I Will Send Rain

Set in 1930’s Oklahoma, this story follows the trials of the Bell family as they face the likelihood of ruined crops due to a drought. Additionally, each member of the family faces restlessness of some sort. Mother and wife Annie comes from a very religious background and is married to Samuel who is also very devout. Their children are teenage daughter Birdie and their young son Fred.

Annie is growing tired of struggling and feels that Samuel has grown distant from her. She begins to enjoy the attention of the town mayor and enters into a relationship with him. Samuel firmly believes that a biblical flood will occur after the drought and becomes obsessed with the construction of an ark. Birdie has the usual teenage angst and believes show more that she is in love and that she and her boyfriend will find better lives in California.

Fred, my favorite character, is eight years old, mute, and suffers from dust pneumonia. He is the sharpest member of the family and sees what others don’t.

I enjoyed this book and found it reminiscent of a John Steinbeck novel. show less

Books about the Dust Bowl often seem to hyper-focus on the hopelessness of the situation to such a degree that the characters no longer seem like real people: they've been reduced to caricatures representing a reality that remains unfathomable. This didn't happen for me with I Will Send Rain. The characters were just as unique as their situation, and just as much a part of the reason to keep reading. Each person coped with their lack of hope in a different way, and the reader is left with a sense of how it might actually have been to live in that situation.

Despite the heavy topic and the well-drawn characters, this book is a quick read (another unusual quality for novels about the Dust Bowl!) and didn't bog down at any point of the show more story. I appreciated that the storylines were wrapped up, but with just enough left unknown that you can wonder about the characters' future. Whether you already enjoy reading about the Dust Bowl or just want to find out more about it, this book is a great choice. show less

In true Dust Bowl fashion, I Will Send Rain is bleak. The Bells lead a hard-scrabble life of endless work. Thankfully, the story takes place at the very beginning of the Dust Bowl, so there is still a sense of lingering prosperity and abundance even as the weather takes a turn for the worst. The phenomenon of dust storms is new, and Ms. Meadows describes them with frightening clarity. The knowledge that the storms last for years adds a layer of despair to the shared sense of Samuel’s desperation. The touches of modernity – movies, cars, lipstick – are a clear reminder that these events occurred in the not-so-distant past and hint at the possibility of future occurrences.

It is difficult not to like Annie even if you do not agree show more with her actions. She is the anchor of the family, and the care with which she goes about her duties underlies her commitment to them and to the life she has made. Her longing for someone to recognize her as more than a wife and a mother, for someone to understand that she is a woman first and foremost, is understandable on so many levels, something which Ms. Meadows takes great care to show. One does not think less of her for her actions because the desire for her to obtain the peace and happiness she wants is so great and offsets any discomfort one feels for her illicit relationship.

The rest of the characters are equally agreeable. There is an optimism in all of the characters, a sense that happiness is theirs for the taking, which belies the stark setting. Moreover, in spite of their lack of communication, the Bells remain a family unit, bound together by hard work, mutual respect, and love. It is quite beautiful to behold.

I Will Send Rain is more than a Dust Bowl story. It is a story about family first and foremost, about the tragedies which can either tear them apart or bring them closer together. The worsening drought and increasingly violent dust storms are only one such tragedy that tests the Bells’ mettle. The family members are wonderfully real and flawed as only humans are. I Will Send Rain is a surprisingly poetic and honest portrayal of family dynamics and human emotions set against one of the most trying times the country has ever faced. show less

This book is all about the characters. It’s not exactly plot-driven, and people looking for historical fiction filled with lots of details about the events of the Dust Bowl may be disappointed here. However, anyone who enjoys books with realistic, flawed, and nuanced characters should take a look at this. One family struggles through a brutal summer—they may lose their money, their harvest, their home, and their whole way of life—and the extreme circumstances bring to the fore some of the hidden facets of their personalities. Here, pushed to their limits, these compelling characters will come to understand themselves and each other, and secrets long-buried will be pulled into the light of day. The writing is sharp, and the show more characters are vivid and feel real. A deeply emotional read that will linger even after the last page. show less

“There had been no rain for seventy-two days and counting. The mercury would climb past a hundred today and no doubt again tomorrow."

It is Oklahoma, 1934 and there is dust...and a lot of it. This depression-era drama, features Annie Bell and her family as they struggle to survive, on their small farm. There is infidelities, drought, teenage angst, withering crops, sickness, more dust and there is even an ark, if you can believe it.
I think the author had read and studied, The Worst Hard Time. Many of the incidents, in that book are presented here, like the rabbit round-up. I liked the novel but it really never caught fire, in the way I hoped, but if the subject matter, interests you, give it a shot and say a little prayer for rain.

This book is all about the characters. It’s not exactly plot-driven, and people looking for historical fiction filled with lots of details about the events of the Dust Bowl may be disappointed here. However, anyone who enjoys books with realistic, flawed, and nuanced characters should take a look at this. One family struggles through a brutal summer—they may lose their money, their harvest, their home, and their whole way of life—and the extreme circumstances bring to the fore some of the hidden facets of their personalities. Here, pushed to their limits, these compelling characters will come to understand themselves and each other, and secrets long-buried will be pulled into the light of day. The writing is sharp, and the show more characters are vivid and feel real. A deeply emotional read that will linger even after the last page. show less

A gripping family saga and an interesting snapshot of a specific time in America.

The characters felt real and practically jumped off the page. The setting felt desolate. I quite enjoyed this book.