Customer Reviews

The Small Rain: A Novel

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is an excellent book, even more so because it is L'Engle's first published novel--quite an accomplishment. It is realistic without being tiresome, and also has an element of fantasy in that Katherine's music rises above all her trials, often keeping her sane, and ultimately saving her. I'm disappointed by some of the reviews of A Small Rain. Many of the readers didn't like that Sarah became an unlikable character, but that is something that often happens in life, and Madeleine L'Engle is trying to show that. Besides, the hardships that Katherine endures in her young life are what ultimately build her character and make her so identifiable. It would be wrong to be happy at Sarah's betrayal of Katherine, but it strengthens her. Also, the fact that Katherine's romances don't work out in this book, though initially disturbing, is ultimately the right thing. She is very young, and someone you love when you're sixteen is not likely to be the right person to spend your life with. If you are disappointed with the ending to this book, read its sequel, A Severed Wasp. It resolves everything and shows how Katherine finally finds the true, longlasting love that she was waiting for. Both books are excellent, Madeleine L'Engle at her best.

I could hardly put this novel down and finished it in three days. I appreciate Madeleine L'Engle for her realistic plot and amazing descriptions of life. She surprised me with her treatment of controversial issues...she really does color outside of the lines of popular Christian art. Madeleine widens my horizons, opens my eyes to experiences that are different than my own. She is a true artist who shows us all of the story, the good and the bad, without passing judgement. This made me, the reader, feel much more involved in the story. I found myself wrestling with issues without simply accepting the writer's judgements of them.

Even though Katherine's life is tragic, the reader finds herself relating to Katherine's feelings and needs. I could relate to Katherine's naive thoughts and actions, and her growing into understanding of others and herself. This is a beautiful growing-up story, one that is so well-written that it deserves praise.

This book just sang - the writing was lyrical, beautiful and subtle. It was stunning. It showed the mind, growth and development of an artist, and how things - feeling like an "oddball" in school, the death of an acquaintance, hurts in love, an unusual childhood - can affect an artist deeply, and at the same time contribute to her art.
I also loved the 1940s flavor of the book - everybody smoked like fiends, wore fur, even the children drank, and her piano teacher had a live in valet. Her books all have such an east coast/European intellectual artist feel - its like entering a different world. You could never imagine a L'Engle character, even one in the 2000s, watching "Outback Jack", going on the Adkins diet, or shopping at WalMart.
Also, L'Engle's minor characters were fascinating - I wanted to know more about Julie Forrester - she seemed just out of reach, and very mysterious. Everyone seemed to admire her, despite her glaring flaws, and she enriched the others' lives in a strange, indescribable way.
L'Engle's talent is unbelievable. I strongly recommend this book.

The fact that this was a first published novel is amazing. It is excellent! It is written in another time and place about another time and place. And, it has moments of melodrama. But, the characters are real and fleshed out and human. Some people don't like that there is no romantic happy ending. Well, Katherine does find a lifetime love ... with one of the characters in this book. But, you have to read the sequel to find out about that. And that is appropriate for a character as young as Katherine is in this novel. In A Severed Wasp, you meet her as an old woman looking back on her life, in a way. In this book, you meet her as a young girl with a promising future and you watch her as she gets some life experience under her belt. There is meaness in her life and there is love. There is hope and disappointment. She is growing up. And that is a hard thing to do. This novel portrays that. This does not have a saccharin happy ending of a romance novel. And it is that much better for it. It does, however, have an ending full of hope. You know Katherine will go on and make something great out of her life. And, indeed, that's exactly what she does (if you read the sequel). In some ways this book is not quite young adult and not quite what one thinks of as adult fiction, either. It's in between. It's about an adolescent girl, but it is written for adult audiences - perhaps it was originally intended for people in their late teens and early 20s. I don't think I would suggest it for someone very young. But for an older teenager or any age adult, this is a delightful novel.

There really is no plot to this book. Readers who are fans of Ms. L'Engle's youth fiction, like me, should exercise some caution before reading this book. Upon opening the pages, you will not escape into worlds of fantasy where your imagination is challenged with every word. Here, a more realistic story is presented. It is one of Madeleine L'Engle's "adult" books, and it is quite good, if you approach it with the right mindset. The story centers around Katherine Forrester, who has lived her entire life surrounded by artists. Now, these are not necessarily artists in the sense that Monet or Picasso was an artist; they are artistic in the "arts"- music, acting, etc. Of course, artists live in a world that most of us left-brained people cannot quite understand. This novel excellently depicts the life that true artists live. We are given unique insight into Katherine's soul, something rarely found in today's literature. Most times, characterization is ignored for a riveting plot. Katherine Forrester stirs up remembrances of Jane Austen heroines- the girls you actually knew and understood. Katherine is a fabulously flawed character that I completely loved. I felt after I read this book that I had made a new friend and discovered a new world. The book made me think. It's about time I could say that again.

