Customer Reviews

Right as Rain: A Novel

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I am a sucker for southern novels and southern writers. They have the ability to speak to my heart in such an intimate way. And Bev Marshall is no exception. She is a wonderful storyteller. Her novel, Right as Rain has an intensity that takes your breath away and a softness that fills you with a quiet peacefulness.

Right as Rain spans two decades in Mississippi and entices us to scrutinize our history of race relations; or lack thereof. What is shown will repel you and draw you in at the same time. The rich fabric of the story of Icey and Tee Wee, their families, and the family that employs them is fraught with racial strife, unrealized dreams and secrets that grow larger with time. But it is the love and friendship that evolves between Icey and Tee Wee that touches our hearts and keeps us turning the pages.

If you enjoy realistic fiction but need to know that there is love, kindness and joy in the world, regardless of circumstances, or that strength of character can survive the obstacles life throws at people, then this book is for you. An added bonus is that Marshall's prose grabs the reader and takes them for a ride they'll tell their friends about.

Bev Marshall's Right as Rain is a well crafted novel. The characters are realistic yet unpredictable. At times I felt as entangled in their lives as the characters in Gone with the Wind.
The Southern flavor that runs throughout the novel is charming and believable. Tee Wee and Icey were so vividly described that I felt I knew them all my life; I watched their families grow as the neighbors in my own hometown. My only disappointment was the court trial that took place at the end of book. I felt it was a little drawn out. When I was ready for this novel to conclude and finalize the characters' lives, it began an arduous court scene. However, I would recommend this book to my friends and would definitely give it as a gift. I'm looking forward to reading other books by Mrs. Marshall. Thank you Mrs. Marshall for capturing the true essence of southern charm that is still alive and well!

My daughter gave me a copy of RIGHT AS RAIN for Mother's Day, and it was one of the best gifts I've ever received. The novel brought back so many wonderful memories of my childhood. Marshall is a gifted author with the ability to paint such vivid pictures with her prose that reading a scene is like living it! The voices in the novel were so right on, black and white, adults and children, Marshall tackled them all beautifully. I couldn't believe it when I saw on the book jacket that she's a white writer. Her understanding and sympathy for the plight of African Americans during the civil rights era showed in every line. Thank you, Bev Marshall for this wonderful gift. Can't wait for your next one.

Bev Marshall has a way of drawing you into the lives of the characters who people her books. Right as Rain is no exception. This is one of the first books in which a certain turn of events actually made me angry at the author. A turn in my favorite character's life made me absolutely furious! Thus, her knack for drawing you in completely. Several hours later I forgave Ms. Marshall but was haunted for days with the question, "I wonder what happened next in their lives?!" I want more! More of your beautiful, enigmatic characters! More of their life experiences!

Bev Marshall's RIGHT AS RAIN is, above all else, a most believable story. As a Southerner I find it most recognizable, unlike THE HELP which reads as though written for the movie it made. Kathryn Stockett's characters seem distant and 'illustrated' where Tee Wee and Icey are readily accessible. Perhaps the best thing about Bev's Marshall's books (see also WALKING THROUGH SHADOWS and HOT FUDGE SUNDAE BLUES is that they don't adapt to the screen. She is a wonderful writer whose words are better that pictures.

I loved Right as Rain. The characters Icy and Tee Wee are two of my favorites. Bev Marshall should write a sequel about them! Also, I enjoyed the drama between Browder and Crow--very suspenseful! If you like southern literature, you'll love this book. I feel as if the author has documented a lesser known piece of history and is telling a story that needs to be told.

After a summer of disappointing reading, my book club selected Right as Rain. I loved this book- its characters really spoke to me.

Bev Marshall has a knack for perfectly drawing her characters with her skill with the written word as a fiction writer. You can almost see the colors as the characters come to life. I'm left wanting to know what happens in Crow's life. What a woman! Overcoming obstacles placed in her way, weaving paths around them for a way of escape (if need by). What else is life anyway? Love this book. Kept me drawn in. And Bev is from a town just down the highway from me.

Actually I had high hopes for this book but it never really connected with me and I was disappointed by the time I finished reading. It seemed that the characters were continually changing their behaviors, so that just when you thought you knew one of them (thought processes, reasoning, ideas, outlook on life, past reactions), they would suddenly change into some other person. Crow was the most erratic, while none of Browder's or Ruthie's decisions were consistent or made any sense over the course of time.

The constant bickering and jealousy between Tee Wee and Icey, even as aging women and mothers, seemed idiotic and childish. The J.P. trial section was bad. I also couldn't stand the references to sexual acts and crude language used to describe these acts.

The story was told such that the different sections were separated by a large span of years. However, I'm not sure this method worked. For instance, Crow and Browder lived on the same farm where he was thinking of her all day and all night, and one would assume they saw each other every day, but then from the age of 12 when they were messing around under the porch to the sudden jump where they were 18 years old, nothing at all happened between them? In several cases such as this (not all), the method didn't seem to work because it's difficult to imagine that nothing happened in these characters' lives in the meantime, or that they had no interactions.

Overall, I did not find myself becoming involved in these characters thoughts and lives, and I never really understood them in the sense of why they chose to do the things they did and to live their lives the way they did. I was just a little disappointed and I wouldn't give this book as a gift or recommend it.