Customer Reviews

Not the End of the World

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If you're looking for a slavish retelling of the Bible story about Noah and the Flood, this book isn't for you. If you're hoping to read a book about pretty rainbows and obedient doves, this isn't for you. But if you want a story that will grip you from the beginning to the end with a realistic cast of human and animal characters, a plot that will keep you on the edge of your chair, and a setting that is both horrific and fascinating, then you must read this masterful book. Timna, Noah's daughter, is the main character and hero. What? You've never heard of her? Was she just another invisible woman from the Bible? Timna herself realizes the truth: " `Shem, Ham, and Japheth: sons of Noah.' They are the only ones who will be mentioned a hundred years from now when people tell our story. I know I won't figure" (p. 2). You must read until the very end to discover Timna's fate.

Timna isn't the only narrator in this book. Her three brothers, their wives, her mother, and even some of the suffering animals tell the tale from their various points of view. Each voice is expressive; each voice has a different cadence and leads us to a deeper understanding of the catastrophe of the Flood. Interestingly, Noah does not tell his side of the story. The author portrays him as a religious fanatic, a monomaniac. She leads us to question whether he is as "blameless" as the Bible story would suggest. Almost all the people on the Ark are cast in an unflattering light. After all, Noah's family saved themselves while thousands of people drowned: "The water boiled with people. They were swimming, or clutching hold of logs, doors, cartwheels. Animals, too, were swimming among them--dogs and horses, cattle, goats. The sky was full of displaced birds, circling, circling, with nowhere to land" (p.11). However, the family's faults--large and small--make them seem more human. Not likeable, but human.

McCaughrean tells this story through powerful language and imagery. The sensory world engulfs us. "Below us, in the bowels of the ship, along its entire length, beasts squealed and shrieked and keened, scrabbling with claws and talons and tails for some purchase on the rolling world . . . . Huge mounds of hot dung slid about the decking, dislodging small creatures in their path" (p.6). What did we expect? That all these animals would quietly behave themselves during the forty days and nights and all the claustrophobic days thereafter while they waited for the waters to recede? The Flood was not a pretty sight. Touches of humor and irony occasionally relieve the tragic events. Timna states: "No shortage of jobs for any of us. The end of the world is a busy time if you mean to outlive it" (p. 5). Without giving away the ending, let us say that some small hope sustains the survivors (and the reader). And perhaps even a grain of faith. In our time of natural disasters--hurricanes, tidal waves, earthquakes--the ancient story of Noah and the flood hits uncomfortably close to home. Highly recommended for ages 12 - 18.

Reviewed by Anne Dublin

Every teenager raised in a religious world, whether you're christian, jewish, or anything for that matter, should take a day to sit down and read this book. I myself am a huge fan of religiously themed books, and when I picked this one up at the library I wasn't expecting what I got.

Luckily the book is very quick read and I feel it is intended for those mature enough to understand death and religious themes, probably 15+ though I am sure some exceptions can be made. It is interesting to view Noah's Ark in a different light as we are all so used to the Christian happy story of people and animals living harmoniosly* in a boat for a few days... with sunshine and all that jazz, but this puts a very real spin on the everyday tale puts it in the perspective the way I feel the story was meant to be told, even though not completely factual.

I suggest this book to anyone who is interested in religion or raised religiously and wants to delve deeper into their origins.

I have often wondered how we can raise our children with a knowledge of the Bible without presenting its people as one-dimensional flannelgraph characters. I know I've struggled all my life to see God's people as just that, people.

While some people are not willing to entertain fictional retellings of Bible stories, I can see from reading this book that it is an exercise that can enhance your faith rather than destroy it. No, you will not get a theologically sound version of the Bible story here. Stop looking for it. What you will get is a very real sense of a disaster of this proportion. You'll experience the claustrophobia, the pettiness, the annoyances, the hardships, the revulsion, the agonizing split-second decisions that characterize daily life, wherever it happens to be unfolding.

While the characters too often are painted as black-and-white, all good or all bad, some nuances are evident, especially in the character of Noah. Our society too often depicts devoutly religious people as unsavory fanatics. Noah's faith and trust in God is not mocked here, but rather presented as a rock-solid moral compass. The members of his family may view that compass differently, some scorning it, but it is not in itself dismissed. I appreciated that.

I think what surprised me most was that this book, in the children or young adults category, is a gripping read for an adult, too. I haven't found that to be the case for many YA books. It has broadened my view of the Bible, helping me to imagine the very real people in its all-too-brief stories. You may not necessarily think that's a good thing, but I would say, read it for yourself before deciding.

Yearly floods have been getting worse, and Timna's father has built a great ship. Noah claims to be guided by God's Plan, and he has collected a great number of animals into the Ark, despite the derision of his neighbors.

The time on the Ark is an ordeal for all those aboard. When the floodwaters arrive, people who used to taunt Noah are now dashed against the sides and left to drown. The sheer mass of animals creates feeding, behavior, and sanitary problems. Almost worse for Timna, before the Flood reached the Ark, her brothers were directed to kidnap another girl to be her youngest brother's bride in the new society her father envisions.

When Timna finds two orphaned children clinging to life, she must make a fateful choice. Will she obey her father's--therefore God's--will that all the "demons" shall perish, or will she show compassion to frightened youngsters?

Geraldine McCaughrean takes on a revered Biblical tale from a perspective rarely imagined: that of a teenaged girl. She evokes all of the senses in her descriptions of day-to-day existence in the floating menagerie. Gone are the fluffy images of a happy boatful of animals, and in its place a swill of misery is led by a man and his son, both of whom claim to serve God's Plan.

