Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    The Preservationist
    The Preservationist
    The Preservationist
    Audiobook6 hours

    The Preservationist

    Written by David Maine

    Narrated by Clayton Barclay Jones, John Randolph Jones, Tyler Bunch and

    4/5

    ()

    Switch to ebook

    About this audiobook

    In The Preservationist, Dave Maine tells the story of Noe who has been called by God to build a boat and collect two of every animal on earth to be saved from a coming deluge.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHighbridge Company
    Release dateJul 12, 2004
    ISBN9781598871272
    Author

    David Maine

    David Maine was born in 1963 and grew up in Farmington, Connecticut. He attended Oberlin College and the University of Arizona and has worked in the mental-health systems of Massachusetts and Arizona. He has taught English in Morocco and Pakistan, and since 1998 has lived in Lahore, Pakistan, with his wife, novelist Uzma Aslam Khan. He is the author of books including Monster, 1959 and The Book of Samson.

    More audiobooks from David Maine

    Related to The Preservationist

    Related audiobooks

    Religious Fiction For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Hummingbird Salamander

      Mar 24, 2021

      Hummingbird Salamander
      1 min read

    • Article

      Jeremias Gotthelf

      Feb 28, 2020

      Jeremias Gotthelf
      27 min read

    • Article

      A holiday INDOORS

      Apr 7, 2021

      “You’ll have probably noticed that there’s been very little mention on this page during the past year of lockdowns and respiratory disease and bubbles and masks and toilet roll shortages and quarantine, and illicit Darby and Joan club meetings being

      3 min read

    • Article

      Named

      Mar 19, 2018

      Named
      10 min read

    • Article

      Swisher Sweets

      May 1, 2022

      Swisher Sweets
      17 min read

    • Article

      Lev’s Pawn Shop

      Dec 10, 2022

      In days gone by, it might have been said that Lev had had a vision, that he had been struck from his horse by the voice of God and seen the error of his ways. As it was, people said that he had gone a bit nutty in his old age, though it was unanimous

      11 min read

    • Article

      DULCE DOMUM From The Wind In The Willows

      Nov 1, 2022

      DULCE DOMUM From The Wind In The Willows
      11 min read

    • Article

      Remains

      Sep 1, 2017

      THIS IS what you think your mother’s remains will look like. The ash will be black, like all that soot in the fireplace. It will be heavy, like wet sand. There will not be too much of it. It will fit in a small urn with intricate designs on the borde

      6 min read

    • Article

      The Sack of Silence

      Sep 8, 2020

      “WAIT TILL I TURNT HIS OFF. NOW.” “That noise. Whatever is it?” “The Hoover was running.” “How’s that?” “I said, I was running the vacuum.” “Not that. Outside. Listen.” Rosie leaned over the banister. “Oh, it’s the bee, dear.” “Bee nothing. A thousan

      7 min read

    • Article

      THE GIRL In The TOWER

      May 11, 2020

      THE GIRL In The TOWER
      2 min read

    • Article

      The Centre

      May 6, 2021

      The Centre
      8 min read

    • Article

      My Dinner with Denis Johnson

      Jun 25, 2018

      My Dinner with Denis Johnson
      13 min read

    • Article

      THE BLACK SPIDER Part Two

      Oct 30, 2019

      THE BLACK SPIDER Part Two
      25 min read

    • Article

      Last Day with My Father’s Wife

      Dec 1, 2019

      (for Frances) When I stroked her head, down into her neck,she held quite still, as if feral, and I realizedI had not touched her much, except forhugging her, and kissing her,and maybe she hadn’t been touched muchin the 102 years of her life,except in

      1 min read

    • Article

      The Money Box

      Jun 10, 2022

      This is not a morality tale. It’s simply a story. It began innocently enough, over a lunch of beef pho in the Financial District, when my friend Paolo first mentioned the Money Box. Paolo was a pupa of industry then, waiting to emerge as a titan. He

      19 min read

    • Article

      Mrs Macarthur’s Secret Diary

      Jun 17, 2020

      Mrs Macarthur’s Secret Diary
      7 min read

    • Article

      Five Poems

      Sep 1, 2021

      You don’t understand, he says, again,from the backseat of the car, my son, who only months ago, could not fallasleep before whispering, first, some secret in my ear. When I lookin the rearview, he turns toward peaks in the distance, and when I ask hi

