Wrapped in Rain (Paperback)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: scalding pot, Miss Ella, Unca Tuck, Father Bob (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In his second novel, Martin (The Dead Don't Dance) introduces Tucker Mason, the motherless son of a wealthy, abusive alcoholic in a small Alabama town. While Dad spends most of his time in an Atlanta high-rise, Tucker grows up in an enormous manse--complete with a "chandelier made from elk horns"--tutored by an African-American widow in common courtesy, love and the gospel. After a few years, an illegitimate son turns up at the Mason compound, Tucker's half-brother, Mutt. Although Tucker eventually overcomes his gothic childhood and becomes an acclaimed international photographer, he can't escape the home place. The story picks up with Tucker's adulthood, when he makes peace with several individuals from his past, including the schizophrenic Mutt and an ex-girlfriend who's on the run from a nasty husband. This group of Southern grotesques manages to make Christmas together and, readers sense, forge a kind of family. Martin spins an engaging story about healing and the triumph of love. The novel is filled with delightful local color--at Clark's Fish Camp, you can order shrimp or catfish, and you can have them fried or fried. While the evil characters are too caricaturish and one-dimensional, and the prose is clean but hardly luminous, this is a welcome cut above run-of-the-mill inspirational fiction.
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Product Description

"Tucker, I want to tell you a secret,"

Miss Ella curled my hand into a fist and showed it to me.

"Life is a battle, but you can't fight it with your fists. You got to fight it with your heart."

An internationallly famous photographer, he has traveled the world and seen both the serious and the strange. But when his brother escapes from a mental hospital and an old girlfriend appears with her son and a black eye, Tucker is forced to return home and face the agony of his own tragic past.

Back in rural Alabama, Tucker comes to terms with the ghosts he left behind. Miss Ella Rain once loved Tuck and his brother like they were her very own. Hiring her to take care of Waverly Hall and to keep them out of sight was the only good thing their father ever did. And though Miss Ella has been gone for many years, Tuck can still hear her voice.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson (February 28, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0785261826
• ISBN-13: 978-0785261827
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (34 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #234,117 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must read!, July 23, 2006

By	Sheryl Root (Pompano Beach, FL USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Wrapped in Rain (Women of Faith Fiction) (Paperback)

Wrapped in Rain is one of the most beautifully written books I have ever read. It is a compelling, authentic story of humanity's good and evil. The southern setting is an almost cinematic backdrop, the characters so strong and authentic, that I will carry this story--and these people--with me for a long time to come.

Tucker Mason never received affection from his wealthy, abusive father. He does have a few happy memories of his childhood. Time spent with his half-brother Mutt and his childhood girlfriend Katie. And, of course, Miss Ella, the housekeeper who was like a mother to him and the only secure source of love Tucker ever knew.

Now Tucker is a world famous photographer and has done his best to leave his difficult, painful childhood behind him. But when Katie comes back into Tucker's life with her little boy, Jase, and Mutt escapes from the mental hospital where he has lived because of his schizophrenia, Tucker comes to realize that maybe there are some memories that can't, and shouldn't be, left behind. Through the ever-present voice of Miss Ella, Tucker realizes he has a choice. He can continue to let his hatred--the sins of his father--control his life and the decisions he makes; or he can lay it down and choose the harder path of love and forgiveness instead.

I listened to the unabridged audio version of this book narrated by Tom Stechschulte and it was riveting. Very highly recommended.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A powerful story that will linger in the mind for a while, April 2, 2005

By	FaithfulReader.com (New York, New York) - See all my reviews

Is it possible to forgive those who are unable to ask for forgiveness? Can the hurts of our childhood be redeemed? Can we ever sacrifice too much?

Charles Martin tackles deep questions like these in his sophomore stand-alone novel, WRAPPED IN RAIN. As he did in his debut novel, THE DEAD DON'T DANCE, Martin masterfully blends lovely prose, interesting characters, well-integrated faith themes, and a moving plot to create a powerful story that will long linger in the mind of the reader after the last page is turned.

