Book Review - The Rain Before it Falls

The Rain Before it Falls by Jonathon Coe

Publisher: Penguin; Reprint edition (5 Jun 2008)

ISBN: 978-0141033211

I picked up The Rain Before it Falls with a little trepidation having tried another title by the author – What a Carve up. I couldn’t get on with it and had put it in my ‘life is too short’ pile. However, I’m glad I did find a gap in my reading regime to enjoy this beautiful, sorrowful tale. It is a story about families, generations of families and the results their actions can have for years to come. It was one of the most touching reads I’ve encountered in quite a time, and I lost myself in it.

The main thrust of the story is about Imogen, a blind girl who we actually never get to meet. The tale is narrated in the main by an old woman Rosamund, a cousin of Imogen’s grandmother who feels she owes something to a girl who she has barely met. Rosamund upon her death left instructions for Imogen to be found and given a tape recording and a set of photographs. The characters span three generations of women in the same family and provide an insight into their lives and their impact on the future generations.

The book is set in Shropshire and begins with the death of Rosamund and instructions left for her niece Gill. Gill is unable to find Imogen despite intensive research and the help of her two daughters, so they decide to listen to the tape, which Rosamund recorded as she lay dying. Rosamund had decided that Imogen should know about her ‘roots’ and about the circumstances which led to the present day and the disconnection from her real family. Rosamund sets her account through twenty photographs, which she describes to the unsighted Imogen but also tells of the tale behind the images, the things that cannot be seen.

It has some sub plots; Rosamund’s sexuality for one and the concerns Gill has about her daughters and their increasing independence from her. The main plot however, is about secrets, about motherhood, about the domino effect of family actions that reverberate for years.

It is cleverly done, and for a male writer to achieve the emotional tone and placement of a female character was for me quite astounding. It was beautifully written, a book I could read without analysis of the structure and I simply loved it.

About the Author

Jonathon Coe is a British novelist and writer. His work is often concerned with issues of a political nature, produced in satire, so this piece was a defection from his usual genre.

Readability Rating: 10

Recommendation: Definitely not one to miss.