of self-discovery to the very last page when... well... you'll have to read that. But it's good.
June 12, 2017
From beginning to end, the reader's expectations change dramatically regarding what this book is about. In this allegory on a modern day version of Noah's Ark, the characters are well developed and you feel like you are inside their heads. Its a great book club book as now I need all of you to read it, and tell me what you think! A worthwhile read for sure.
February 27, 2017
Good but I felt it ended abruptly.
March 13, 2017
Noah's Wife is an allegory that relates to the original Noah in the rain that falls relentlessly on the small town in the northern hills. Rain is definitely the major "character" in the novel. It was raining when they met and raining while they were on a boat trip at the beginning of their relationship. Rain, rain, rain. They marry and Noah is a strong, optimistic preacher who gets an offer to take over a small church. Noah's wife, as she is called throughout the story, agrees to leave the town where she has always lived and loved. When they arrive in the town, it has been raining for months on end without stopping. The women carry umbrellas that are the only colorful image in the dreary town. Mrs. McGinn is the person in charge and makes all the decisions for everyone. Driven by her desire to help her minister husband revive his congregation, she tries her best to establish herself in this strange community. However, she soon realizes her efforts will only be thwarted by her eccentric neighbors, among them an idiom-wielding Italian hardware store owner, a towering town matriarch, and a lovelorn zookeeper determined to take care of his animals despite the fact that the rain will eventually ruin his zoo. Noah's wife fails to realize that the strong, charming ;husband is also battling his own internal crisis. Noah works furiously refurbishing the church. He paints, cleans the dusty stained glass windows, builds a new pulpit and is energized to open his church to the public. As Noah and his wife strive to bring the townspeople to the church, and keep the strains on their marriage at bay, the rain intensifies, impeding their efforts. Soon, the river waters rise, flooding the streets and driving scores of wild animals out of the once renowned zoo. As the water swallows up the houses, the telephone poles, and the single highway out of town, the residents must confront not only forces of nature but also the fragile ties that bind them to one another. The last act that takes place is the marriage of the zookeeper with the woman she has loved forever. Every member of the town manages to show up and the last scene is the devastation of the entire town. The novel is whimsical and full of gentle ironic humor. Of course, the novel draws upon the motifs of the biblical flood story to explore the meaning of community, to test the strength of the human spirit, and the strength of faith.
June 14, 2022
This was the second book a friend gave me and it wasn’t any better than the first book about Noah and the ark. This wasn’t a Bible story. It was about a modern day Noah, a minister and his wife who moved to a town where it never stopped raining. It seemed utterly unbelievable. It was depressing to read because everyone was unhappy there because of constant rain, yet not many would give up. The tale ended well, because of Noah’s wife and her overwhelming love and bravery in the face of the perils of the unknown.
December 27, 2015
Noah's Wife is a loose retelling of the Biblical story of Noah's Ark in the Old Testament, and I've never read a retelling of a Biblical story before, so this intrigued me. The book follows the troubled, eccentric lives of individual members of a community who live in a tiny town where it rains. Relentlessly. It is a story about human character, strength and fortitude, hope and the absence of it. It is also a tale of human relationships, commitment, and faith. Is it sometimes okay to accept defeat? When do we give up with each other? Who do we have a responsibility towards? Is there anyone 'up there', and if so, does He listen? All of these questions, plus many more, are explored in the novel, through the quirky, eccentric voices of the various characters.
The thing I adored about Noah's Wife, right from the first page, was Starck's writing. It was beautiful, intricate, delicate and fitted the novel perfectly. The detailed and carefully crafted characterisation, along with the beautiful writing, made the novel the success that it unquestionably is. The descriptions of the tiny town and small-town life were faultless and I could clearly imagine everything in my head, which really worked for a story that depicts the impossible, or the hard to believe. However, the beautiful descriptions ensured that I was never lost, and could be as fully engrossed in the story as possible.
