Surviving the Flood Author:Stephen Minot This wry novel belongs to that category of books whose purpose is to set the historical record straight. In this case, the Official Report is the Book of Genesis, specifically the biblical account of the Flood. The earnest editor is Ham, the youngest son of Noah, and there is much in need of correction, according to Ham. To start with, the... more »re is the passenger list, which according to the Official Report included only Noah's immediate family, but by Ham's recollection included a large cast of colorful characters.
Among them were the ancient Methuselah, his extended family, and a deck full of rebellious servants, one of whom, Sapphira, played a key role in Ham's coming of age and the genesis of his tribe. Then there were the animals, not nearly the tidy pairings we've read about in the Report.
More important to Ham, the official account makes no mention of those who were pushed from the ark and clung to the trees in desperation as the waters rose -- painful, vivid memories recalled by the conscience stricken narrator. And perhaps the most serious distortion is in the depiction of Noah as a wise and just man, when in fact he was severe and uncompromising, as father and leader. What is the truth here? Ham was a youth at the time of the Flood and is now 900 years old; besides, he has an ax to grind. It's unclear how much of his account should be taken, as it were, on faith.« less