Rainey's Lament [Hardcover]

Elizabeth Ridley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 12, 1999

Rainey McBride finds the love and affection that has been missing from her life following a dramatic encounter with her exotic second cousin, Ambrose--who embodies all the grace and glamor missing from her stolid small-town life.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Baby Rainbow Planet becomes Rainey Astrid McBride after she is abandoned by her teenaged mother in this affecting coming-of-age novel set in rural Wisconsin. Taken in by her stern but dutiful grandparents, Rainey is made to suffer for her mothers sins as well as for her own bookish intelligence, considered unseemly by the small rural community. As a child, she dreams that her mother will return to rescue her from her strict, resentful grandmother. At 12, she begs Gods forgiveness for wanting more. Later she transfers her longing to her glamorous second cousin, Ambrose Torsten Dienst, with whom she forms a secret alliance during one of his rare visits from New York. But Ambrose, who has suffered sexual abuse, chooses death over his commitment to Rainey, leaving her with guilt for not having saved him. The world is two places, two rooms, Rainey decides. One room is filled by those who know grief, and the other by those who wait quietly behind the door. Counterpoint to the revelation of terrible loss and soul-scarring secrets is the bedrock of religious faith. Rainey is strong but not annoyingly saintly; as she matures she makes difficult moral choices. Her grandparents, Scandinavian immigrants who often invoke the Old Country, seem stereotypical at first, but are gradually revealed as multifaceted; they, too, have suffered dreadful losses, which they are too stoical to acknowledge. Beautifully observed and written with grave and elegiac insight, the narrative begins on Thanksgiving Day 1970, and ends on the same day 22 years later. Raineys life is no holiday, but she grows to embrace it with gratitude; in the end, her lament becomes a song of cautious affirmation. (June) FYI: Ridley has published two novels in England: Throwing Roses and The Remarkable Journey of Miss Tranby Quirke.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Ridley's lyrical debut novel is a heartrending tale of love and loss. Abandoned by her teenage mother shortly after her birth, Rainey McBride is raised by her dour Norwegian grandmother and her vaguely indifferent grandfather. Starved for affection and normalcy, Rainey cultivates a remarkably sophisticated inner life. When the self-sufficient Rainey meets her troubled, romantic cousin Ambrose, the two misfit adolescents are immediately drawn to one another. They pledge their eternal loyalty and devotion to each other, their symbiotic relationship survives both time and distance. Years later, after Ambrose is driven to the breaking point by the memory of a harrowing childhood experience, Rainey embarks on a cross-country odyssey, determined to rescue him. Unable to save Ambrose, she nevertheless finds love and personal salvation when she finally grants herself permission to mourn and to heal. A compassionate and soulful combination of tragedy and triumph. Margaret Flanagan

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Hardcover: 300 pages
• Publisher: Overlook Hardcover (April 12, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0879519495
• ISBN-13: 978-0879519490
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,223,719 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Elizabeth Ridley was born and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She is the author of four novels: THROWING ROSES, THE REMARKABLE JOURNEY OF MISS TRANBY QUIRKE, RAINEY'S LAMENT, and DEAR MR. CARSON.

Liz has a bachelor's degree in journalism from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, and a master's degree in creative writing from The University of East Anglia in Norwich, England, where she studied under former Poet Laureate Andrew Motion. In 1994 she received a Hawthornden Fellowship to Hawthornden Castle in Lasswade, Scotland.

Before turning to writing full-time, Liz's many unorthodox jobs included stints as a meat slicer in Milwaukee, a nanny in London, a cherry harvester in Norway and a houseparent for handicapped teens in rural Wales. Since 2001 she has owned and operated "The Writer's Midwife," a home-based freelance critiquing, editing, and publishing consultation business.

Today she lives in suburban Milwaukee, where she has two nieces, three nephews, and two cats, Claudius and Calpurnia.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars A Keeper, September 13, 2004

By 

Gregory Bascom (San Jose Costa Rica) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Rainey's Lament (Paperback)

Do not read the editorial reviews of RAINEY'S LAMENT at Amazon.com before reading the book. I regret that I did. The Kirkus review reveals the plot and spoils the read.

RAINEY'S LAMENT is a well-written, literary tale about living with grief. It's about a young girl abandoned by her mother, a young boy molested by his uncle, and about no one being prepared to deal with death. It is about second-generation immigrants tenuously linked to the old country, about growing up and growing old, and about feeling all of those things. It is not a happy story, but it's not entirely depressing either. It's about ordinary life, which is sometimes disappointing, but nevertheless bearable, for most.

Occasionally, I clean out my bookcases to make room for more, but some books don't get to go, because I'll read them again someday. RAINEY'S LAMENT is one; it's a keeper.

4.0 out of 5 stars CHILDHOOD ANGST EFFECTIVELY CAPTURED, February 18, 2000

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This review is from: Rainey's Lament (Hardcover)

This is a writer who remembers childhood. Her description of the 10 year's fears and isolation due to a bout of scarlet fever was sensitively captured. The angst of adolescence taps a reader's dormant emotions. However, it is the loneliness of the protagonist that is the true story. This writer made it almost palpable. Anyone who has ever been lonely will find the emotions jump off the page.