Another strength of Noah's Wife for me was definitely the characters. In the Acknowledgements Starck points out that the novel started out as an array of character sketches, and you can clearly decipher this from the detail that clearly went into creating all the characters. They were all funny, witty, ironic and eccentric, and even the characters you were meant to hate, I loved. Their interaction with each other was a delight to read and the dialogue was simply amazing. I really cared about what was going to happen to all the characters, and by the last chapter I felt genuinely fearful for the outcome, for these characters whom I had learned more and more about throughout the novel. As each chapter focuses on a different character, I got to know each character really well, and see the hidden depths that the characters couldn't see about each other. This definitely allowed me to be more invested in the book.
The book was also the perfect length, to go into enough detail about the plot line and characters, and I never once was bored. The ending (which I'm not going to spoil, obviously) was, in a word, perfect. I'm so glad Starck ended it the way she did.
Overall, I think it's pretty clear that I adored Noah's Wife. It is such an incredible debut novel, with such a mystical and intriguing atmosphere and characters you will have a hard time leaving behind. I really hope that Lindsay Starck writes more books, as I will be the first to run to the bookshop to pick one up!
www.delightfulbookreviews.blogspot.co.uk
The thing I adored about Noah's Wife, right from the first page, was Starck's writing. It was beautiful, intricate, delicate and fitted the novel perfectly. The detailed and carefully crafted characterisation, along with the beautiful writing, made the novel the success that it unquestionably is. The descriptions of the tiny town and small-town life were faultless and I could clearly imagine everything in my head, which really worked for a story that depicts the impossible, or the hard to believe. However, the beautiful descriptions ensured that I was never lost, and could be as fully engrossed in the story as possible.
Another strength of Noah's Wife for me was definitely the characters. In the Acknowledgements Starck points out that the novel started out as an array of character sketches, and you can clearly decipher this from the detail that clearly went into creating all the characters. They were all funny, witty, ironic and eccentric, and even the characters you were meant to hate, I loved. Their interaction with each other was a delight to read and the dialogue was simply amazing. I really cared about what was going to happen to all the characters, and by the last chapter I felt genuinely fearful for the outcome, for these characters whom I had learned more and more about throughout the novel. As each chapter focuses on a different character, I got to know each character really well, and see the hidden depths that the characters couldn't see about each other. This definitely allowed me to be more invested in the book.
The book was also the perfect length, to go into enough detail about the plot line and characters, and I never once was bored. The ending (which I'm not going to spoil, obviously) was, in a word, perfect. I'm so glad Starck ended it the way she did.
Overall, I think it's pretty clear that I adored Noah's Wife. It is such an incredible debut novel, with such a mystical and intriguing atmosphere and characters you will have a hard time leaving behind. I really hope that Lindsay Starck writes more books, as I will be the first to run to the bookshop to pick one up!
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February 5, 2016
I couldn't decide what to make of this book until I was nearly finished with it. It wasn't overly religious as I had feared because of the title, so that was good as I have never really warmed to those books. I loved the concept this book worked with--a town where it never stopped raining.
I liked the small town atmosphere and the way the author allowed us a bird's eye view of the people in the town. We got to know them as individuals and it allowed the reader to see the dynamic and unlikely connections between them.
This book has a lot of quirky characters, deals with a lot of different issues and retains the dismal atmosphere until nearly the end. I have to say, that for an author with the last name of Starck, this book was pretty stark for much of the reading.
The writing is excellent here, but I'm still not a hundred percent convinced I love this book. If I had to categorise it, I would say that this should be filed under "thought provoking." The way the author used themes from the bible without trying to force a religious ideal on the reader was interesting. I liked the townspeople, but the use of Noah's wife as a name for the character rather than giving her a name (on purpose) made me feel more distant from the main character than I was expecting.
Overall, this was an interesting book with a lot to offer the reader, but I can't pick a specific group I would recommend it to. It is worth a read, most definitely--if you enjoy books that live outside the standard genre fiction groups.
This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher. All opinions are my own.
I liked the small town atmosphere and the way the author allowed us a bird's eye view of the people in the town. We got to know them as individuals and it allowed the reader to see the dynamic and unlikely connections between them.
