What happens when everything you know to be true, isn’t? How do you cope? Where do you turn? Who do you become? In her first novel, Noah’s Wife, author and Milwaukee native Lindsay Starck tackles questions of identity and faith.
Starck's modern reimagining of the biblical flood story explores the nature of hope and salvation. "I imagined the original flood story as being a kind of top down vertical salvation, how God saves the world," she explains. "I wanted my story to be more horizontal, how people reach out and save each other."
In the novel, Starck highlights the often forgotten character of Noah's wife. "I like the idea of taking someone who has a small role and pushing them into the spotlight," she explains. "So Noah’s wife is really a meditation, it’s definitely a parable, but I wanted to use it to explore relationships."
Starck was back in her hometown to launch the book at the central branch of the Milwaukee Public Library in January. For her, it's a natural place to come back to celebrate her book, having grown up among the shelves of stories while her mother worked there as a librarian.
"It was I think very formative being surrounded by so many books and by a community of people who loved them and whose goal was to get books into the hands of the public in the belief that reading really does shape lives," says Starck.
