[ianmcgowan]

Sounds a little like Julian Barnes "A History of the World in 10 and 1/2 chapters", there are several recurring themes (woodworm, boats) but the Ark recurs in several of the stories.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_History_of_the_World_in_10%C...

[earlyriser]

Oh, great, thanks for this.