Customer Reviews

Rainey's Lament

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.