While the story is primarily Timna's, the author employs other points of view throughout the book. Other characters are given voice in some chapters, as well as some of the animals who are captive below decks. This helps to round out the story, and each time another POV is used, it is clearly labeled; however, there are moments where it is easy for the reader to lose track of who is narrating.

The hardest part to quantify is the meaning of this book for people of different religious or philosophical persuasions. If read as a purely fictional tale, this is an interesting take on an old story. For someone who believes in the literal value of the Bible, the portrayal of Noah and his sons will be offensive, as they are seen as fanatic, if not mad, in this account.

This review is based on the literary value of this book from a mainstream perspective. Overall, it is a well-told story that will draw readers in through Timna's journey, as well as the reader's senses. It shows the depth of human character in a tough situation, and is worth the read to anyone open-minded enough to give it a try.

Reviewed by Christina Wantz Fixemer

9/14/2006

The tidal wave came, and just as soon as it came, it passed. Timna, and her father Noah, her mother Ama, her brothers Japheth, Shem, Ham, their wives Zillah, Bashemath, Sarai, the baby adalya, the boy Kittim, and his baby sister. It was the time of the flood. God send the flood of forty days and forty nights to clean the earth. God send Noah a vision to build an ark to carry his family and two of each animal until the flood ends. After the flood, they were to repopulate the earth. Timna was shocked to see all the dying people that they couldn't help because God told them not to. It would ruin his plans, but Timna kept having a feeling of regret and wondering why God did this. She found a boy and a baby hanging from a tree. She could stand no longer to witness them die innocently. She hid them with the animals, without her parents knowing. Timna kept believing he was a demon and thought he was the one who caught the ark on fire, but then realized if it wasn't for him, she wouldn't know about it. She kept trying to believed that he, too, was a part of God's plans. Japheth's wife, Zillah, was very reluctant to marry Japheth, and was angry at the family for kidnapping her and not saving her family. They kept trying to tell her that she was lucky and should be thankful that God decided to spare her life, among many others. Bashemath, Shem's wife, delivered a baby while on the ark. It was a girl named Adalya. Shortly after it was born, it was killed by a mink, and Timna gave her Kittim's baby sister and Bashemath was very greatful. Once, Kittim and his sister, and Zillah, had a chance to swim to another boat, to safety from being killed for being thought of as devils. But Kittim refused to go without Timna, his best, and only, friend. Soon before the flood was over, Kittim was almost found, but Timna lied to her brothers and told them that she was the demon. The were about to drown her in the flood with the other demons, but her mom stepped up and said she should be the one to, since she brought Timna in this world. But instead, she sends her and Kittim away on a raft to survive.

This book was very exciting. It made me never want to stop or put the book down. I look forward to reading other books by McCaughrean. I deffinetely recommend this sad, true story of Noah's ark.

L. Dessoffy

I had bought this book for my grand-daughter (13), but after reading it and giving it to her, I also recommended it to her mother and my friends. It is the story of Noah and his family during the Flood, told by his daughter. She asks the questions that we want to be able to ask; and, throughout the book, runs a thread of "mother knew best" that is delightfully impertinent to the men of the family. LRG

Not the End of the World written by Geraldine McCaughrean was an interesting book to read. It is a historical fiction about the events of Noah's Ark from the perspective of Noah's family. It takes place in the Middle East in the time of the Old Testament. The main character Timna who is about 10 years old, Noahs daughter,describes what life was like for her parents Noah and Ama, her brothers Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and their wives Bashemath, Sarai, and Zillah Throughout the story the family encounters sicknesses, people calling to them for help, death, and unsanitary conditions. One day Timna goes as far as to hide a nine year old boy named Kittim and a baby girl named Adalya on the ark to save them from the flood. As time passes Timna begins to wonder if the two are demons and if they are the ones behind their misfortunes. By the end of the story Timna decides that they are not demons and that God has put them there for a purpose. After this she and Kittim escape on a raft late at night with the help of Ama and without her father Noah ever knowing. "It was as if someone had extinguished it, so as to deal out judgment in the dark... or to conceal a getaway." (pg.231). When they found land they began a new life.

What I liked best this book is that Geraldine McCaughrean described different views from the animals on the ark that seem pretty accurate as to how people would expect an animal to feel. She described how a rabbit, bird, and a lion felt. Another thing I liked is that she gave a good amount of details about the events that took place. She did not add too much detail, drag scenes out, nor did she make them too short. The details given were generally at a fast pace making the story easy and entertaining to read. This book was different from others because not too many other books give different points of views from different characters. The only other book that I have read that gave views from different characters was My Sisters Keeper by Jodi Picoult. The author also used good imagery that gave me a better idea of what was happening on the ship. An example of this is "Our two bulging cats slump down asleep long before they can mop up all the mice." (pg. 76). All in all, this book was interesting, easy, and fast to read even though it was not completely factual. While reading this book I was interested with what the author had to say and I was impressed with how fast it was for me to read. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in reading about religious stories because it would be interesting to compare the original Noah's Ark story to this historical fiction story.

Noah is a religious fanatic who believes that it is God's will that everyone in the world but his family must die in the Great Flood. His ideological blinders are so great that he is prepared to murder his own daughter, and he and his sons attack the drowning people who seek shelter in their ark, rationalizing their actions as fulfilling God's plan. Noah's wife and daughter gradually come to the realization that the voices talking to Noah are solely in his own head, and work together to save the daughter and a stowaway on the ark from Noah's wrath. In an era where one of the leading causes of human suffering is religious fundamentalism, this book's message for children is that religious fanaticism and ideologies of all stripes blind us to our common humanity and lead us into disaster. The book was the Whitbread Children's Book of the Year in 2004, which is probably Great Britain's most prestigious children's book award.