Book Review: The Ark and the Dove by Jill Eileen Smith
Sometimes a book comes along that you expect to like, but not love. Then, you read it and your whole perspective shifts. The Ark and the Dove was a perspective-shifting book for me and I loved it.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my review. All opinions are my own. As an Amazon associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
The story of Noah’s Ark is familiar to anyone who grew up in church. I can’t count the number of times I’ve read it or heard someone else read it.
But I never took the time to think about what it must have been like for Noah’s family, particularly his wife.
In her new book, The Ark and the Dove, Jill Eileen Smith tells the story from the perspective of Zara, Noah’s wife. (Although there are a few shifts throughout the book to seeing the story through the eyes of some of the other characters as well.)
It’s easy to read the verses that animals came two-by-two. Noah built the ark for 120 years. Eight people lived together in a giant ship for almost a year while a tempest raged outside.
But to actually ready about what it might have been like for the day-to-day was eye-opening to me!
When they left the ark nothing was the same, and there were no other people left on the planet. The earth was different, and they had no idea where they were.
Not to mention, Noah and his family are Bible characters, sure. But they were real people with real lives. They had emotions, conflicts and disagreements like everyone else.
How would it feel to need some time away from your in-laws–and have no place to go?
Even though I always knew how the story would end, it was still heartbreaking to read it. But I loved how Jill created the mindsets that led up to that last awful moment when Noah’s family was changed forever.
Related: Top 20 Clean Christian Fiction Books to Read for Free on Kindle Unlimited in 2024
The Ark and the Dove Recommendation
I’ve already told my reading besties about this book. I’ve even loaned out my copy!
Obviously, we can’t know all that happened during those years. God didn’t choose to reveal all of that to us. But we can imagine what it might’ve been like.
Reading this fictional account will change your perception of what happened when God judged the earth with a flood. I guarantee you’ll never read those chapters in Genesis the same again.
