Not Wanted on the Voyage (1984)

I did enjoy this book quite a bit. Basically it is a non-religious retelling of the Noah's ark story in which the flood was caused by god, but a god who appears all to human (but wizard like?), being elderly, smelly, and mad at not being worshiped. Noah and his family are one of his last followers, so are entrusted with building an ark and taking on animals, etc.

Add to this the fact that Noah himself is not at all a likeable character (and quite sexist!), and some of his sons become tyrants on the ark (Locking others down in darkness to look after the animals) and you have a re-telling that may not sit well with those who take the bible literally. But a fascinating story nonetheless.

Findley is a marvelous story-teller and takes us back to a time when animals could talk, and unicorns, demons, and angels were not unusual sightings. The descriptions of the flood itself, and the 'many types of rain' (Pine cone rain, black rain, etc) was fascinating. Highly recommended. ( )

A very good book, very powerful. The unicorn horn scene was extremely disturbing though. ( )

I will have to give this one another try pretty soon, because I have a hard time enjoying anything alternative fiction-alternate universe-allegory-fable-speculative fiction-goofy send-up of historical events. I am not sure what my problem is; I should just go along with the author and not indulge in my hang-ups so much. I guess every Biblical character could benefit from a come-down from the lofty status that the Bible and posterity have given them. It is almost impossible for anybody from the Bible to be more or less like a normal human being. It is good that Findley is helping Noah and his family out with this problem. It scared me a bit to try to figure out a style so radically different from any of the other Timothy Findley books that I have ever read. Yes, must read again, after about 15 years or so from the first time before, and give it another chance.

Parts of this story are wickedly funny, but it’s also a powerful portrait of the fragility of family, of doubt, temptation, greed, and the power relations between men and women. The scene where Mrs N nearly drowns in the raging waters when she goes to the rescue of Emma’s intellectually disabled sister (who is most definitely not wanted on the voyage) is extraordinary: I can almost feel the cold water trickling down the back of my neck as I write this.
For the rest of this review see http://anzlitlovers.wordpress.com/2008/11/08/not-wanted-on-the-voyage-by-timothy... ( )

Most people are familiar with the story of Noah's Ark, so using the framework to tell a somewhat different story makes sense. At least you have the signposts. Findley definitely filled the story with a lot of other stuff, and no mistake. This story's got all sorts of themes and topics beyond the basic story itself.

Here, God isn't quite so grand, and basically decides in a petty moment to take the world with him when he goes, except his good friend Noah. So Noah builds his ark and populates it with his family, and they wait, but matters aren't so kind on the ark itself.

None of these characters really had much of a personality in the story, and so Findley gives them each a role to play: authoritarian and brutal Noah, his alcoholic, long-suffering wife, his sons, with the eldest being strong as an ox and about as questioning, the middle a scientist, and the youngest an aspiring warrior. All of the wives of the sons also have their roles to play as well, with one of the themes of the book certainly being the place of women within society. Each takes a different path on the ark, and Findley's call towards feminism can be seen strongly by the end. I don't want to get into spoilers, but some of the points with this were very moving.

Some were just brutal, though, if well-described, including the fates of the unicorns, and the Pirates, and some of the people. In particular, it seems that Findley is also concerns with what happens to the least of us, and what dignity they deserve. It's quite poignant, at points, but it can be disturbing, as well.

And some of it was just odd: I had to stop and try to figure out if stuff was really happening some of the time, with the singing and talking animals, and the fairies, and such. I think I worked it out in the end, but it does throw you for a loop some of the time.

I enjoyed the book, and there's a certain magic to it, but it was hard to get through some parts, and I think there are a couple of places where Findley could have been a little less heavy-handed. But I'd still recommend it; it's generally got good style, interesting characters, and some good points to make. ( )