The Small Rain

Young Katherine Forrester's mother and father are both accomplished musical artists. But Katherine's difficult and enlightening path as a pianist can't and won't be forged by riding on either of her parents' coattails in The Small Rain by author Madeleine L'Engle.

What I said about this novel nearly ten years ago:

"Beyond the look into the life of a serious artist, this story exposes a young woman who, in her earlier years, cannot seem to help being herself... Katherine is a character who, for whatever reasons, simply cannot live (what would be for her) a façade of a life. To me, that's what's most valuable about this book."

Oh, this pretty somber kind of literary fiction isn't my usual kind of read. Upon witnessing Katherine's coming of show more age for the second time, it took a while before I remembered why I first appreciated this novel the way I did. Yes, it usually gets hard for me when reading about characters who don't exactly seem to know how to...be happy, even when they're happy, and I wish they wouldn't drink so much.

Yet, I have to admit there's still something I understand about odd artist-types I don't understand. (I'm an odd artist-type myself.) And what Katherine comes to realize in this story is much like what I once came to realize for myself, even though my journey to realization was different from hers.

What's more, because this author can let enigmas be enigmas, and she knows how to work an understatement instead of slathering on conspicuous layers of woe at every turn, reading through this serious but ultimately hopeful book was no chore for me.

I'm looking forward to rereading the sequel. show less

Every decade or two, I can't remember why I don't own this book (it's by Madeleine L'Engle! I must love it!) and acquire another copy. Then I discover that I'm not too enamoured of the book (again). The heroine is a bit gormless. The dialogue is oddly written. Some authors are able to vary the pace of dialogue by writing, say, "Katherine demurred" instead of "'No. Maybe.'", but apparently, when writing her first book, not L'Engle. Almost without exception, the dialogue is back and forth speech, with no stage business, people don't move around, don't murmur or mumble or use adverbs, they just put it out there in inverted commas. Since they obligingly speak in turn, they seldom even need their identity indicated. I almost laughed when I show more saw a page with its entire right side empty while the dialogue marched down the left side of the page in two- or three-word snippets. On the other hand, the heroine is capable of maundering on for an entire page without drawing breath. I lost patience. show less

I never realized as a kid that L'Engle just can't write believable dialogue. She really had a tin ear. And it really doesn't matter.

It's interesting to me how, as I work my way through the L'Engle on my shelves, I keep complaining about it and following the complaints with "but it really doesn't matter". It's true, though. The bones of the writing are so good that the flesh ... wait, it's L'Engle, so: the soul of the writing is so good that the flesh is inconsequential. Her examination of matters spiritual and philosophical is so absorbing and important that the wooden dialogue and clumsy plotting becomes invisible.

This character study of Katherine Forrester gets under my skin a little because of L'Engle's treatment of homosexuality, show more in a very disturbing scene in a bar in the Village as well as some decidedly odd scenes from boarding school. It foreshadows the weirdness in A House Like A Lotus, I think. show less

Wonderful descriptive language, and I felt so much empathy for this maturing teen who had to hold all her feelings inside. I was less enchanted by some of the questioning verbosity of Katherine's bohemian friends.
Katherine could be summarized as a "poor little rich kid" but you really have sympathy for someone whose mother is "getting treatment" still 4 years after an accident and whose father is in a creative cloud most of the time so she is raised by "Aunt Manya" an unconventional family friend. Story opens with Katherine, age 10, acting in a professional play w/Aunt Manya, but often left with a nanny or other caregiver. Katherine is driven to become as wonderful a pianist as her famous mother. The story unfolds the next 8 years as show more her mother dies shortly after reuniting with her, and she oscillates between holding on to her inner strength vs falling for people to trust.
At one point, I started to wonder what decade this was happening--she travels between US and Europe and there's no mention of wars or recent destruction from previous war. When I finished, I read L'Engle's preface to the 1984 edition & see it was set in the "years of precarious peace between the First and Second World War" which is really not the first NYC Bohemian 1860-90 but the Postmodern Bohemian culture of the 1920's (thank you Wikipedia). show less

This was given to me, along with its companion A Severed Wasp by my stepmother when I was 15 or 16. The Small Rain was Madeleine L'Engle's first novel, published in 1945.

Inspired by my daughters and many here, I have been rereading some of my favorites from my young adulthood, including A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Step to the Music, and others. I have been delighted that I have loved them just as much now as I did at 15. Initially I was a little disappointed in The Small Rain: it does not have that timeless feel to it, and does seem dated. It is darker and far more somber than I remembered, with a few sinister undercurrents I had not remembered at all. Yet the more I read it, the more I absolutely could not put it down, and now having show more finished it, I recognize the masterful story that so captivated me when I was young. Reading it again at my age gave me a whole new level of meaning and appreciation for the book.

The book follows Katherine Forrester from the age of 10 to the age of 19. 10 year-old Katherine lives in New York with her "Aunt" Manya, a great friend of her mother, and famous Russian actress. Katherine's mother Julie was a famous concert pianist, but had a tragic accident that ended her playing career. Her physical injuries and mental trauma kept her away from Katherine for three years. Katherine is reunited with her mother, awkwardly at first, then lovingly as they make a new life together. Katherine's father (a famous composer) marries Aunt Manya. When Julie dies a few years later, Katherine is sent to a boarding school in Switzerland. Katherine is a bit like a bitter, solitary old woman trapped in a child's body, and does not find it easy to fit in or make friends. Her one chance at true friendship with a classmate named Sarah is thwarted by her schoolmasters in what could be the bitterest, most small-minded scene I'll read all year: again, reading it afresh at this age revealed meaning I may have missed (or forgotten, but more likely missed) at 15 or 16. Katherine's one solace is her tutelage by Justin Vigneras, a gifted pianist and school music master.

The book follows Katherine through school, romances and crushes, and then back to New York, where she lives independently and studies with her mother's old teacher, falls in love, and meets Sarah again. I can't say more without spoiling. I don't know that I'll read A Severed Wasp next (sometimes I think I have an internal witching rod that mysteriously chooses my next book for me), but I will be reading it soon. Interestingly, A Severed Wasp was written 37 years (and 29 books) after The Small Rain, and follows Katherine as a much older woman. As a more mature reader than I was the first few times I read them, I will be interested to compare Ms. L'Engle's writing as a young first novelist, and as an older, successful writer. And oh, how wonderful is the world of books that we can take these new and old journeys! show less

I bought quite a few books by Madeleine L'Engle at the thrift shop. The Small Rain was her first novel. It is the story of Katherine Forrester, daughter of a famous concert pianist whose career is cut short after a devastating accident. Katherine also has great talent and despite tragedy in her life, she always finds solace in her music. This is the first book in a two-book series and we leave Katherine pursuing her musical career in New York City. L'Engle has crafted a compelling story of a young woman coming of age and learning how to let her spirit live. The story continues in A Severed Wasp, which is on my shelf waiting for its turn.

It's been a long time since I read this (18 years--I read it during the first year of my marriage), but I still remember that this book wrecked me. That might not sound like a recommendation, but it is: I love it when writing is that powerful.

That year (1995) was my Madeline L'Engle year. I read books of hers I hadn't read and re-read what I had read before, and it was all grand. Madeline L'Engle feeding frenzies are good for the soul.