The Ark in the Garden: Fables for Our Times

Steve Pitt is a Toronto-based freelance writer and an award-winning journalist. He has written many young adult and children's books, including Day of the Flying Fox: The True Story of World War II Pilot Charley Fox.

This cheeky, entertaining little collection of modern-day fables takes
its title from the story contributed by Timothy Findley that describes
the consternation a middle-class Noah suffers when he discovers that
another flood is imminent, but only the rich have received boarding
privileges for the new Ark. Margaret Atwood offers up a biting satire
about what life would be like for a “nice” Mr. Scrooge who has the
misfortune to live in Mike Harris’s neoconservative Ontario. Rohinton
Mistry also takes a shot at mean-spirited politicians in a story about a
selfish king who destroys all that is good about his country in order to
further the interests of the rich and powerful. Jane Urquhart includes a
parable about an ax that destroys trees without mercy but suddenly finds
itself in trouble when all the trees are gone. Yves Beauchemin looks at
the uneasy coexistence of two types of monkeys forced to share the same
homeland. Neil Bissoondath contributes the only nonpolitical fable, a
tale about a farmer’s wife who dreams of running away from a life of
drudgery but is held back by her sense of duty to her family.

With their satirical relevance locked into the current “time and
place” of Canada on the verge of the new millennium, there will never
be a better time than the present to enjoy these highly original and
entertaining tales.