The Rain Watcher

I am normally a very fast reader but I read this book slowly so that I could savor every word and marvel at the way the family secrets were brought to the light. I love Paris and felt like I had taken a wet and rainy mini-vacation after I finished it. I loved the family and they are not characters that I'll soon forget.

The Malegarde family is meeting in Paris to celebrate Paul's 70th birthday and the anniversary of Paul and Lauren. They both traveled to Paris from the Drome Valley to spend the weekend with their two children - Tilia who is an artist and lives in London with her second husband in a rocky marriage and Linden who lives in San Francisco with his lover. Linden is a world renowned photographer who sees the world best through show more the eye of a camera. When the family all arrives in Paris, it has been raining for days but as the rain continues, the Seine begins to rise to levels not seen since the flood of 1910, the city begins to flood and shut down. In the midst of the devastation in Paris, Paul suffers a stroke and is taken to the hospital and Lauren is stricken with pneumonia. This is a family who love each other but don't really understand each other. They are hiding secrets and resentments from each other. As they get cut off from the rest of the world in the floods, their secrets start to come to light as they learn more about the other family members.

This is a beautifully written novel about the devastation of Paris in a flood and the flood of feeling that this family must release to better understand each other. It will make you miss Paris if you've ever been there or make you want to make plans for a trip to Paris. I LOVED IT!

Thanks to the publisher for a copy of this book to read and review. All opinions are my own. show less

The Rain Watcher is stunningly beautiful, sensitive, simultaneously gentle and forceful.

Against a backdrop of Paris’ epic flood, the Malegarde family come together to celebrate Paul's birthday, and Lauren's and Paul's anniversary. Continuous rain causes flood levels to rise unravelling the family's happy plans. Paul and Lauren both suffer health crises alarming Linden and Tilia, son and daughter.

Both react emotionally; Linden, by introspectively recalling and re-examining significant events of his life, and Tilia, normally tough, now vulnerable, crying and demanding answers. The Malegardes, a good, loving family are now moved to release the flood-gates of their feelings of guilt and remorse, and set them right.

I love the way De show more Rosnay adds richness to the novel by layering on more in-depth detail on her characters slowly, chapter by chapter. Masterful with language; it is both spare and descriptive, balancing the horror that Paris has become and somehow avoiding the melodramatic. I found the words to be softly poetic, inviting, and felt the book almost read itself to me! show less

What a joy to read a family drama written by Tatiana de Rosnay. The Rain Watcher follows the Malegarde family who meet in Paris to celebrate the 70th birthday of Paul, the patriarch. The weekend was arranged by his spouse, Lauren, to gather together their adult children, Tilia and Linden. The reunion unfolds as the river Seine is bursting its banks and threatening to flood the City of Light. There is a sense of foreboding throughout due to the constant rain and the dysfunctional relationships of the Malegardes. Paul, an arborist, has a better understanding of trees than of his family. Lauren wants the weekend to be a success for all. Talia, the daughter, has problems of her own at home in London and Linden, the son, left the Malegarde show more home as a teenager and never really went back. And everyone has secrets of their own. The Rain Watcher reminds us that all families have issues. An entrancing read. Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. show less

The Rain Watcher by Tatiana de Rosnay

October 24, 2018
St Martins Press
Fiction

I received a digital ARC of this book from NetGalley and St Martins Press in exchange for an unbiased review.

This is the story about the complicated relationships within a family. Linden Malegard, born in France, but living in California with his partner, Sacha, travels to Paris for a family reunion. Unbeknownst to his family, they arrive during a rain storm with devastating effects. A reoccurrence of the Seine overflowing and flooding the city back in 1910 is feared by all residents.

It seems an unlikely turn of events results in the family being grounded in Paris. The celebration of his parents’ anniversary and father’s birthday become overshadowed by show more the natural disaster and the declining health of his parents. The reunion in France lasts longer than any of them expected which allows time for them to reminisce and confront issues ignored over the years.

As much as I enjoyed the descriptive aspects of the characters and France, the story felt more “passive” in the sense it was told primarily from Linden’s POV. He is a reflective and somber character who reflects the dank and cloudy environment in which the story occurs. It’s not a “light” read but one with rich, complex characters who seem to be “weathering” their own storm. show less

Nur die Eltern und die beiden Kinder. So lautet die klare Ansage von Mutter Lauren Malegarde, als sie Linden und Tilia bittet nach Paris zu kommen, um den 70. Geburtstag von Vater Paul zu feiern. Ein ungewöhnlicher Ort, wohnen die Eltern doch im Département Drôme, aber dem Wunsch der Mutter ist Folge zu leisten. Allerdings empfängt die Hauptstadt die Familie nicht mit dem gewohnten Charme, ein Hochwasser historischen Ausmaßes droht die Stadt zu überschwemmen und es regnet unerlässlich. Das Programm wird angepasst, doch bald schon müssen sie noch mehr Planänderungen vornehmen, denn beim gemeinsamen Abendessen bricht Paul mit einem Schlaganfall zusammen und die Erkältung der Mutter stellt sich als schwere Lungenentzündung show more heraus. Während in ganz Paris der Ausnahmezustand herrscht, ereilt dieser ganz im Kleinen auch die Familie Malegarde.