This book has a lot of quirky characters, deals with a lot of different issues and retains the dismal atmosphere until nearly the end. I have to say, that for an author with the last name of Starck, this book was pretty stark for much of the reading.
The writing is excellent here, but I'm still not a hundred percent convinced I love this book. If I had to categorise it, I would say that this should be filed under "thought provoking." The way the author used themes from the bible without trying to force a religious ideal on the reader was interesting. I liked the townspeople, but the use of Noah's wife as a name for the character rather than giving her a name (on purpose) made me feel more distant from the main character than I was expecting.
Overall, this was an interesting book with a lot to offer the reader, but I can't pick a specific group I would recommend it to. It is worth a read, most definitely--if you enjoy books that live outside the standard genre fiction groups.
This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher. All opinions are my own.
February 29, 2016
Noah’s Wife is a modern retelling of the biblical tale of Noah. But I say that a little loosely. In this story, we do not see God flooding the world, nor Noah building an ark to save the animals. I did not feel like it was beating religion over your head either. Instead, it is a story of faith.
The writing was fantastic, I highlighted great quotes throughout the novel. Every page seemed to have something beautiful on it. The book is filled with interesting characters, both in and out of the town. The narrative takes us back and forth from the town to the larger city nearby. I wondered how (or even if!) Ms. Starck would tie everyone together, and she pulls it off nicely.
The ending left me wanting more. I was ready to keep reading. I had a lot of questions after I turned that final page. What happened next?
Overall, I recommend reading Noah’s Wife. It was just one of those books where the writing was so lovely that I loved picking it up and reading it each day.
To see my full review and favorite quotes from the book, visit Hidden Staircase.
Many thanks to First to Read for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
The writing was fantastic, I highlighted great quotes throughout the novel. Every page seemed to have something beautiful on it. The book is filled with interesting characters, both in and out of the town. The narrative takes us back and forth from the town to the larger city nearby. I wondered how (or even if!) Ms. Starck would tie everyone together, and she pulls it off nicely.
The ending left me wanting more. I was ready to keep reading. I had a lot of questions after I turned that final page. What happened next?
Overall, I recommend reading Noah’s Wife. It was just one of those books where the writing was so lovely that I loved picking it up and reading it each day.
To see my full review and favorite quotes from the book, visit Hidden Staircase.
Many thanks to First to Read for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
March 14, 2016
This book reminded me a lot of a favorite book of mine: The Solace of Leaving Early by Haven Kimmel. I can’t quite pinpoint why the books remind me of each other, though. Perhaps it's in the way religion plays a big part both books, but it’s not the thing that drives the narrative, and it’s not what solves the problems in the end.
I will say that this book had the perfect ending, although ending it where it did also left a lot of unanswered questions for me, especially for the characters I was most invested in. Also, it took a bit of a suspension of disbelief to buy the premise that an entire town would refuse to leave when threatened with flood. Starck kept saying everyone in the town was too optimistic, but to me they were just stubborn.
I will say that this book had the perfect ending, although ending it where it did also left a lot of unanswered questions for me, especially for the characters I was most invested in. Also, it took a bit of a suspension of disbelief to buy the premise that an entire town would refuse to leave when threatened with flood. Starck kept saying everyone in the town was too optimistic, but to me they were just stubborn.
August 28, 2019
Lindsay Starck created a thought provoking story about rain, animals, a town, and a character called Noah’s wife.
In fact, names seem to have quite a lot of significance in this book. Some characters have first and last names. Some are only named by their relationship to other characters. I would like to know what the author was trying to get across to the reader using such names.
The writing was skillful in creating vivid imagery. The characters, with the strange names, were easy to know and well developed.
I enjoyed thinking about this story as I read it. I enjoyed trying to guess where the author would lead the reader. I tried to predict the ending, and was pleasantly surprised when I was unable to anticipate the finally.
