The Rain Before It Falls (Vintage Contemporaries)

I liked this a lot. Uber-dysfunctional family, but very believable. Sort of a trite "set-up" (i.e. taped rememberances of deceased woman) and yet it worked for me.

Semplicemente stupendo!

Read the whole book in one sitting. Laughed and cried. Good, depressing read.

Could you tell the story of your life by describing 20 photographs? An elderly and dying woman does that for the benefit of her cousin's granddaughter, who mysteriously (to us) lived with an adopted family. How that comes to be seems inevitable by the end. "Everybody smiles for photographs," the woman tells us. "That's one of the reasons you should never trust them." Three generations of...more

Could you tell the story of your life by describing 20 photographs? An elderly and dying woman does that for the benefit of her cousin's granddaughter, who mysteriously (to us) lived with an adopted family. How that comes to be seems inevitable by the end. "Everybody smiles for photographs," the woman tells us. "That's one of the reasons you should never trust them." Three generations of neglectful parenting scar the daughters/mothers. Whatever else this novel is about, it is about how parents can destroy their children. The Rain Before It Falls is not as good as The Rotters' Club. But it is remarkable that Coe is able to make one want to continue reading what, on the face of it, should be a horribly boring novel--at least to a 30-something man. Here's another review: http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2007/sep/16/fiction.jonathancoe   hide

I thought it was fantastic for most of it, but the ending seemed suddenly rushed and disconnected from the whole story, a bit of a let down really.

another great book from Coe, loved it

en français La Puie avant qu'elle tombe

Coe's writing is beautiful, a heartbreaking novel about three generations of women from WWII to University of Toronto campus. I did enjoy the descriptive writing and the idea of using old photos to carry us through time.