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Not Wanted On The Voyage Paperback – International Edition, April 2, 1996

4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 57 ratings

Not Wanted on the Voyage is the story of the great flood and the first time the world ended, filed with an extraordinary cast of remarkable characters. With pathos and pageantry, desperation and hope, magic and mythology, this acclaimed novel weaves its unforgettable spell.
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Timothy Findley (1930-2002) was one of Canada's most compelling and best-loved writers. He is the author of The Wars, which won the Governor General's Award and established him as one of Canada's leading writers, as well as Pilgrim and The Piano Man's Daughter, both finalists for The Giller Prize. His other novels, Headhunter, The Telling of Lies, The Last of the Crazy People, The Butterfly Plague, Famous Last Words, Not Wanted on the Voyage, and Spadework; his novella, You Went Away; and his short fiction, Dinner Along the Amazon, Stones, and Dust to Dust, have won numerous awards and are well loved both in Canada and internationally.

Elizabeth Rex won the Governor General's Award for Drama and The Stillborn Lover won a Chalmers Award. His works of non-fiction include Inside Memory and From Stone Orchard.

Timothy Findley was made an Officer of the Order of Canada and a
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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Penguin Canada; Ex-Library edition (April 2, 1996)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 208 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0140241175
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0140241174
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 11.5 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.2 x 0.77 x 8 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 57 ratings

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Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
57 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book engaging and entertaining. They appreciate the insightful tale and interesting characters. The well-crafted satire and thought-provoking prose make the story enjoyable yet thought-provoking. Overall, customers describe the book as a good read that provides an enjoyable experience.

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6 customers mention "Readability"6 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the book's readability. They find it an engaging novel by one of their favorite authors. The book provides good entertainment for them.

"...satire and thought provoking prose, this is definitely a book you'll really enjoy...." Read more

"...My favourite book by one of my favourite authors." Read more

"Pleased with service and item.. Though quite pricey.. Hope it's a good read..highly recommended book no longer being printed I believe" Read more

"It is an amazing novel!" Read more

3 customers mention "Pacing"3 positive0 negative

Customers find the book's pacing engaging. They describe the tale as insightful, with interesting characters and thought-provoking prose. The story is described as well-crafted and thought-provoking, providing grist for the mental mill.

"...Mr. Findley's characters are some of the most interesting in modern fiction including Mottyl, a sentient calico belonging to Noah's wife and a Yaweh..." Read more

"...A one-of-a-kind portrayal of one of the oldest and most widely known Biblical stories. My favourite book by one of my favourite authors." Read more

"...his anti-theological stance or not and still be enchanted by a good story. But this isn't that good a story...." Read more

Wanting Deeper Characters
1 out of 5 stars
Wanting Deeper Characters
Findley's Not Wanted on the Voyage parodies the biblical story of Noah. His God is a depressed tyrant, hundreds of years old: egomanical, megalomaniacal, suicidal. He is feared and hated by his creatures who have begun heaping derision and scorn upon him. Noah is almost as old: God's loyal friend and lieutenant. He is the executor of God's will the way Goehring may have been of Hitler's. Humanity's sinfulness before The Flood is therefore only a life-affirming rebellion against a tyrant.Another rebellion brews on board the ark lead by Lucy (Lucifer incarnated as a woman who has married one of Noah's sons) and Noah's oppressed alcoholic wife, Mrs. Noyes. Mrs. Noyes, of course, speaks with the animals all the time, feeding and nursing them. The lines are drawn: the empathetic nature-lovers vs. the brutal Yahwist gestapo. The ending is really no surprise, as a return to the earth when the waters recede will be a return to a world ordered by the tyrant and his martinet Noah.OK, so Findley's got a problem with the God of Judaism and Christianity. Readers can embrace his anti-theological stance or not and still be enchanted by a good story. But this isn't that good a story. The characters are flat and the story simply carries out the agenda. I found it hard to care about these any of these characters, either the good-evil or the evil-good. They seemed the product more of a pamphleteer than of an insightful storyteller. This book was published in 1984. Perhaps Findley's powers have since matured.
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Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on March 21, 2009
    Not Wanted on the Voyage

    If you're looking for a Sunday school retelling of the story of Noah's Ark this is not the book you're looking for. However, if you like well written satire and thought provoking prose, this is definitely a book you'll really enjoy. It's like reading the biblical ark story from its own reflection in a fun house mirror: wildly distorted but yet still very recognizable.

