Reviews

Margaret's Ark by Daniel G. Keohane

kate_p's review

4.0

Don't be put off by the religious aspect. I'm as atheist as it gets, and I was somewhat surprised by how much I enjoyed this book - I only actually got it as it was a free Kindle download at the time. Probably the best non-classic book I've got from the Kindle free books. The author managed to show the story from quite a variety of different peoples' viewpoints without getting too convoluted or confusing, and it held my attention throughout...it was also quite sad at times. It could do with a bit more editing, however; I did spot a few distracting grammatical errors.

felinity's review

4.0

This isn't a fast-moving thriller, soon-to-be-movie, where one eccentric scientist or lucky stargazer tries to avert a major disaster. This is a story about Margaret who, amongst many others, is visited by an angel. In her vision, she is told to build an ark for 30 people - no more, no less - and given the instructions on how to build it. This is also the story about Jack, a homeless man suffering from traumatic brain injury, who knows that his job is to warn people about the coming flood. Both know that this flood isn't caused by God, because He promised not to, but that instead He is sending them a warning to help them save people. And this is the story of their attempt to do so.

It focuses on the small stories of the individual people - the store clerks, the doctors, the local religious leaders - rather than looking at the government; it includes the struggles with local by-laws (you're apparently not allowed to build a boat on public property) and the struggles with people who can't, or won't, allow themselves or anyone else to believe.

I don't know what I expected for the ending, but it felt right. I wished it had continued, but that's always the way with a book you enjoy because you don't want the story to end.