Recensies

Kirkus Reviews, July 2004
by Angela Carew

This beautiful, solemn, heavy retelling of the story of Noah's ark is narrated in first person by Re Jana, a dark-skinned young woman of a different race from Noah's light-skinned family.

Re Jana's family journeys from marshlands to seek a rumored ship that's being built--inexplicably--in a desert. Nobody understands the project; only the Builder and his family know the purpose. Re Jana ponders (is it a landmark for posterity? a religious sacrifice?) while readers bear the brunt of knowledge about the upcoming flood.

Re Jana becomes inextricably bound up in the Builder's family by falling in love with his son ham, who returns her love, and by performing her special oil-and-water massages on family members. Suspense slowly builds as the lands dampen. Consider this poetic, substantial piece a YA/adult crossover. The ending is both sad and relieving as it touches both the bible and the modern political world.