HomeGroupsTalkMoreZeitgeist
Search Site
This site uses cookies to deliver our services, improve performance, for analytics, and (if not signed in) for advertising. By using LibraryThing you acknowledge that you have read and understand our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Your use of the site and services is subject to these policies and terms.

Results from Google Books

Click on a thumbnail to go to Google Books.

Some Rain Must Fall: And Other Stories by…
Loading...

Some Rain Must Fall: And Other Stories (original 1998; edition 2001)

by Michel Faber

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
296588,201 (3.59)21
Michel Faber's short stories are markedly diverse-the voice of each is so distinct that the book reads like an anthology of different writers. But Faber's radically inventive style fastens all fifteen stories into a compelling collection deserving of the high praise it garnered in the United Kingdom. One surreal story, "Fish," projects a futuristic world populated with fish swimming in the air. As sharks hover in abandoned corners and human zealots of the Church of the Armageddon loose their fanaticism on the innocent, it's a mother's full-time job to protect her young daughter. The title story, "Some Rain Must Fall," tells of a substitute schoolteacher called on in a crisis, and as she encourages her pupils to express their feelings, we learn the source of the class's trouble: a devastating act that resonates with contemporary America. As Garth Morris wrote in the Mail on Sunday (London), "these are well-crafted pieces of quiet forlorn intensity in a very real world."… (more)
Member:Laura42497
Title:Some Rain Must Fall: And Other Stories
Authors:Michel Faber
Info:Harvest Books (2001), Paperback, 276 pages
Collections:Your library
Rating:
Tags:None

Work Information

Some Rain Must Fall and Other Stories by Michel Faber (1998)

Loading...

Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book.

No current Talk conversations about this book.

» See also 21 mentions

Showing 5 of 5
‘’God?’ The voice was shaky, close to tears. ‘Are you there? Can I talk to you?’
There was a pause while God and the other child both held their breath, then nothing. God had lost him.
God jumped up and stood on his chair, putting his face close to the planet as it hung there. Even in the darkness he could see the white of the poles, some jet-streams, clouds. He could not, of course, see the boy who had whispered to him.
‘Hello,’ he whispered back, his lips touching the exosphere. ‘It’s me. I’m right here.’

Some Rain Must Fall: As a teacher whose students primarily belong to the ages of 6 and 12, this story struck a particular chord. Frances is called to substitute a teacher who left her position due to mysterious (for us readers) circumstances. Her calm manner and kindness for the children provide the shelter the little ones desperately need. And all the while, the rain falls and falls…A tender and shocking story.

Fish: A mother and a daughter try to survive in a post-apocalyptic world that puts their lives and their relationship at risk. Faber turns a world where fish float in the air into a masterpiece of psychological horror.

In Case of Vertigo: A nun living alone in absolute isolation shows us the beauty of Life and the merciless presence of Death.

Toy Story: In a moving, bittersweet story, God-child discovers the Earth in the discarded junk of an abandoned universe.

Miss Fatt and Miss Thinne: Miss Fatt is a voluptuous aspiring actress and Miss Thinne is a slender, polite nurse. Best friends for years, they excel in their respective fields. Until one day, Miss Fatt decides to eat more and more and Miss Thinne decides to stop eating altogether. And their world crumbles…

Half a Million Pounds and a Miracle: A quirky duo is in charge of the renovations in St Hilda’s church in Scotland. But what happens when the statue of the Virgin Mary is smashed beyond repair?

The Red Cement Truck: In a brilliant story that will make you extremely uncomfortable, a woman haunts her murderer in the most unusual of ways.

Somewhere Warm and Comfortable: An eleven-year-old, who is too eager to become a man, is initiated into the world of teens and their irresponsibility the hard way…

Nina’s Hand: In a touching story, Nina’s right hand chronicles her emotional demise.

The Crust of Hell: What happens to a raindrop after it hits the soil of the desert? This is the beginning of Ivan’s research in Africa as we witness the dynamics in his family, in a place forgotten and - potentially - hostile.

The Gossip Cell: This story was disappointing. I have no time to care about the hysterics and sexual frustration of a family of utter idiots.

Accountability: A thirteen-year-old girl tries to save herself and her grandmother from the abuse of her stepfather. Set in a city close to Melbourne, this story will make your blood run cold.

Pidgin American: In a poignant story full of wit and bittersweet nostalgia, we follow a young Polish woman’s observations of London, Poland, and questions of cultural identity. A marvellous example of remarking without ‘preaching’.

The Tunnel of Love: Two people with troubled troubled pasts and troubling presents try to make ends meet in the toxic field of the sex industry.

