Noah's Wife was an interesting book to say the least. Noah is a minister who takes a position at a church in a small town where the past minister has apparently "gone missing" in the ever-rising waters. It appears it has been raining in this town for what seems like an eternity and there looks to be no end in sight. Hope is dwindling, faith is waning and raindrops keep falling. Noah (accompanied by his wife) have been assigned to the local church to help bring unity and hope to the town's people. There you have the beginning of the story. You meet some comical -- and some not so comical -- characters along the way that collectively create a colorful township. My favorite moments occurred when the townspeople took in all of the animals from the zoo when disaster strikes without complaining, without a second thought -- just because it was the right thing to do at the time.

My greatest difficulty with the story was that, for the most part, only the men in the story had names (Noah - the man sent to save everyone from the torrential rains; Adam -- who like the Biblical Adam and first keeper of the animals, is the town's zookeeper; and Jonah -- the weatherman who arrives to warn everyone of their fate due to the rising waters but gets swallowed up in his own guilt and remorse in not being able to make them evacuate). All of the women were referred to as "someone's wife" as in "Noah's wife". It reminded me a bit of Daphne Du'Maurier's Rebecca where we never knew Mrs. DeWinter's first name. What struck me odd was that while few of the women were referred to by first name, they were the ones portrayed as the stronger sex, the keepers of faith, the glue holding it all together, the axis from which everything rotated. (Was there an underlying feminist statement being made?)

I think the story was supposed to show the strength of relationships, taking chances, facing the unknown, have faith and courage for whatever lies ahead and working together for a common good. But quite frankly, I just wanted to go stand outside and turn my face towards the sun and feel something other than the gloom and despair showered upon this town and their plight. Maybe I just need to ponder it for a few days and let the story soak in - pardon the pun.

NOah and his wife arrive in a little town in the hills where it has been raining since they can't remember when. But she and her minister husband attempt to revive the congregation but as the rain intensifies, so do all their problems. I'm not convinced I like this book I found it a bit boring at times, the plot implausible, characters were odd, and some had names and some didn't. What WAS the name of the main character? we never find out. Themes of faith, stories that connect and don't might be worth a discussion but found it difficult