Book Report: The Preservationist

The Preservationist
by David Maine

Found this book in Cargo Largo and bought it on principle.

From the flap:
Noah's family (or Noe, as he's called here)--his wife, sons, and daughters-in-law--tell what it's like to live with a man touched by God, while struggling against events that cannot be explained. When Noe orders his sons to build an ark, he can't tell them where the wood will come from. When he sends his daughters-in-law out to gather animals, he can offer no directions, money, or protection. And once the rain starts, they all realize that the true test of their faith is just beginning. Because the family is trapped on the ark with thousands of animals--with no experience feeding or caring for them and no idea when the waters will recede--what emerges is a family caught in the midst of an extraordinary Biblical event, with all the tension, humanity, and even humor that implies.

I almost set this book back down, but the more I thought about it, the more my imagination conjured up what could possibly fill these pages. And come on, I've never seen a book about the Ark before.

This book is a fairly quick read, and fairly easy to read. It is written simply, rustically, and an aura of the time seems to permeate the pages. Rotating POVs track this plot from Noe's initial sign from God, through the building of the ark, through the first drop of rain and through the hundreds of days trapped on board with the constant job of mucking stalls and using most of the food for the animals. When at last the dove brings back the olive branch, the reader is as relieved as Noe and his family, however, they are still trapped on top of the mountain, held prisoner until the waters below recede. When at last they are free, the ark is unloaded and each new family heads off in a different direction across virgin land with the mission of repopulating the earth.

Much of this is based on established facts: the names, the order of events, and the details (size of the ship, etc.). Maine did a fantastic job of logically filling in the blanks where needed. How did Noe and his family obtain the supplies? How were the animals gathered? What was it like?

For days after, clouds clot the sky like blood.
Noe gathers his family and says, I have given much thought to how to organize the animals on the ship. I propose that we follow God's natural order. As humans created in the image of God, we shall inhabit the top deck of the craft, along with the apes and other two-legged creatures. Below us, in the middle deck, shall be the animals with four legs. Worms and serpents, insects and other abominations, whether multi-limbed or altogether legless, shall be left to the bottommost breaches.
Japeth shrugs.--All right then, that's settled.
Sem is frowning, but it is Chem who speaks.--That's preposterous. Those huge monsters out there, the what do you call them? Elephants, hippos and whatnot? We can't have them amidship, they'll make the boat more unstable than it already is. Which is bad enough, he adds.
Noe blinks.--I see.
An awkward lull ensues, everyone waiting as if for judgment. Sem pokes his wife, who is gazing hard at the floor.--What do you think, Bera? You brought them. How would you arrange them?
She blinks as if preoccupied.--Hmm? Oh, color, I suppose. Brown and gray on bottom, yellow and orange in the middle, black and white on top. Red in the front and blue in the back. Is anything blue?
No one can remember if there is anything blue.
--Anyway, Bera goes on, you can do it the other way round, if you prefer.
Noe stares with mouth open as if wondering at her sanity.--Birds too? You'd put the orange birds in with the orange wild cats and orange snakes?
Japeth laughs.--And orange monkeys, Da. Orange butterflies.
--You asked, shrugs Bera.--That's my thought.

If you've ever wondered, and even if you haven't, this is a great book that is just as much about family dynamics as it is about the animals and the voyage of the ark.
Four out of five stars for imagination and detail, poetic style and originality