In fact, names seem to have quite a lot of significance in this book. Some characters have first and last names. Some are only named by their relationship to other characters. I would like to know what the author was trying to get across to the reader using such names.
The writing was skillful in creating vivid imagery. The characters, with the strange names, were easy to know and well developed.
I enjoyed thinking about this story as I read it. I enjoyed trying to guess where the author would lead the reader. I tried to predict the ending, and was pleasantly surprised when I was unable to anticipate the finally.
September 10, 2018
A contemporary Noah’s Ark story that left me shivering and looking for an umbrella. A well written and unusual tale about a little town in the hills being deluged with rain that is never ending. Minister Noah and his wife are assigned to this town and are determine to revive the congregation despite resistance from the townspeople. I liked the many eccentric personalities and the strong presence of female characters. Strength, hope, faith and community are all covered in this very rainy story. Oh, and there is a zoo that the town tries to save. This adds a little humor to a depressing situation.
January 23, 2016
I really liked this modern reworking of the Noah's ark story. Besides just wanting to know how everything was going to resolve, I loved the characters. All with strengths and weaknesses, all with relatable motivations, all with unique stories. There is a lot of humanity and wisdom in these pages. I look forward to reading more books from this author.
August 10, 2017
Three and a half stars. Another good first effort - a modern-day story based on the Noah's ark story in the Bible, but told from his wife's POV. Lindsay Starck does a commendable job giving the reader a sense of place; the rain was a separate character, and the reader has no trouble visualizing much of the story throughout. I can still see those peacocks roaming through the hardware store.
July 6, 2020
Without being too unkind, I'll just say that while the words were beautifully put together, the entire plot was silly and unbelievable. I did read it to the end but probably could have spent that time more wisely.
April 1, 2016
Beautifully written. Lindsay Starck put so much heart and soul into the characters. I appreciate the faith, the lost faith, the wisdom, and most of all the spirit of each and every one of us.
November 17, 2017
This is a loose retelling of the biblical Noah's ark story. I was super intrigued by the whole premise and was curious as to how this one would go. Overall, I really liked it and it ended up getting 4 stars for the following:
1- Interesting book and original
2- The way the author portrayed that the rain kept coming down throughout the whole book. In all of the details she gave us this wet feeling the whole way through.
3- The pearls of wisdom that were scattered through the whole story. Those were my favorite things and found myself jotting the page #s down so I could go back and look at them again. Here were my favorites:
"...the fact is there is only so much suffering a person can reflect upon while still managing to function in the world everyday. ...an excess can knock you flat, leave your mournful and paralyzed, strip you of your usefulness. "
"And what if this town washed away (or us as we feel sometimes) would the world be so much worse without it? In reality, would anyone notice that we were gone?"
"It is difficult for anyone to admit that something that should be making you happy isn't; that the life you waited so long for or worked so hard to achieve has not, in fact, turned out the way that it was supposed to. How does one reconcile the dream of how she imagined things would be with the reality of things as they are?"
"The truth is that marriage isn't going to make you happy and anyone who tells you differently doesn't what on earth they are talking about. You'll be happy sometimes, sure, but sometimes you'll be frustrated and sometime you'll be ad or lonely and sometimes you'll be so angry that you wish you could break the whole world into pieces. Because that's what life is like, and marriage isn't any different.
I did find that the story went a little long in some places and I skipped a little here and there. I did like how there were many different perspectives from many characters and there wasn't one "good guy" or "bad guy". Also, the characters that appeared to be the good guys didn't necessarily end up staying that way. This would be a great book group discussion book.
1- Interesting book and original
2- The way the author portrayed that the rain kept coming down throughout the whole book. In all of the details she gave us this wet feeling the whole way through.
3- The pearls of wisdom that were scattered through the whole story. Those were my favorite things and found myself jotting the page #s down so I could go back and look at them again. Here were my favorites:
"...the fact is there is only so much suffering a person can reflect upon while still managing to function in the world everyday. ...an excess can knock you flat, leave your mournful and paralyzed, strip you of your usefulness. "
"And what if this town washed away (or us as we feel sometimes) would the world be so much worse without it? In reality, would anyone notice that we were gone?"