      2 min read

    • Article

      Five Poems

      Nov 1, 2022

      A prayer begins & endseach meeting, it starts with the word God& ends with the word difference. The difference, as far as I can tell,between what is offered & what is possible is a chasm. At times it seemswe simply run out of places to be, until we c

      3 min read

    • Article

      Mrs Macarthur’s Secret Diary

      Jun 17, 2020

      Mrs Macarthur’s Secret Diary
      7 min read

    • Article

      A Righteous Bender

      Jan 18, 2019

      A Righteous Bender
      11 min read

    • Article

      The Lost Jewels

      Nov 28, 2018

      The Lost Jewels
      19 min read

    • Article

      In Time And space

      Apr 25, 2024

      In Time And space
      5 min read

    • Article

      Puddling Along

      Jul 2, 2023

      That Noah must have been a panicky sort. If the Bible is to be believed – and who wouldn’t believe a revealed text from thousands of years ago? – the Good Lord told him He had decided to wash away a sinful world with 40 days and 40 nights of rain. Wh

      3 min read

    • Article

      Five Poems

      Dec 1, 2022

      You have to first Sit in the temple gloom In the mahogany chair & despair. The only glimmer In the temple (being the inlaid bits of The Mother-Of-Pearl shells On the tall, more than humanly tall Chair back, for these These too Are the reputed “Tears

      3 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for The Preservationist

    4/5

    196 ratings24 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 3/5
      The Flood by David Maine - good

      This is basically, the tale of Noah or in this version Noe.

      Love what the author has done with it. Each chapter tells the story of The Flood from their perspective: Noe's instructions from Yahweh and how he goes about making it happen, his wife's patience, his sons working on the boat, their wives gathering animals etc. etc. Then their life on the boat and the final section when the flood is over and they set about re-settling the world. In particular, the inter-relations and interactions of the family. Made it all seem life-like rather than just a fable.

