I love the stylish insouciance of her prose, the allusions to poetry and music, the witty dialogue and her generous view of humanity. At the end, the main character has toughened up a bit and describes her previous existence as a black comedy. Well, certainly a This is the fourth of Barbara Trapido's novels that I have read though it is her second in order of publication. Well, certainly a comedy, but a sparkling one. Aug 10, Kate Vane rated it really liked it. This is the story of a marriage but it is also a clever study of power.
Ali Bobrow, artistic, beautiful and unworldly, is easy prey to controlling men. Her third husband, Noah, is at least a benign dictator. Before him she was mistreated, her daughter was unhappy and she was unable to resist the demands of any manipulative neighbour or acquaintance. Noah, a doctor, the ultimate protector, replaces the chaos with love, calm and security — so long as she follows his rules.
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Then one day Ali decides t This is the story of a marriage but it is also a clever study of power. Then one day Ali decides to rebel — and this disrupts the delicate balance of her life with Noah, and leads her to look back at her past in South Africa. You feel like you want to climb into her world though probably not for too long — who could keep up? She creates atmosphere with economy and style. The opening scene shows Ali sewing in her kitchen, an icon of domesticity.
The apparently ordinary items — the fruit bowl, the pinboard — and her thoughts about them immediately evoke the family and her place within it. There are other types of power here. Ali grew up under apartheid, the descendant of German refugees from World War Two. Her best friend at school was Jewish, and she is attracted to Jewish men. Her unconsummated first love was dark-skinned and was rumoured to have lied about his background to attend the all-white university.
Noah's Ark by Barbara Trapido
There are also the dynamics between parents and children. He is also confronted by the stubbornness of his own daughter. How do we respond to a world where every day people are harming others? Trapido asks subtle questions about the limits of power, resistance and compassion.
Editorial Reviews
Aug 18, Supriya rated it really liked it. Perhaps the satire of the ex-husband is a bit too strong, but only ' More Famous Jack' is pitched to a sweeter note. I love Trapido and her masochistic women. Jul 02, Carla added it. A novel with lots of children, a rather sexy, bossy husband, a less sexy ex-husband complete with standard annoying new wife and a potentially sexy lost love who naturally makes an appearance.
Structurally, the book is lopsided, with much happening in the final chapters, as if, finally, the distracted heroine's life is getting interesting. Sadly I found this book to be nothing more than pretentious twaddle. Unlikable characters, an irritating lack of detail when needed and far too much detail when not, and a plot that didn't go anywhere - this book has put me off reading anything else by this author.
Feb 22, Judith Yeabsley rated it liked it. Should this have been half the length I'd probably have added an extra star. It was quirky and interesting at first and then it continued Certainly not a bad book but just too much of the same. This was a little strange but I enjoyed it. The storyline was subtle but I couldn't help feeling the benign dictator needed to go!
The characters developed and it was an enjoyable read! And it is certainly that. Noah Glazer is a strong American doctor researching respiratory illnesses in the UK.
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Instead it follows the joys and tragedies of his second wife, Ali. By the time Ali and Noah meet, she is estranged from her abusive second husband and attempting to bring up her eleven year old daughter on her own. Noah blasts into her life like a knight in shining armour, rescuing her not only from an oncoming car, but also from her own self-deprecation and the abuse of almost everyone else around her. The relationship between Ali and Noah is tested when an old friend from her childhood in apartheid South Africa comes back into her life.
Ali Glazer is a shy woman. She is the victim of her oppressive childhood and two very bad marriages. It is her vulnerability that first attracts Noah to her, but through him she begins to slowly show signs of a new confidence. Dealing with abuse and the injustice of apartheid the book was written in Barbara Trapido manages to balance the conflicting tones of the book very well. Kessler, Martin; Deurloo, Karel Adriaan A commentary on Genesis: The Book of Beginnings.
Kvanvig, Helge , Primeval History: Babylonian, Biblical, and Enochic: The Jewish Study Bible. Two Horizons Old Testament Commentary. Retrieved 29 March Isaak no a geologist Isaak, Mark 5 November Retrieved 2 November Morton, Glenn 17 February Morton Not a Geologist Nigosian, S. Parkinson, William January—February Retrieved 16 November Science and Religion in Dialogue.
Dunn; John William Rogerson. Retrieved 16 September The Bible, Rocks, and Time: Geological Evidence for the Age of the Earth. Towner, Wayne Sibley Westminster John Knox Press. Von Rad, Gerhard Batto, Bernard Frank Mythmaking in the Biblical Tradition. Studies in the History of Biogeography. Sources of the Pentateuch: Reading the Fractures of Genesis.
The Theme of the Pentateuch. Zondervan Illustrated Bible Dictionary. Kugler, Robert; Hartin, Patrick The Old Testament between theology and history: How to Read Genesis. An Introduction to the Pentateuch. Introduction to Reading the Pentateuch. Van Seters, John The Yahwist As Historian in Genesis. McKenzie; Matt Patrick Graham. The Hebrew Bible Today: An Introduction to Critical Issues.
About Noah's Ark
Continuum International Publishing Group. Style and Structure in Biblical Hebrew Narrative. Noah, the Person and the Story. University of South Carolina Press. Noah's Ark and the Ziusudra Epic. The Age of the Earth. The Pentateuch in the Twentieth Century: Telling Lies for God: The Evolution of the Gilgamesh Epic.
University of Pennsylvania Press , Philadelphia.
In Hess, Richard S. Sources for Biblical and Theological Study. People and things in the Quran. The names are sorted alphabetically. Genesis flood narrative in the Book of Genesis. The Flowering Peach play Two by Two musical. Retrieved from " https: Webarchive template wayback links Articles with short description Articles containing Hebrew-language text Articles containing Arabic-language text Articles to be expanded from July All articles to be expanded Articles using small message boxes All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from June Commons category link is on Wikidata CS1 maint: Views Read Edit View history.
In other projects Wikimedia Commons. Most helpful customer reviews on Amazon. Noah's book was what I needed to help teach my Sunday School class. What can I say? Great item for a quick reference or to review! These are very handy to keep with your bible. And especially if you are a teacher.
Excellent product and very fast delivery.
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Full of subtle S. African references to a S. Get to Know Us.