After Rain: Stories [Mass Market Paperback]

William Trevor (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 1997

This is a remarkable collection of twelve new stories, mostly set in Ireland, which was greeted with universal acclamation when published in hardcover in 1996. The title story is a small, sad masterpiece, about a woman holidaying alone in an Italian hotel. "A dazzling collection of short stories" - "Sunday Times".

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

After Rain consists of 12 short stories of love and disillusion by one of the current masters of fiction, William Trevor. Among the stories are "The Piano Tuner's Wife," which tells of a woman who lies to her blind husband; "Marrying Damian," in which an elderly married couple overlook their past differences; and the title story, a tale of a woman's vacation in Italy and the revelations of her heart. Each carefully crafted story offers a glimpse into another world that somehow reminds us of our own. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

There are few contemporary writers who can match the quiet dignity with which Trevor embues his writing, or his command of the short story form. After last year's remarkable novel, Felicia's Journey, he returns here to more mundane lives. These 12 tales stay well within the bounds of conventional storytelling: there are no fractured narratives or disjointed memories delivered solely for effect. Instead, each of these stories pursues a classic but effective structure: a thinly held equilibrium is disturbed, leading first to a general collapse, then to an emotional plateau in which something vital has changed. In "A Friendship," Francesca, an unhappy housewife, begins an affair with an old acquaintance. The liaison does not lead to the expected dissolution of her marriage but, instead, to a loss of another part of her life. In "The Potato Dealer," an unplanned pregnancy forces a young woman into a marriage of convenience with a middle-aged potato trader. Though never loving, the union achieves a type of friendship; a friendship that is then irrevocably broken by the revelation of secrets. The domestic vein of most of these stories is epitomized by "The Piano Tuner's Wives," in which a second marriage's competition with the first is handled with lyricism and a haunting simplicity, and by "Marrying Damian," in which a couple must struggle to accept their daughter's love affair with their friend, a middle-aged roustabout. Politics, too, finds its way into current lives. In "Lost Ground," the collection's longest tale, the troubles in Northern Ireland provide the impetus for a young boy's tragic death. Each of these stories is rendered with Trevor's characteristic economy. The deft handling of information, as well as the exquisite sense of control, again show Trevor as a brilliant master of his craft.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics) (October 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140258345
• ISBN-13: 978-0140258349
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #583,603 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

William Trevor was born in Mitchelstown, County Cork. He has written many novels, and has won many prizes including the Hawthornden Prize, the Yorkshire Post Book of the Year Award, and the Whitbread Book of the Year Award. His most recent novel Love and Summer was longlisted for the Booker Prize. He is also a renowned short-story writer, and his two-volume Collected Stories was published by Viking Penguin in 2009. In 1999 William Trevor received the prestigious David Cohen Literature Prize in recognition of a lifetime's literary achievement, and in 2002 he was knighted for his services to literature. He now lives in Devon.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Extraordinary Collection of Short Stories, September 6, 2000

By 

Christine Lynn Jones - See all my reviews

This review is from: After Rain: Stories (Mass Market Paperback)

There is little doubt that Trevor is a master of his craft and perhaps the greatest living short story writer in the world today. After Rain, a volume of twelve stories, explores such subjects as infidelity, homosexuality, religious conflicts, and violence. What makes these stories so powerful, however, is not the subjects they deal with, but the portrayal of the characters thoughts, emotions, and responses. Trevor is able to examine such human conditions as jealousy, rage, sadness, regret, and hope in a non-judgmental light that leaves the reader looking into oneself to gain further insight. His writing style is nothing short of remarkable. He is eloquent and simplistic, never revealing more than he should, making the unspoken a compelling component of his story. If you have not yet read Trevor, I urge you to wait no longer. His literary grace will surely leave a lasting impact on you as a reader and as a human being.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars HUMAN NATURE INSIGHTFULLY PORTRAYED, December 14, 2004

By 

Gail Cooke (TX, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: After Rain: Stories (Mass Market Paperback)

Following on the heels of his beguiling Felicia's Journey, the incomparable Irish storyteller, William Trevor, brings us a collection of 12 poignant tales that illuminate the human condition.

Acknowledged by many to be the master of his oeuvre, Trevor commands our attention with dignity and subtlety. Amazingly adept at shifting perspectives from male to female in varying locations and scenes, the author's championship form is evident in After Rain.

His initial offering, "The Piano Tuner's Wives" is an incisive rendering of a middle-aged second wife's jealousy. Haunted by the happiness her husband once shared with another, she seeks to establish her place in surprising ways.

A lifelong bond between two women is broken in "A Friendship" when the clever plotting of one backfires. Timothy, the gay protagonist, in "Timothy's Birthday" seems to seek to punish his parents for their perfect marriage. He refuses to visit them for his birthday celebration as he has always done. Instead, he sends a friend with an excuse. The disreputable Eddie delivers his hurtful message, then steals from the older couple.

Trevor's spare prose shimmers in this story's summary paragraph: "They didn't mention their son as they made their rounds of the garden that was now too much for them and was derelict in places. They didn't mention the jealousy their love of each other had bred in him, that had flourished into deviousness and cruelty. The pain the day had brought would not easily pass, both were aware of that. And yet it had to be, since it was part of what there was."

Another story takes place in the fields of Ireland today. Here, Trevor displays his gift for knowing the female heart as a young woman challenges the culture and mores bred into her parents' bones.

Trevor's work is meat compared to the broth of some of today's fiction. He continues to astound as he explores the complexities of family relationships with sympathetic candor. After Rain is one more triumph.

- Gail Cooke

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Rich Collection from a Master Craftsman, May 7, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: After Rain (Audio Cassette)

"After Rain" is a stellar proof that William Trevor is one of the most respected Irish short story writers. As a literary artist, Trevor is known for his elegant and hushed rendering of the psychic state of his characters. In addition, Trevor is also a humanist of great empathy, allowing him to uncover hidden or neglected angles of seemingly pedestrian situations. One story in this collection, "Gilbert's Mother," amply demonstrates Trevor's empathy. The story opens with a crime scene, told from an objective, clinical tone akin to a newspaper report. Just when you expect the next scene to develop the mystery further, Trevor switches the lens to a bystander, a woman, who, for the remainder of the story, contemplates whether her troubled son would be capable of committing such a crime. Trevor developed her skillfully, weaving with ease strained dealings between mother and son, as well as painful details of her past. The true crime to be solved here is how external circumstances beyond our control irrevocably sever our emotional ties from our loved ones, preventing us from ever knowing them fully.

A few pieces in this collection seem less inspired and not as well-executed. Some authorial comments that serve to wrap up stories seem forced. And as much as I admire Trevor the stylist, the elegance of language may border on the self-righteous when situations described do not warrant such treatment--minor quibbles in an otherwise fine collection.