In rural Alabama, two abused boys find their only comfort and hope in the 45-year-old childless widow Miss Ella Rain, the only daughter of the son of an Alabama slave. She stands as a solid force between them and their evil, alcoholic, and wealthy father Rex. Beaten bloody by her boss and paid only minimum wage, she sacrifices her own aspirations and dreams to ensure that both Tucker and his half-brother, Matthew ("Mutt"), know they are loved --- by her and by God.

Despite her best efforts, the boys' relationship with their father leaves terrible scars. Long after Miss Ella has died and Tucker has found fame as an international photographer, his bitterness toward his father makes it nearly impossible for him to lay the ghosts of the past to rest.

Thirty-three-year-old Mutt is now a schizophrenic, obsessive-compulsive paralyzed with fear at the thought of contact with germs, and committed by Tucker into a mental health facility, Spiraling Oaks. Mutt tries to scrub out his past failings by scouring everything around him clean with bleach and Windex --- cars, water towers, houses, his room at Spiraling Oaks. Kudos goes to Martin for his handling of the damaged character of Mutt, who evokes disgust, fear, sympathy, and finally deep compassion.

Tucker and Mutt's lives are about to intersect with their childhood friend Katie, now an abused wife fleeing her husband, and mother of the endearing little boy Jase. The relationship between Tucker and Katie unfolds sweetly and slowly, in one of the better romantic portrayals in Christian fiction. Wisely, Martin resists the need to tie up all the loose ends of their relationship, which has grown more complicated by the book's end. He leaves it in a strong moment --- with a love on Tucker's part that eerily echoes the sacrificial love of Miss Ella. And indeed, the ghostly voice of Miss Ella, speaking in italics to Tucker, is never too far away. "Forgive men and your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you don't, you're the one who will suffer."

Martin has a lovely way with words, thought sometimes a bit long-winded: "South of Jacksonville, the river's waist bulges to three miles wide, sparking little spurs or creeks peopled by barnacled marinas and long-established fish camps where the people are good and most of their stories are as winding as the river." In his hands, even a description of the residents of Spiraling Oaks and their medications reads like poetry: "Only a handful were ingesting lithium plus three. These were the lifers. The go-figures. The no-hopers. The why-were-they-borns."

Readers will have a few quibbles. Martin's greatest strength --- his characters --- is also his greatest weakness. He takes delight in drawing them for us, right down to the smallest detail, and the results are often rich, vivid, and compelling. We come to know them intimately --- what motivates them, what their dreams are --- and we care about the outcome of their stories. However, the descriptions of minor characters, such as Missy and Bessie, often get more than their rightful share of page space, right down to the toe rings, which slows the story. In his attempt to portray the evil Rex, Martin overdraws him in a way that strains credibility. Readers also will find an occasional contradiction (the "wait time" at Clark's seafood restaurant "never dipped under an hour," yet later, characters are seated in 20 minutes).

But these are small problems. Martin's tremendous talent is evident throughout, as he shows the power of forgiveness and of sacrifice. The choices to do both are presented as painfully difficult, counter-intuitive --- choices that can only be made with the power of God behind them. And that is the beauty of WRAPPED IN RAIN --- that we can make these choices, with the help of God, if we dare let go of our bitterness, our anger, and our grief over the hurts of the past. This fine novel exemplifies many of the best elements of evangelical Christian fiction.

--- Reviewed by Cindy Crosby

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A beautiful and tender story!, September 7, 2005

By	K. Miller (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews

Wrapped in Rain is one of the best books I've ever had the pleasure of reading. Parts of the book made me laugh out loud and others made me cry. The characters were well developed and real. Mr. Martin used a variety of techniques such as flashbacks that allowed me to better understand and relate to Mutt, Katie, Miss Ella, and Tucker. Mr. Martin has a way with words; his descriptions of the characters, various situations, and setting allowed the reader to get more involved in the book. The book was crafted in such a way that I quickly got lost in the story and was deeply moved by all the emotion the book possessed. The book's messages of love, forgiveness, and healing were touching.