num_pages: 339
description: In the spirit of Anita Diamant this ambitious and unforgettable novel about the story of Noah blends Biblical history mythology and the inimitable strength of women.Cursed with a birthmark that many think is the brand of a demon the young heroine in The Sinners and the Sea is deprived even of a name for fear that it would make it easier for people to spread lies about her. But this virtuous woman has the perfect voice to make one of the Old Testaments stories live anew.Desperate to keep her safe the womans father gives her to the righteous Noah who weds her and takes her to the town of Sorum a land of outcasts. Noah a 600-year-old paragon of virtue rises to the role of preacher to a town full of sinners. Alone in her new life Noahs wife gives him three sons but is faced with the hardship of living with an aloof husband who speaks more to God than with her. She tries to make friends with the violent and dissolute people of Sorum while raising a brood that despite a pious upbringing have developed some sinful tendencies of their own. But her trials are nothing compared to what awaits her after God tells her husband that a flood is comingand that Noah and his family must build an ark so that they alone can repopulate the world.Kanner weaves a masterful tale that breathes new life into one of the Bibles voiceless characters. Through the eyes of Noahs wife we see a complex world where the lines between righteousness and wickedness blur. And we are left wondering: Would I have been considered virtuous enough to save?
language: English
title: Sinners and the Sea: The Untold Story of Noah's Wife
publisher: Howard Books