Sheep: Five artists are practically imprisoned in a remote estate in the Scottish Highlands by an ‘’Art Lover’’. It pains me to say that this story felt incomprehensible and devoid of any meaning whatsoever. Not the best way to end an, otherwise, memorable collection…

Recently, Ralph Fiennes, one of the greatest actors to ever grace this miserable planet, received the venom of woke fiends, pseudo-feministic Meanads and the rest of the illiterate TikTok mob who have the notion they belong in the human race. Why? Because he claimed that having trigger warnings in Theatre is completely pointless, that the audience of today has gone all soft, naive, and frankly, unable to think straight.

Same goes for the readers of today. Short stories are meant to make you uncomfortable, to question everything.

Don’t like it? Don’t read it! Don’t watch it! Leave the rest of us (who are the VAST majority) to enjoy it. And have a bath. Or two. You stink stupid.

In other news, Faber’s debut collection showcases his unique talent.

My reviews can also be found on https://theopinionatedreaderblog.wordpress.com ( )
  AmaliaGavea | Mar 3, 2024 |
Wonderful collection of short stories, some weird, some funny, some leaving you in suspense, some pleasingly whole just in themselves. ( )
  Robertgreaves | Mar 2, 2017 |
nina's hand. my aunt's name is nina, so i was immediately drawn to this story about her hand. and i wasn't disappointed, because this hand has a consciousness of its own, and also kind of a death wish. poor nina.

michel faber is careful and precise in his stories - i think as careful and precise as in his novels/novellas. and that's something.
( )
  usefuljack | May 17, 2013 |
nina's hand. my aunt's name is nina, so i was immediately drawn to this story about her hand. and i wasn't disappointed, because this hand has a consciousness of its own, and also kind of a death wish. poor nina.

michel faber is careful and precise in his stories - i think as careful and precise as in his novels/novellas. and that's something.
( )
  usefuljack | May 17, 2013 |
when i bought this book for $1, the seller said she remembered the book and had been disappointed. maybe she meant another book or we have different tastes. i found the stories very individual, some weird. another reviewer said that some of the characters are in other stories and i too find this interesting. ( )
  mahallett | Aug 30, 2012 |
Showing 5 of 5
no reviews | add a review

» Add other authors

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Michel Faberprimary authorall editionscalculated
Damsma, HarmTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Miedema, NiekTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
You must log in to edit Common Knowledge data.
For more help see the Common Knowledge help page.
Canonical title
Original title
Alternative titles
Original publication date
People/Characters
Important places
Important events
Related movies
Epigraph
Dedication
First words
Quotations
Last words
Disambiguation notice
Publisher's editors
Blurbers
Original language
Canonical DDC/MDS
Canonical LCC

References to this work on external resources.

Wikipedia in English

None

Michel Faber's short stories are markedly diverse-the voice of each is so distinct that the book reads like an anthology of different writers. But Faber's radically inventive style fastens all fifteen stories into a compelling collection deserving of the high praise it garnered in the United Kingdom. One surreal story, "Fish," projects a futuristic world populated with fish swimming in the air. As sharks hover in abandoned corners and human zealots of the Church of the Armageddon loose their fanaticism on the innocent, it's a mother's full-time job to protect her young daughter. The title story, "Some Rain Must Fall," tells of a substitute schoolteacher called on in a crisis, and as she encourages her pupils to express their feelings, we learn the source of the class's trouble: a devastating act that resonates with contemporary America. As Garth Morris wrote in the Mail on Sunday (London), "these are well-crafted pieces of quiet forlorn intensity in a very real world."

No library descriptions found.

Book description
Contents:
  • Some Rain Must Fall
  • Fish
  • In Case of Vertigo
  • Toy Story
  • Miss Fatt and Miss Thinne
  • Half a Million Pounds and a Miracle
  • The Red Cement Truck
  • Somewhere Warm and Comfortable
  • Nina's Hand
  • The Crust of Hell
  • The Gossip Cell
  • Accountability
  • Pidgin American
  • The Tunnel of Love
  • Sheep
Haiku summary

Current Discussions

None

Popular covers

Quick Links

Rating

Average: (3.59)
0.5
1
1.5
2 5
2.5 2
3 16
3.5 4
4 19
4.5 4
5 6

Is this you?

Become a LibraryThing Author.

 

About | Contact | Privacy/Terms | Help/FAQs | Blog | Store | APIs | TinyCat | Legacy Libraries | Early Reviewers | Common Knowledge | 203,235,741 books! | Top bar: Always visible