The Day the Sky Opened by Andrew Guyatt
 This was without a doubt one of the most interesting books I've read recently. It left a lasting impression on me. Guyatt's novel is basically a detailed re-telling of the familiar "Noah and the Ark" story that we all know. As powerful as the original biblical account is, it obviously leaves out many details and hence it's a story that never impacted me quite as much as it should have. However, Guyatt's book brought the story to life and hence gave me a deeper understanding of God's faithfulness to Noah and his family during this period as well as the difficulties that Noah must have faced during the building of the ark (humiliation from his peers in addition to construction problems.)
What makes this novel stand out is that it is a work of great imagination, considering how short the original account it. Clearly the author has taken the trouble to research the time-period, including many details about what the process of building the ark might have been like, such as the materials used and the methods to acquire them. The characters are also well developed, particularly Noah. I empathized with him deeply; his unwavering faith (aside from the expected human stumble from time to time) in times of idolatry and the ridicule he faced, even from loved ones. Another imaginatively developed character is Noah's wife, here named Zillah, who is portrayed as bossy and prone to irrational emotional outbursts. Despite her husband's many difficulties, her primary concern is what the neighbours will think and how the building of the ark may eventually lead the family into poverty. I spent most of the book wondering how Noah could have put up with her for so long. Ham's behavior towards his father, near the end of the story, also garnered a strong emotive response from me.
Guyatt wants to show us that this was not a fluffy Sunday-school story about Noah and the animals floating in a magical boat. He paints a vivid, and at times uncomfortable, picture of a sinful, hedonistic society that had wandered as far from God as possible - cannibalism, ritualistic sacrifices and prostitution all get a mention, amongst others. And yet, all the way through, we see how God protected Noah whilst the ark was being built, bringing him through every obstacle; from the curses of high priests to acquiring the animals for the ark. In this sense, the book is a powerful and much-needed reminder of God's faithfulness. For me personally, it highlighted the difficulties we often face in seeing the big picture when we are going through troubles and how important it is to keeping pressing on, even if you don't see results straight away - patient trust in God is a strong theme throughout.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book - it would be a powerful and illuminating read for new Christians, and I think that there may be a market for novels such as these that delve deeper into biblical accounts.
Naomi Antony is a geology student. |