    Mr. Findley's characters are some of the most interesting in modern fiction including Mottyl, a sentient calico belonging to Noah's wife and a Yaweh who is an all too human deity. Look for talking animals, 7 foot tall angels and dog sized unicorns in a story infused with large measures of Darwinism then blended into a very well crafted, insightful tale which will have you reevaluating many of the key underpinnings of modern organized religion and theology, in general.

    I highly recommend this book for people who like to read and think. This is not a summer beach read or a throwaway escapist fantasy. It is heavy, yet thoroughly enchanting, grist for the mental mill. One of the best books I've read in my life.
    9 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on May 31, 2018
    Visual and powerful, uncomfortable, lasting. A one-of-a-kind portrayal of one of the oldest and most widely known Biblical stories. My favourite book by one of my favourite authors.
    3 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on September 27, 2018
    I have read this over and over.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on May 28, 2014
    Pleased with service and item.. Though quite pricey.. Hope it's a good read..highly recommended book no longer being printed I believe
  • Reviewed in the United States on May 25, 2015
    It is an amazing novel!
  • Reviewed in the United States on September 29, 2015
    Very good entertainment.
  • Reviewed in the United States on May 3, 2002
    Findley set himself an ambitious task in writing this novel. He takes the Biblical story of Noah and the Ark and reinterprets it. This represents a new trend in late 20th century literature; the rewriting of traditional stories, often in the attempt to undermine the intended purpose of the story. Aside from this work, this idea can be seen in Gardner's "Grendel" (based upon the thousand year old English epic poem "Beowulf") and the "Politically Correct" series: Bedtime stories, Parables, and the Politically Correct Guide to the Bible. It is interesting to see how post-modernism is changing (if not corrupting) literature. Post-modernism asserts that there is no meta-narrative, no authoritative version of events, no absolute truth and so forth. Of course, it is almost immediately obvious that such a philosophy is riddled with contradiction (see "Relativism: Feet planted firmly in mid-air," by Frank Beckwith and Gregory Koukl for more; I've also reviewed this book) and as such should not be taken as serious philosophy.
    "Not wanted on the voyage" strikes me as a much better novel than Findley's "The Wars" (which I have reviewed), a tale about a Canadian soldier in World War 1. I would not say there is a substantive difference in terms of writing style, but I simply found the happenings of World War 1 uninteresting to read in a fictional setting. My main criticism of this novel is the pace; the first part is almost painfully slow. The reader has to wait about 60 pages to meet Yahweh (God, who is described an ancient man, strained with exhaustion) and then, another 140 pages for the Ark to be finished and the Flood to begin. I consider the Ark and the Flood to be the main events of the story, however it may be told, and those events should be the most prominent. Despite the pace, there are several things about the novel that I enjoyed.
    The depiction of Yahweh (i.e. the God of Christianity/Judaism) is without a doubt theologically wrong in most respects, but as a character, Findley paints him well. Yahweh is shown to be exhausted, depressed and very human. When Yahweh arrives in Doctor Noyes' home (Findley substitutes Noyes for Noah), there is a sense that it is God's last refuge. Unfortunately, after this one meeting, Yahweh is not seen again.
    The portrayal of the various supernatural characters is both amusing and fresh. Lucifer is depicted as the woman Lucy who marries one of Noyes sons and boards the ark. One of my favorite passages from the novel reveals Lucy as the the Dissenter of Heaven, the one who disturbed the peace:
    "A long time ago," she said; "in a place I have almost forgotten - I heard a rumour of another world. With all my heart - because I could not abide the place I was in - I wanted to see that world. I wanted to go there and to be there and to live there. Where I was born - the trees were always in the sun... The merciless light. It never rained - though we never lacked for water. Always fair weather! Dull. I wanted difference. And I wondered - does it rain there? Are there clouds, perhaps, and there shade in that other world? I wanted somewhere to stand, you see, that would give me a view of deserts and of snow. I wanted that desperately. I wanted, too, someone I could argue with. Someone - just once - with whom I could disagree.... Who say that dry is wet - and black is white? and if I were to say; `I am not I - but whoever I wish to be.'" (page 282)
    This quote is one of the more insightful observations that Findley makes in the novel (i.e. besides such ideas as religion when mixed with power, tends to corrupt). It is ironic that someone would desire foul weather, dissent and trouble instead of bliss.
    The Archangel Michael is Michael Archangelis who might be best described as a holy warrior. In the novel, Michael is the well-armed and experienced protector of Yahweh who never sleeps and the brother of the fallen Lucifer. Oddly enough, demons are among the "animals" included in the ark. Demons are described in the novel as fiery, roughly dog-sized animals that are playful. I somehow found this bizarre for I tend to consider such beings immaterial, similar to angels. There are also strange beings called Faeries which are some sort of small, bright beings. Nothing is really said about them, other than the fact that they are frightened easily and live in the forest.
    Noyes' family is a mixed bunch; some loyal to the father and some to the mother. They are hardly saints, yet they could not really be called fully corrupt either. Noah (or Doctor Noyes) is an oppressive father whose passion for God leads him to be a negligent husband and father; further, there are hints that he is some sort of scientist (there is mention made of him experimenting with animals and attempting alchemy). This realistic showing of family life is one of the endearing qualities of the novel. On the other hand, the fact that all the animals can talk is quite strange. Mrs. Noyes cat, Mottyl, has quite a role throughout the novel and one wonders why this is the case. Is there some sort of subtle symbolism intended here or is it simply a device to let the reader know what the animals think about the Ark, the Flood, and the people aboard it?
    A word of warning to some readers that there is a rather violent sex scene in the novel, it lasts about two pages and some readers may want to skip this section.
    8 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on October 1, 2014
    Timothy Findley was an acclaimed Canadian author who made his reputation with an early book about a closeted WWI hero. He then wrote a number of books, each differing wildly from the last. He is a skilled writer but, also, and less common, his imagination is brilliant. This is a retelling of the story of Noah and the Ark, told primarily in the voice of the rather alcoholic Mrs. Noyes (three interpretations of this rendering of Mrs. Noah). It is true that one of the characters is a cat and there is a unicorn who appears in the book---and that probably does not entice many potential readers----but this book is dark, wild, hysterically funny and indescribably sad. One of my all-time favorites.
    One person found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

