Introduction

A ForeWord Reviews BOOK OF THE YEAR for Historical Fiction.
 
Noah's Wife transports readers to an ancient time and place, while delving into issues that affect our contemporary lives--family relationships, autism, religious freedom, kidnapping and cultural change.  A biblical novel that is not "Christian Fiction," T.K. Thorne's version weaves myth, history, and archeological findings with her vivid imagination, wisdom and humor into an epic tale you will not forget. Told from the unique perspective of a young girl with what is now called Aspergers, this is the story of Noah's completely unknown wife, Na'amah.
 
Na'amah wishes only to be a shepherdess on her beloved hills in ancient Turkey-- a desire shattered by the hatred of her powerful brother and the love of two men.
 
Her savant abilities and penchant to speak truth forces her to walk a dangerous path in an age of change--a time of challenge to the goddess' ancient ways, when cultures clash and the earth itself is unstable.  When foreign raiders kidnap her, Na'amah's journey to escape and return home becomes an attempt to save her people from the disaster only she knows is coming.
 
A few interesting tidbits:
 
* Scientists (including Robert Ballard, the explorer who found the sunken Titanic) discovered evidence that the Black Sea was once a fresh water lake that flooded in a cataclysmic event around 5500.
 
* The oldest known worshipped deity was female!  The role of the feminine in the divine was entwined with early Judaism and keeps reappearing throughout history.
 
* One in every 88 persons has a form of autism.  The choice to make Noah's wife an Asperger savant stemmed from personal experience in the author's life and gives the story a distinctive perspective.

EXCERPT:

"My name, Na'amah, means pleasant or beautiful. I am not always pleasant, but I am beautiful. Perhaps that is why I am trundled atop this beast like a roll of hides for market and surrounded by grim-faced men. If my captors had bothered to ask me, I would have told them that their prize is of questionable value because my mind is damaged. But they did not, and I lie draped, belly down, across the back of an aurochs, a large black ox with an eel stripe that runs down his spine and a stench worse than a rutting goat.

CRITICAL PRAISE:

"T.K. Thorne is a magical writer.  In Noah's Wife, she turns Biblical lore upside down...and makes us believe every word of this novel is true.  Her writing is flat-out brilliant and spellbinding. ...I couldn't put it down."                                                                
 --Elsa Rutherford, NiftyPickle.com columnist, novelist

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Excerpt

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Discussion Questions

1. Does this book challenge your perception of the way the story of Noah is traditionally told? How do you feel about that?

2. Noah’s Wife predates organized religion. The author uses the concepts of Father God and Mother Goddess in the book. Do they have validity today?

3. How does Na’amah perceive and relate to the world because of her Asperger Syndrome?

4. How does her condition help her/limit her on her journey?

5. How did Savta influence Na’amah’s perception of herself?

6. Discuss how your perception of Tubal changes as the story evolves.

7. What part does understanding the “cycle of violence” play in forgiveness? Can you forgive Tubal? Yanner?

8. The Queen bee is a symbol of the goddess. How is the symbol used in the story?

9. How do the relationships between Yanner, Noah, and Na’amah define the different aspects of love?

Weblinks

»	Author's web site
»	Read an excerpt

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