"It is difficult for anyone to admit that something that should be making you happy isn't; that the life you waited so long for or worked so hard to achieve has not, in fact, turned out the way that it was supposed to. How does one reconcile the dream of how she imagined things would be with the reality of things as they are?"
"The truth is that marriage isn't going to make you happy and anyone who tells you differently doesn't what on earth they are talking about. You'll be happy sometimes, sure, but sometimes you'll be frustrated and sometime you'll be ad or lonely and sometimes you'll be so angry that you wish you could break the whole world into pieces. Because that's what life is like, and marriage isn't any different.
I did find that the story went a little long in some places and I skipped a little here and there. I did like how there were many different perspectives from many characters and there wasn't one "good guy" or "bad guy". Also, the characters that appeared to be the good guys didn't necessarily end up staying that way. This would be a great book group discussion book.
June 19, 2017
An indie read that I was super excited for -- it disappointed me directly in proportion to how much it had originally excited me.
This book is simply a series of character sketches that are loosely related to the main plot (a preacher and his wife move to a small town where it won't stop raining). The character sketches seek to flesh out the character's backgrounds VERY thoroughly, so the plot didn't move too far past introductions even by page 150. I enjoy character based books, but the character sketches never move beyond... character sketches. The images aren't very sensuously interesting, and the characters didn't really surprise me yet, but they also didn't really have a chance to flex themselves in different situations. Maybe later, the various elements could have tied together for a big thematic feeling/revelation/something but wow, life is too short to read something that is so boring and detached.
Also, the dialogue is super stiff. The characters REPEATEDLY say each other's names to each other all the time. It's especially awkward when spouses and close friends are saying names to each other in private conversation.
This book is simply a series of character sketches that are loosely related to the main plot (a preacher and his wife move to a small town where it won't stop raining). The character sketches seek to flesh out the character's backgrounds VERY thoroughly, so the plot didn't move too far past introductions even by page 150. I enjoy character based books, but the character sketches never move beyond... character sketches. The images aren't very sensuously interesting, and the characters didn't really surprise me yet, but they also didn't really have a chance to flex themselves in different situations. Maybe later, the various elements could have tied together for a big thematic feeling/revelation/something but wow, life is too short to read something that is so boring and detached.
Also, the dialogue is super stiff. The characters REPEATEDLY say each other's names to each other all the time. It's especially awkward when spouses and close friends are saying names to each other in private conversation.
March 24, 2019
The main sitting for this novel is a small town in a mountainous area that has had rain, every day, all day long for some time. It is so bad that it begins to look like their lives might just be in danger. However, Noel and his wife come to lead a church that the previous pastor left in a very dramatic way. Nobody knows exactly what happened, but it seems that somehow he ended up in the river and drowned. Was it suicide or an accident? Nobody knows for sure.
The novel asks and provides answers to a number of questions. Among them are do we belong to someone? If so, do we belong ONLY to them, or is there a higher calling? Finally what are heroes really? Oh, and do we always know who the heroes are going in?
It is a thought provoking as well as an entertaining story, for sure.
The novel asks and provides answers to a number of questions. Among them are do we belong to someone? If so, do we belong ONLY to them, or is there a higher calling? Finally what are heroes really? Oh, and do we always know who the heroes are going in?
It is a thought provoking as well as an entertaining story, for sure.
June 8, 2023
It seemed I was going to enjoy this. Love the Noah story in the OLD Testament. Thought I'd find some things to compare. This book was slow. S. L. O. W. Sloooooooww. I didn't like any of it. I should have read the reviews. Boring. Talks about a town that is under such a long rain deluge that they should have left. But they kept believing in the town. I could have skipped to the end, read the last paragraph and been no better than reading the whole thing. There was nothing funny, nothing friendly, no character worth looking for, no sunshine {that was my spoiler.) Don't bother with this. It wasn't even good enough to give away or donate.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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