Book Synopsis:
It is raining non-stop over Paris. The Malegarde family – split between France, London, and the US – is reunited for the first time in years. When Paul, a famous yet withdrawn arborist, suffers a stroke in the middle of his 70th birthday celebrations, his son Linden is stuck in a city that is undergoing a stunning natural disaster. As the Seine bursts its banks and floods the streets, the family will have to fight to keep their unity as hidden fears and secrets also begin to rise.
In this profound and intense novel of love and redemption, De Rosnay demonstrates her wealth of skills both as an incredible storyteller and also as a connoisseur of the human soul.
The Rain Watcher is available in hardback and paperback now. You can purchase a copy of both using the link below.
My Review:
I was a huge fan of this author’s historical novel Sarah’s Key so I was intrigued to read her latest book. Although this book is very different in style from Sarah’s Key I did enjoy it.
The author’s descriptions of Paris in the rain were beautiful with some of her observations so vivid that I had to stop a minute to fully enjoy them. I’ve always loved books set in Paris and the city has always fascinated me so I thoroughly enjoyed this part of the book.
The family reunion was an interesting one as it was obvious from the start that relationships between the family members weren’t very good at the moment. As the story continues and we find out more about their history and the secrets they have been hiding it becomes a lot clearer why there are tensions between them. The reader goes on a real journey with the family and it was great to be able to witness it first hand. The family goes through a lot of changes throughout the book and I enjoyed seeing how it shifted and changed as events happened.
My only small complaint about this book is the slow pace of it. Whilst the family drama was interesting I felt it took too long at times for something to happen and a slightly faster pace would have made it more gripping. I also wasn’t sure about all the descriptions of a flooded Paris. They were very beautiful and vivid but I wasn’t sure as to their relevance with the family drama. I kept wondering if the author was trying to make a comparison between the weather and the family drama but I think if she was it unfortunately went over my head!
Huge thanks to Juliet from World Editions for inviting me onto the blog tour and for my copy of this book which I received in exchange for an honest review.
About The Author:
TATIANA DE ROSNAY is the author of more than ten novels, including the New York Times bestselling Sarah’s Key, an international sensation and major motion picture. Tatiana lives with her husband and two children in Paris.
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