      Not a challenging read (only took a day), but enjoyable and different perspective on the old Bible story.
    • 5/5
      Excellent narrative based on the classic Biblical story.
      The narrators did an excellent job in making it come alive.
    • 4/5
      An interesting book. Each chapter is narrated by a different character in Noah's extended family. A bit irreverent, even bawdy, at times, but still managed to convey enough spirituality that I had to admit the author must understand something about God, whether he in fact believes in him himself or not.
    • 3/5
      The Preservationist is a fictional account of the story of Noah....basically from the point where Noah hears God telling him to build the ark and gather animals, up to a year or so following the end of the flood and the redistribution of his family in order to begin to repopulate the earth. The story is told from alternating viewpoints including Noah's, but also from those of his family including his wife, his sons, and his daughters-in-law. It's meant to be humorous and a bit over the top, and it is. I have mixed feelings about this story. I liked the book in the respect that it examined and explored the more practical aspects of the whole Noah and the Ark story -- about how exactly one would go about gathering all the species of animals, how to decide to arrange them on the boat so that they wouldn't kill the humans or each other, how to pack enough food for both animals and people, how to dispose of all the waste, etc. All those things that one just sort of takes for granted when retelling the story of Noah but doesn't typically think about in too much detail. I enjoyed the humor for the most part, although I felt some of it was somewhat vulgar and unnecessary to the story. I didn't care for Noah's characterization. In my head I've always thought of him as an old but wise and faithful man, but in this he was characterized as a grumpy, pigheaded and somewhat chauvinistic character, and that kind of ruined my image of him. There were parts of this story that I thought needed elaboration, but on the flip side, there were parts that I thought were unnecessary. Overall, I liked the concept, but think it could've maybe been executed better. Not a bad book, but not necessarily a great one either.
    • 3/5
      This is a retelling of the Biblical story of Noah's ark. It is narrated alternately by Noah (Noe), his wife, his teenage son Sem,and his son Cham's wife Ilya. Noe comes across as stern and distant, and thoroughly disliked. His belief in God seems misplaced. Ilya states, "The distruction of the known world isn't anything a sane person can look upon without terror. But what left me truly cold, genuinely afraid, was Noe's reaction to it all. Which was. in a word, jubilation."When the flood begins and people are drowning, Ilya asks if everyone else will be drowned: "Praise God, I hope so.--That's disgusting.--They were sinners.--So are we all.""Only a man could call a child filth. No woman could look on a dead infant and feel such happiness.--Ilya said Sem.--And only a man's god would show love for his creation by destroying it.Noe's face had clouded over no less than the sky--Take care in tempting God's wrath woman.I wanted to say, what can he do that he hasn't done already."While the Biblical roots are present in this novel, and the ethical and moral complexity of a God who destroys are considered, the book is also a family drama. It also deals with some of the practical details that are glossed over in the Bible--how did they get the animals from all over the world; how did Noah, a poor man, obtain the means to build the ark; how did they get rid of the animal poop on the ark; and most of all how do you survive cooped up with this family through 40 days of rain.
    • 4/5
      Mildly funny and quite clever treatment of that age-old Genesis flood story. Full of marital love, human weakness, smart (naturalist/paleontologist) daughters-in law, faith (of course), wrath, and uncertainty. Oh, and lots of "rutting".
    • 4/5
      This is the story of Noah's ark. Author David Maine has given us a story with more depth than the classic telling by imagining the work to be done, the conditions on the ark, and by bringing us the perspectivies of Noah, his wife, sons and daughters-in-law. The result is not only the biblical tale, but a story of family dynamics.
    • 2/5
      I don't suppose this book was to my liking. I would have liked less rutting and more creativity with this bit of history of Noah and the ark.
    • 4/5
      The Old Testament tells us "Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God." David Maine allows the reader to journey with Noe (quotes and name spellings taken from a more recent printing of the 1609 Douay Bible) from the time of Yahweh's calling to the end of Noe's days.Though common depictions of Noe's ark are of happy animals, smiling side by side on the deck of a wooden ark, the reality of such conditions would undoubtedly be a horse of a different color (except those horses probably didn't make the sailing.) Maine has considered what building an ark, gathering the critters, lassoing the righteous ( in this case, Noe's family) into all the tasks at hand, and then the actual journey. Told through the eyes of Noe, his wife, and their sons and daughters-in-laws, it makes an interesting story, one to tell the grandkids for sure, as the sons often comment. There were some moments of poetic beauty for me in the turn of a small phrase, such as, "This part of the ship is as black as the Devil's laugh.' (p 135). There were others, peppered throughout the text, in between the grumbles and problem-solving of Noe et al, little golden nuggets of delight, in a tale that was generally very interesting. I really liked how the various personalities of all the family opened to the reader, and the roles Maine depicted for each. I tried to squelch my questions and concerns about everything from an angry god wiping out a world, to the genetic implications of all existing human life springing from the loins of Noe. But I do enjoy a good retelling of Biblical tales, fleshing out the words handed down over all these years, and adding a spin of practical realism and practical magic.This book was wishlist fulfillment from a friend at Tor Books. Thank you, Paul!
    • 5/5
      A Humorous, if sacrilegious take on Noah. A fun & quick read.
    • 3/5
      A fairly funny retelling of Noah and the Flood; this imagines what life was like for Noah and his clan. I don't usually like so many changes of point of view but it works for this book - each chapter is a different family member and it helps to flesh out the characters by how they see others and how they are seen. Overall, it was pretty good but I preferred Christopher Moore's funnier take on Jesus (Lamb, or the Gospel according to Biff, Jesus's Childhood Friend).
    • 3/5