In general, I love Madeleine L'Engle, and this book is my very favorite that she has written. As a pianist, I was deeply inspired by Katherine's sheer determination and drive. She is a very admirable character, and by the end of the book, I felt like I had made a new friend. I read the book two years ago for the first time, and was amazed at the depth and understanding that Madeleine wrote with--she seemed to fully understand the feelings and struggles of the musician, I felt that I could empathise with Katherine, and to me that is very important in a book. I've started reading it again, and was totally inspired to work and work with my music. I have been going through a dry period with my music and have not felt much like practicing.
Upon reading this book for the seconed time, that has changed. I am now inspired, and have been practicing 3 hours a day. I feel like I am a born again musician. It's a thrill. I recommend this book for everyone who really wants to feel and empathise with a character, and especially for those of you who are musicians or artists.
Enjoy!

this ranks as one of my favorite books of all time and definitely something i'd recommend to any females out there. basically it's a coming of age book, sans your typical judy bloom-like horror stories. katherine, the main character, is being raised by her composer-father who is neglectful if not anything else, and her step-mother-actress. the book chronicles the different phases she goes through as she reaches her adulthood. i thought it was very well written (as tends to be my opinion about most l'engle books) and i immediately liked the character. the only drawback that i found to this book is that l'engle later wrote a sequel to it (a severed wasp) which excited me greatly when i finished this book as i didn't want the story to end. but instead of finding the same katherine that i had enjoyed in the first book, i found a much older version that liked to solve mysteries and was a little full of herself. at any rate, the small rain is definitely a must-read.....especially for females in their teenage years.

This is seriously one of the most beautiful books I have ever read. I've been a fan of Madeleine L'Engle's writing since 6th grade. I'm in 9th grade now, and I've just started reading her adult novels. Before this one, I read "The Other Side of the Sun", which was okay, but not stunning. So, when I started reading this one, I was 100% NOT expecting it to be this good. This book practically hit me in the stomach. I can't believe that this book was a first novel. Nothing else of hers that I've read comes anywhere near being this good - nothing else I've ever read has been anywhere near this good. If you've read any of her young adult books and are considering starting her adult books - PICK THIS ONE. It is absolutely incredible.

While perhaps best known for her novels for children and young adults, Madeleine L'Engle began her writing career with "The Small Rain", an effortless and elegant novel. Anyone familiar with her work will see her common themes taking shape with this first novel, and will be happy to know that the main character's story is revisited in "A Severed Wasp". I must admit that I read "A Severed Wasp" before this one, but even with knowing what happens to Katherine Forrester in the future, there was no suspense loss, no sense of predictability, for hers is a story that unfolds slowly and richly under L'Engle's magnificent hand.

We first meet Katherine Forrester as a girl of ten, acting a small part in a play with her famous Aunt Manya, a somewhat unhappy child, small for her age but wise beyond her years. Her mother, Julie was a famous pianist whose dream was crushed by an accident, and Katherine hopes to become just like her one day. But her world is forever altered when her mother dies when she is fouteen and she is sent off to a boarding school where she is miserable and friendless. She devotes herself to her music, almost to the point of exhaustion and exclusion, but is still vulnerable to the hard life lessons she must learn along the way to growing up.

Truly it is difficult to summarize the plot of "The Small Rain", for it is more an examination of Katherine's thoughts and feelings, the discoveries she makes throughout the eight years the story covers. The beauty of L'Engle's prose is that it unfolds effortlessly, ensnaring the reader in the lives of her characters quickly and not letting go. Katherine is a sensitive and intriguing character, and I am glad that L'Engle allowed her to grow and revisited her story in "A Severed Wasp", a magnificent book that does her characters, and her readers, justice.

Originally written in 1945 when L'Engle was just out of college, this lovely little novel is about the coming of age of a talented young pianist, Katherine Forrester, whose mother is a tragic figure and whose father is a shadowy figure. She is a child amidst composers, pianists and theater performers and lives between New York and a French boarding school where the teachers and administrators are uncreative, dim-witted people.

Oddly, the novelist I most though of while I read this was Patricia Highsmith (who wrote, "The Talented Mr. Ripley)... because both novels contain characters who are so steeped in the sophisticated worlds of the early 1950s. There is a sweetness and innocence to the dialogue in "A Small Rain". People are simpler in their needs and tastes and although they hurt each other (as human beings do) they do it with much less malice. As a result of her upbringing and otherworldly existence, our protagonist is lonely and much of her life is spent wishing for the kinds of moments that she does very occasionally experience. As other reviewers have mentioned, this is a beautifully written bittersweet little book and one worth reading.