Flanders Today, July 2008
"In the Shadow of the Ark is a literary reframing of the Flood applying a critical and imaginative eye to an event that has often been airbrushed to serve commercial tastes."
Full review
New York Times Book Review, 19th September 2004
"The enduring image of Noah's ark, particularly in children's books, is of Noah ushering cute little animals two by two up a plank to safety. Readers of Anne Provoost's sophisticated retelling will be left with a far darker, more complex picture."
Full review
The Guardian, 11th September 2004
"The Unnameable, as God is called in this novel about the flood, is a demanding deity and books in which he has a starring role, albeit offstage, tend to be sonorous and weighty."
Full review
Teenage Reading, 29th April 2005
“Vividly imagined, and beautifully detailed, this is an epic re-telling to the story of the Great Flood. Hearing rumours of impending disaster and of a man building a great ship in the middle of the desert, Re Jana and her family leave home to go and work for Noah. She falls for Ham his youngest son, and is smuggled on board when the rain finally starts to fall…”
Vermont Academy of Arts & Sciences Newsletter, 2005
"I can strongly recommend this book to anyone over about 16 not only as a fascinating and imaginative bit of action-packed 'historical' fiction, but particularly as a stimulating exercise in Bible study and, more generally, in raising basic questions of thoughtful free will versus mindless obedience and in presenting fundamental questions of good and evil."
The Advertiser, 12th February 2005
"The book is a wonderfully sustained and elaborated feat of the imagination, conjuring an entire race with all its customs and characteristics, and a family from a quite distinct race to counterpoint it."
Carousel, 2004
"l was wholly convinced by the imaginative grasp of detail which Provoost displays in this long novel."
Kirkus Reviews, July 2004
"The ending is both sad and relieving as it touches both the bible and the modern political world."
Genrefluent
"This lyrical novelization of the Noah's ark tale is so sensuously told one can smell the scented oils Re Jana applies in her ministrations as well as the stench of the ark following the flood." Read the full review here.
India Edghill, author of Queenmaker: A Novel of King David's Queen
"Moving and powerful, In the Shadow of the Ark shows us the familiar story of the Biblical Food and Noah's great Ark through an outsider's perceptive eyes - from the point of view of a woman who refuses to surrender to fate or man's dictates. This beautifully written story of change and loss, of courage and choice, is a fascinating and thought-provoking read."
Booklist, 6th June 2004
"Exquisitely detailed and intelligently written, this is a YA novel only in the broadest sense; no one would blink if it appeared on an adult list."
NRC Handelsblad
"In the Shadows of the Ark is an unusually rich book. It tackles so many themes, it is so elegantly written, and it is so breathtakingly narrated that it is difficult to remain unmoved."
Book Review Magazine
"This is an intereseting and very original novel - a new take on an old story. I liked it very much. The author's descriptions of the surroundings paint a vivid picture for the reader. This is a fantastic read for anyone looking for an unusual story."
De Standaard
"The descriptions of the building of the ark and the arrival of all the various kinds of animals are masterly. Provoost sketches a world that sizzles with activity and teems with life: you can hear the banging of the tools, you can smell the pitch for making the ship watertight and you can feel the builders' delight in their work."
Katie (aged 13) at Brymbo Library.
"This book is a rare, thought provoking masterpiece. The descriptions are so real that you can feel the clamminess of the ark, hear every sound the animals produce and the clinking of the tools, even the smell of excrement! So much goes on you can not put it down for fear you might miss something on the ever-going emotional rollercoaster that this book is. The romantic side is also entwined within the story but does contain any of the much feared soppy stuff but still conveys the feelings of the characters beautifully. It seems that all the delightful stories we read in religious books are brought to question, as well as many other things, as it points out the overlooked part of the Noah's Ark story; the suffering, the deaths, that maybe are not all deserved. This book starts a deep train of thought."
The Exponent, 31th May 2005
"I suggest you read Anne Provoost's novel, especially if you like religious fiction. This novel is intelligent and suspenseful and very, very well written. If you think the ending is a foregone conclusion it's not. There are surprises in store for anyone who's heard the flood story and thinks they know what happens. Pick up the novel and try it out. If you like very tense, descriptive novels that quickly builds up to a climactic ending this is the novel for you."
CMIS Evaluation
"While the language is very economical, the imagery it creates is not and the interactions between the characters may shock some. For this reason, and for the complexity of the ideas, I think it is most suited to mature students in upper high school or even the staff. The cover describes it as a love story. So it is, but it is much more than that: suspense, adventure, an exploration of good and evil and of the belief of people in their particular God. The characters, especially Re Jana, are wonderfully drawn. It is easy to identify with her, to feel that we are there amidst the mayhem and perhaps reflect on which of the characters we would be - fascinating and emotionally challenging stuff."