      This is an imaginative interpretation of what Noah and his family went through preparing for, during, and after the flood. I personally like the imaginative playfulness with scripture. This one has some real novel approaches to Noah's situation; however after the big climax and curse it lingered on too long. my favorite line was when he said Noah wet himself when God told him how big to build the ark.
    • 5/5
      The Flood is a retelling of the Bible story of Noah and the ark. The original story is a good one anyway (whatever your beliefs, it is hard to deny that the Old Testament has some great stories) but the author has managed to bring the characters to life. The story is told from different perspectives, which anyone who has read my other reviews will already know is something that I love when it is done well, as it is here. So we see the flood from the point of view of Noe’s wife, his three sons and their respective wives. There is also the occasional chapter written in the third person thrown in for good measure which shows us Noe’s story, but at more of a distance than the others.The book starts with Noe receiving God’s message about the impending flood, through time on the ark (although that word is never used) and then onto the period afterwards, when the family are dispersed to repopulate the earth, which was less familiar territory for me as I think my school teaching of this tended to end with the flood receding. I thought this was a great book. I found it very funny in place (there is a great discussion on how the animals should be kept on the ship) and it was just as much about how families react in crisis as it was about religion. However, I would be cautious in recommending this as some people may be offended by some of it (there is a lot of “rutting” in the book) and towards the end, there are questions asked about religion. So despite it being based on a Bible story, I think it might be enjoyed more by the less religious.
    • 5/5
      Bought this after reading Fallen, I was so blown away. This is a fleshing out of the Noah story and every bit as brilliant as Fallen.
    • 5/5
      A delightful retelling of the biblical story of Noah & the Flood. Unlike, say, The Red Tent, which appears to stick pretty close to the biblical account but makes subtle (& not so subtle) changes to impose a New Age, feminist, spirituality on the biblical story, this one goes off in some wildly imaginative ways--fleshing out the characters of Noah's daughters-in-law, for example--but somehow seems to me to be more faithful to the primary themes of the original text. It's also pretty funny.
    • 5/5
      A well written account of Noah's family, told through the eyes of each member of the family. The audio production was excellent, each chapter voiced by a different cast member depending on who was telling the story. Be sure to look out for more David Maine books.
    • 4/5
      Not your typical retelling of a popular bible story. I enjoyed all the different points of view.Readers familiar with the biblical account of the flood will recognize that the story includes a heavy dose of family drama.Showing both great respect, thought, and considerable humor, Maine delves into the story of Noah, fleshing out the characters with a sensitive eye towards both the narrative and the reader.Granted, you pretty much know how the story ends. But I enjoyed Main'es take on this folklore.
    • 4/5
      Noe and the Flood retold in a completely refreshing way. Powerful language. Short, well-crafted sentences. Gentle humor. Characters you come to know and love. All in a slim book for a long weekend. Enjoy!
    • 4/5
      Thought provoking and enjoyable.
    • 4/5
      Noe (Noah) and the members of his family relate the story of the building of the Ark, the flood, and afterwards. Each has a slightly different perspective, which adds a lot of good flavor to this familiar tale. The view of God and his part in the story is a bit un-orthodox, which may bother some readers. But the human element is very true to life, and the miraculous is incorporated well so it doesn't seem out of place. If you like looking at Bible stories in different ways definately add this to your reading list.
    • 3/5
      Interesting take on a well known story. Whatever.
    • 4/5
      The Preservationist struck me at first as another attempt by a new author to find success in the endless field of Biblical exploitation. Too many authors these days take and pick what they may from religious text merely to garner an automatic audience. Whether or not that was Maine's purpose doesn't really matter though, as this book was incredibly well written and a wonderful beginning to his apparent career as expander of old testament short stories. And if that Bible is anything, it is that, the collection and quick recount of hundreds of short parable like stories telling of violent, tumultuous encounters between God and man. In his first novel, Maine takes up one of the most famous of these, that of Noah and his family. Within the Bible, the entire account, from introduction of his lineage to the recession of the water and expansion of his family takes no more than a couple of chapters. Maine takes those couple of chapters and blows them up into a fully realized, brilliantly characterized novel.Not only does he manage to bring to life all of the ethos that a family forced to live as such would face, but also of the individual reactions and interactions, of Noah's sons and their wives, of the strict God fearing life he leads and the stress this puts on his family, but also of the pain he saves them through his sacrifices. His family's perspective is just as important though, from the youth of the youngest son to the weary devotion of his wife, Noah's tale is told again and again through a half dozen perspectives, each of them fresh in their own way and brought to life in Maine's special voice.His work does not end with the tale of the flood, or the pain of recovering these animals, the shear cost of Noah's endeavors, the giants from the north unknown to anyone but God and Noah as his extension on earth. His newest novel tells of Samson and the previous one of Cain and Able.The true strength of Maine's narration comes in that he's capable of retelling some of the oldest stories on earth, ones no one would be surprised at the ending of, with a fresh and interesting voice that makes them impulsively readable. And that is the talent of a true novelist.
    • 4/5
      The story is old. Very old. The name Noah ring a bell?While retelling the (yeah, it's in the bible...) original story Maine gives Noah's family a voice and a life. The key question: What is it like to live with a man touched by God? The answer: More trouble than fun.I read it in one go. Rather entertaining. Not a great book, but good (more than I can say of some of the bestsellers out there). I will look out for David Maine to see (and read) what he does next. The Flood is his first novel and I do think he has storyteller-potential.
    • 5/5
      Witty, thoughtful, haunting.