Not wanted on the voyage [Hardcover]

Timothy Findley (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Viking; 1st Canadian Edition edition (1984)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0670803057
• ISBN-13: 978-0670803057
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.5 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,705,093 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An astounding, enthralling feat of imagination and empathy, April 26, 2000

By 

David J. Loftus (Portland, OR USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Not Wanted on the Voyage (Hardcover)

This is an incredible book. I've read most of Findley's other novels (see my review of _The Telling of Lies_ for more on the author and his other books), and none measures up to this one ... but few OTHER writers' novels do, either.

God is tired, and depressed. He gets no respect any more, so he decides to do away with himself; hence, the flood. (This was back in the days of unicorns, fairies, and elves.) But before destroying everything, God tips off his devoted servant Dr. Noyes, who is, not to put too fine a point on it, a total jerk: obsessed with God's law and with doing what is right in God's eyes.

The real hero of the story is Mrs. Noyes, an alcoholic who stows bottles of gin about the house and talks to animals. Part of the story is narrated by her cat, Mottyl. God's lovely fallen angel Lucifer senses that something big is up and transforms himself into a beautiful woman in order to hook up with Ham and make it onto the ark. (Another of Noah's sons tried to run away, fell in with some bandits who threw him in a pot and tried to eat him, and he was lucky to escape with his skin permanently turned blue.)

Power blocs form and struggle on the ark, secrets are kept and revealed, and what seems like a quirky, amusing fantasy inexorably transforms itself into an apocalyptic horror. The language is simple and spare, but the imagery and the plot it relates is unbearably rich.

There isn't one superlative I wouldn't lavish on this book. You should do your utmost to find a copy for yourself (It took my wife four months to secure a copy with the intent of trading it away at a "book gift" party she intends to throw at our house; the book made her cry.)

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best of a vast number of great Canadian books, November 8, 2001

By 

shannon miller (Vancouver BC Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Not Wanted on the Voyage (Hardcover)

I was a naive 20 year old when I was told to read this book before I graduated by a fellow university student. Being a lover of all types of fiction, I devoured this book and have never stopped reading anything Findley puts out. However, this is his most creative and compelling novel. Maybe it's a bit like Kurt Vonnegut where the first of his novels will always be your favorite, but I just think everyone in the world should read this. It is sad and beautiful and the story of Mrs. Noyes' talking cat broke my heart. Good stuff!!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A sad and beautiful deluge, April 9, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Not wanted on the voyage (Hardcover)

Beautifully written with colourful images and heart tugging scenes, Timothy Findley spins a twisted fairy tale about the first time the world ended in, Not Wanted on the Voyage. The story is complete with unicorns who are destined for a grotesque death, faeries who are forgotten in the rain, and intelligent talking animals who show more emotion and spirit than some of the main characters.

In his catastrophic version of Noah's Ark, Findley twists the expected roles of God and Noah showing just how arbitrary powerful figures can be in their justice. And as the rain pours down in colourful splashes admist a mythical setting one cannot help but fall gently in love with figures such as Lucifer, Mottyl the blind cat, and sweet Mrs Noyes, Noah's wife.

Altogether, Timothy Findley's Not Wanted on the Voyage is a wonderfully written saga that opens one's mind to the complexities of religion, patriarchal society, and the importance of myth. It combines both the world of fairy tales with the violent realities of survival in the primary world. It can be read purely for entertainment or it can be read for a little bit of enlightenment. Either way it is a brilliant and unforgettable novel.