Von Beginn der Geschichte an wählt die französisch-amerikanische Schriftstellerin, die in beiden Sprachen ihre Bücher verfasst, ein starkes Symbol: das Wasser der Seine steigt im gleichen Maße wie auch die Lage in der Familie sich zuspitzt, vor allem der Gesundheitszustand des Vaters läuft auf einen dramatischen Höhepunkt zu. Es wird einen Scheitelpunkt geben müssen, der entscheidet, in welche Richtung das Pendel ausschlägt.

Trotz der gerade einmal 300 Seiten bringt Tatiana de Rosnay unzählige Themen in ihrem Roman unter, die einem als Leser nachdenklich stimmen. Doch keineswegs wirkt die Handlung überladen, im Gegenteil, der Fokus auf die engste Familie und insbesondere auf Linden lässt sie nie den roten Faden verlieren. Es ist das Verhältnis der beiden Geschwister zu einander, jenes zwischen Eltern und Kindern, glückliche und gescheiterte Beziehungen und vor allem die hohe Sensibilität der Malegarde Männer, die immer wieder hervortreten. Paul Malegarde kam als „Treeman“ zu Weltruhm, nichts gibt es, das er nicht über Bäume zu wissen scheint, überall fragt man nach ihm, wenn die Natur übermächtig zu werden scheint. Er ist ein Baumflüsterer, doch wo seine enge Verbundenheit herführt, ist ein Geheimnis, das erst spät gelüftet wird. Lindens besonderes Gespür für Menschen äußert sich in seinem Talent als Fotograf. Er hat den Blick für den ultimativen Ausdruck, kann mit Bildern das ausdrücken, wozu ihm die Worte fehlen.

Die Familie birgt jedoch auch Konfliktpotenzial, das sich besonders gerne zu Feierlichkeiten entlädt. Auch bei den Malegardes ist dies nicht anders und so manches Geheimnis und bis dato Unausgesprochenes will nun trotz oder gerade wegen der Ausnahmesituation an die Oberfläche. Nicht immer war man nett zu einander, hat sich unterstützt; es gab Neid und Groll, man fühlte sich missverstanden und nicht anerkannt. All das erzählt Tatiana de Rosnay in einem fast poetisch anmutenden Ton, der außerordentlich die Empfindsamkeit und Emotionen der Figuren einfängt und wiedergibt. Trotz der tristen Szenerie und Dramatik des Settings, schlichtweg ein großartiger Roman. show less

Linden wondered why his mother organized a family get together in Paris for his father’s 70th birthday since his father didn’t like Paris.

In addition to his dislike of Paris, Paris was having torrential rainfall with threats of flooding. The rain and flooding continued throughout their time in Paris and throughout the book with worries it would be as bad if not worse than the Paris floods of 1910.

THE RAIN WATCHER brings together this family of four from Venozan, London, and San Francisco - no spouses or children - just the four of them. We meet Linden from San Francisco who never got along with his father, Tilia from London who is unhappily married for the second time, and Paul and Lauren their parents.

All the characters seemed to show more have something to hide, but you warmed up to them as the book continued.

The children had grown up in Venozan after their parents met when Lauren was on a vacation in France more than 30 years ago. It was a whirlwind romance that had Lauren never going back to the states.

The family was still indifferent as always as they gathered together for breakfast and the rain continued to pour down. Lauren insisted they were in a non-flood area of Paris and should continue with their celebration plans.

Their celebration was wonderful until something tragic happened at the restaurant and Lauren became ill as well.

Besides being part of family issues and seeing how people interact, there was a lot of interesting information about photography. Linden was a famous photographer with a photo of his father taken years ago that made him famous. There is also wonderful information about plants and gardening and Paris.

THE RAIN WATCHER is beautifully written and pulls you into the story line with Ms. De Rosnay’s marvelous storytelling skills and details about every situation.

If you like rainstorms and family drama, this book will be of interest. 4/5

This book was given to me by the publisher via NETGALLEY and in print in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. show less

The Malegarde family has gathered in Paris for a family reunion in honor of Patriarch Paul's 70th birthday and anniversary celebration with his wife Lauren. Their adult children, daughter Tilia and son Linden come into town from London and New York respectively. Timing is everything and as it turns out, being in Paris on this particular weekend was nearly disastrous. The rain hasn't stopped. The Seine is quickly rising. While trying to make the best of a difficult situation, the Malegarde's experience their own family crisis, preventing them from fleeing the rising floodwaters as the rest of Paris departs.

Linden, a world renowned photographer, is the narrator of this tale. The narration is as one looking at life through a filtered show more lens. Each character has painful secrets which they hesitate to share. Eventually, each rips the bandage off their wound and exposes themselves bare. There is a tremendous array of emotion exhibited in each of the characters throughout this book. Such tragic pain and sorrow pent up in each. Is redemption even possible?

There is no question of author Tatiana de Rosnay's ability to tell a well spun tale. Her prose is exquisite and rich in descriptive detail. Her characters are well fleshed out and the struggles of each are deeply felt. It's just that this is such a dreary tale to tell and it left me horribly sad. It ended as so many french dramas often do. show less