  • Daisy Chains
    5.0 out of 5 stars A fantastic read
    Reviewed in Canada on December 28, 2024
    A fabulously fun and interesting look into Christianity, exclusionary religion, and a Satan who truly slays. No notes.
  • Jo Connelly del Junco
    5.0 out of 5 stars what an interesting take on the Bible story of Noah and the Ark!
    Reviewed in Canada on February 3, 2022
    I am just part way into the book but already the characters are vibrant and brings Noah and his family to life!
  • Christiane
    2.0 out of 5 stars A heavy-going read
    Reviewed in Germany on March 7, 2015
    I expected to enjoy this novel as much as the part about Noah's Ark in Julian Barnes' "A History of the World in 10 1/2 Chapters", but I didn't.

    Despite several serious attempts I just couldn't get past Book I - not so much due to the weirdness of the story but because of Timothy Findley's incredibly dense writing style.
  • Timothy Phillips
    5.0 out of 5 stars Arrived in good time and good condition
    Reviewed in Canada on September 16, 2021
    Arrived in good time and good condition. I am pleased with the process of ordering second hand books
  • Spartnan
    5.0 out of 5 stars Truly Wonderful
    Reviewed in Canada on March 25, 2013
    This reinterpretation is full of majesty as it takes the Biblical account of the flood and turns it on its head. With new characters and a couple darkly humorous spins, it is quite enjoyable and a true page-turner. Yes, it's not true to Judaic or Christian doctrine, but nothing that is good never is.