I needed a day to process this book after finishing it. This is hands down, one of the most well-written novels I have read in a long time. The character depth is astounding! I felt as though I knew these people, that their story could have been in my family.

Jonathan Coe's highly acclaimed "The Rain Before It Falls" is an epic tale of love, loss and above all family. When Gill finds out her Aunt has passed away she is left to deal with her estate. What she finds is a series of tapes that her Aunt Rosamond had recorded with instructions that they be delivered to a girl - now a woman- named Imogen. Gill vaguely remembers Imogen from her Aunt Rosamonds 50th birthday party, but aside from that occasion knows not much about her.

Gill is unable to locate Imogen, so she and her daughters go ahead and listen to the tapes. What follows is a description of 20 photographs. How amazing! It was like looking through a photo album and having all the circumstances surrounding those photos told to you.

What unfolds is a story of inevitability. A series of events all seemingly linked, and tragic at their very core. What comes from those events is Imogen, a little girl that lost her vision in an awful accident when she was 3 years old.

This book is a must read! You will find yourself reading this book rather quickly. The emotions Coe evokes are strong, and you will be compelled to continue on. ( )

I really enjoyed this novel and the sting in the tail. Set around a number of photographs, it tells a sad story. A slow burner, it ripped a hole in my pocket in its overpriced airport format.

This had amazing reviews but I found it rather disappointing. Everyone in it seemed oddly distanced. This may because of the way it was written as someone speaking on a tape recorder about long past events. I expected more of it. ( )

Lovely characters a sad but interesting storyline, a good read.Try it I'm sure you will enjoy.

Lovely characters a sad but interesting storyline, a good read.Try it I'm sure you will enjoy.

Wow! I really, really loved this book. I read this in the same week as Anne Enright's The Gathering, and my reaction between to the two couldn't have been more different - by the end of this book (which I read really quickly) I was a wreck, deeply moved, whereas The Gatherling just did nothing for more me.

Maybe I'm shallow.

Whatever, this was the story of three generation of women in a family, told in a very orginal way, as the deceased narator leaves a recording describing twenty photos that summarise here life for a long lost blind younger relative.

I always find Coe an easy read, but sometimes a little slight. This though, really got to me, and I'll admit that by the end I was in tears. I really couldn't pin down why it affected me so much that it will mean more to you if you are a parent, maybe it plays on our fear of failure? ( )

The beautifully told story of a family blighted by destructive relationships, principally between mothers and daughters. Sentimental, though in my opinion never crossing the line in to maudelin, the story is told through a series of twenty photographs. In this it is reminisent of Beryl Bainbridge's "Master Georgie", and Stephen Poliakoff's television drama "Shooting The Past".
I love Jonathan Coe's writting and this really is a lovely read. ( )

Hmm.
An interesting technique, using a narrative based around 20 photos, but not emotionally engaging.
I kept expecting to be engaged, but it never happened.
Skip this one ( )

Gill and her family settle down to listen to her recently deceased aunt's memories, taped for the blind grand-daughter of her cousin whom they've been unable to locate. Rosamund has chosen a series of photos from her childhood onwards to tell the story of Imogen's family, in particular her moody and excitable grandmother Beatrix who was Rosamund's childhood companion, and Imogen's mother Thea who turned out to have problems of her own.
Throughout, there is a sense of the need to escape, to prevent history repeating, however fate takes control and that what happens is unavoidable. The main characters are all women, and Coe has successfully pulled off writing a novel about women with wide appeal. In this respect (and given the initial wartime setting), it reminded me of Sarah Waters' 'The night watch'. The cover photo is an intriguing find and compliments the narrative perfectly. ( )

Yet again Jonathan Coe has gripped me through his wonderfully sensitive and compelling writing. The story is told through the tapes recorded by Rosamond prior to her death. We join other characters in the book who are listening to them for the first time and when there is a break in the middle we share the characters' impatience to continue the story. Covering three generations the story reveals events that repeat themselves suggesting that behavioural patterns have consequences for the future. This was a very quick read - it's not a long book, it's easy reading because it flows so well plus once you pick it up it's impossible to put down - and the ending makes you think. ( )