The Preservationist

By: David Maine

Narrated by: Barbara Rosenblat, Tyler Bunch, Full Cast

Length: 6 hrs and 34 mins

Publisher's Summary

In this brilliant debut novel, Noah's family (or Noe, as he's called here), his wife, sons, and daughters-in-law, tell what it's like to live with a man touched by God, while struggling against events that cannot be controlled or explained. When Noe orders his sons to build an ark, he can't tell them where the wood will come from. When he sends his daughters-in-law out to gather animals, he can offer no directions, money, or protection. And once the rain starts, they all realize that the true test of their faith is just beginning. Because the family is trapped on the ark with thousands of animals, with no experience feeding or caring for them and no idea when the waters will recede, what emerges is a family caught in the midst of an extraordinary Biblical event, with all the tension, humanity, and even humor that implies.

©2004 David Maine (P)2004 HighBridge Company

Critic Reviews

"A literary debut that makes a familiar story enthralling." (Booklist)

"A perfect fit for audio. Maine's witty, always credible monologues, performed by an exceptional cast, will draw listeners into familiar yet stunningly original territory." (AudioFile) 

"Wildly different in temperament, age, and provenance, these characters, each telling part of the story, help create a brilliant kaleidoscopic analysis of the situation.... A story of faith and survival (think Life of Pi thousands of years earlier with a much larger cast of characters), this debut is a winner." (Publishers Weekly) 

Brilliant novel and illuminating take on old story

Sure, don't be fooled into thinking this is a happy Christian novel. It's raw and real and authentic. It's mythical, it's a provocative narrative, it's true to the biblical story but offers depth of insight and color to an otherwise one-dimensional text.

Each narrator is compelling and relentlessly poignant and interesting. The Bible story will never be the same.

A frolicking tale

This was a hoot. The prose was nicely done, with both a deep message and enough entertainment to keep me laughing out loud. The characters are deeply developed and their stories of the challenges of such impossible tasks will enrich your thinking. A teriffic debut. I look forward to more from David Maine.

what a disapointment

This could have been a great story.
There are just too many discrepancys betwine the book and the few facts that are available in the Bible. I know it is fiction, but when it is based on other accounts, they should be considered.
Also, as others have said, we don't really need to have blow by blow discriptions of Noah's and his children's sexual prowes.
If only Audible would put some kind of worning it the reviews about content, it would save me some time, not to mention money, that I could use listening to good books.

Caution !

If this book where a movie it would have to be rated "R" or worse. I only got about 1 1/2 hours into it but the sexual content and lauguage where enough to make me stop.

Don't waste your money!

If you want to know Noah's urinary patterns and his sex life then this book is for you, otherwise don't waste your book credits.

Lame!

I don't get it. The rave reviews were enough to make me purchase this book. Boy, am I ever disappointed! The dialogue is so anachronistic that is reads like a script from daytime television. The word "rut" is literally substituted for the "F" word and inappropriately pops up all over the place. I am not a prude and am not put off by profanity when it is used in the correct context of the scene. But this is "rutting" ridiculous! It simply sounds stupid, as if written by a 16 year-old.

Hey, the emperor really has no clothes! This book stinks.

What a treat!

I didn't want this one to end; even knowing the end of the book didn't ruin the enjoyment of this great listen. The multi-character cast of readers gets it just right in conveying what it might have been like to be in Noah's family as they prepared for and endured the deluge. I have recommended the book to others as a "listen only" because the different voices were so compelling--and funny!

imaginative retelling of the Noah story

For any of you familiar with the bible & most particularly its first 5 books, you will know that the stories therein "telegraph" fuller stories & morals to the stories in such a way that they are tremendously open to interpretation, puzzlement and questions. The Noah story is like this too. Certainly just a few hundred words, if that, in Genesis, it is puzzling & open to interpretation. The author of The Preservationist has taken advantage of these circumstances to write a very stimulating & imaginative account of what things might have been like for Noah, his sons (& importantly, his daughters-in-law) and his wife. I found the book moved along at a nice pace, was well-narrated, and frequently gave rise to my own intellectualizing of the story, or my appreciation of the author's having done so. This is not "great literature," but it is a nice diversion.

Great listen.

The narration was superb. I would hire the narrators to read my morning newspaper to me!

The biblical story of the flood to end all floods was fairly closely represented with an emphasis on the personal lives and contributions of Noah and his sons and their wives to getting the ark on the float. There were some very interesting hypotheses presented as explanations for the miracles required to make the overall project work.

The only negative I found was the descriptions of various "rutting' activities by members of the family. Some were fairly graphic and not necessarily suitable for younger children. Not that rutting didn't happen in the day but the detail was a little too graphic to let me share the otherwise excellent story with my young daughter.

Get this one. It's great!

a good read

Extremely well read by a company of very professional readers. The story is told from multiple perspectives, and the details can be sometimes witty, soemtimes gritty, sometimes spiritual. A good retelling of a familiar story with some amusingly modern themes thrown in.