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Book Summary and Reviews of The Rain Watcher by Tatiana de Rosnay

The Rain Watcher by Tatiana de Rosnay

The Rain Watcher

by Tatiana de Rosnay

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  • Oct 2018, 240 pages
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About this book

Book Summary

A heartbreaking and uplifting story of family secrets and devastating disaster, set against a Paris backdrop, fraught with revelations, and resolutions.

Linden Malegarde has come home to Paris from the United States. It has been years since the whole family was all together. Now the Malegarde family is gathering for Paul, Linden's father's 70th birthday.

Each member of the Malegarde family is on edge, holding their breath, afraid one wrong move will shatter their delicate harmony. Paul, the quiet patriarch, an internationally-renowned arborist obsessed with his trees and little else, has always had an uneasy relationship with his son. Lauren, his American wife, is determined that the weekend celebration will be a success. Tilia, Linden's blunt older sister, projects an air of false fulfillment. And Linden himself, the youngest, uncomfortable in his own skin, never quite at home no matter where he lives - an American in France and a Frenchman in the U.S. - still fears that, despite his hard-won success as a celebrated photographer, he will always be a disappointment to his parents.

Their hidden fears and secrets slowly unravel as the City of Light undergoes a stunning natural disaster, and the Seine bursts its banks and floods the city. All members of the family will have to fight to keep their unity against tragic circumstances. In this profound and intense novel of love and redemption, de Rosnay demonstrates all of her writer's skills both as an incredible storyteller but also as a soul seeker.

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Reviews

Media Reviews

"Starred Review. Triumphant…This is an emotional tour de force and a thoughtful, deliberate examination of personal tragedy and the possibility of redemption." - Publishers Weekly

"[T]he novel is long on rumination and summary, short on dialogue and forward momentum. The timing of the personal revelations seems arbitrary or, at best, anticlimactic...The weather and Paris are the main attractions here, not the people." - Kirkus

"De Rosnay's many fans, and all who embrace tearful tales, will enjoy the slow unraveling of the complex troubles and secrets of the Malegarde family." - Booklist

"Hypnotic, passionate, ominous and tender - unforgettable." - Jenna Blum, New York Times and internationally bestselling author of Those Who Save Us

"Through her tender rendering of her characters, Tatiana de Rosnay demonstrates that - in spite of our burdens and our brokenness - redemption and healing are within our grasp." - Erika Robuck, national bestselling author of Hemingway's Girl

"A bonfire begins with a spark. A flood with a single drop. In similar fashion, The Rain Watcher will leave you spellbound, transformed, and swept away." - Sarah McCoy, New York Times and international bestselling author of The Mapmaker's Children

This information about The Rain Watcher was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

Reader Reviews

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Elizabeth@Silver'sReviews

Elizabeth@Silver'sReviews - family drama
Linden wondered why his mother organized a family get together in Paris for his father’s 70th birthday since his father didn’t like Paris.

In addition to his dislike of Paris, Paris was having torrential rainfall with threats of flooding. The rain and flooding continued throughout their time in Paris and throughout the book with worries it would be as bad if not worse than the Paris floods of 1910.

THE RAIN WATCHER brings together this family of four from Venozan, London, and San Francisco - no spouses or children - just the four of them. We meet Linden from San Francisco who never got along with his father, Tilia from London who is unhappily married for the second time, and Paul and Lauren their parents.

All the characters seemed to have something to hide, but you warmed up to them as the book continued.

The children had grown up in Venozan after their parents met when Lauren was on a vacation in France more than 30 years ago. It was a whirlwind romance that had Lauren never going back to the states.

The family was still indifferent as always as they gathered together for breakfast and the rain continued to pour down. Lauren insisted they were in a non-flood area of Paris and should continue with their celebration plans.

Their celebration was wonderful until something tragic happened at the restaurant and Lauren became ill as well.

Besides being part of family issues and seeing how people interact, there was a lot of interesting information about photography. Linden was a famous photographer with a photo of his father taken years ago that made him famous. There is also wonderful information about plants and gardening and Paris.

THE RAIN WATCHER is beautifully written and pulls you into the story line with Ms. De Rosnay’s marvelous storytelling skills and details about every situation.

If you like rainstorms and family drama, this book will be of interest. 4/5

This book was given to me by the publisher via NETGALLEY and in print in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

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Author Information

Tatiana de Rosnay Author Biography

Tatiana de Rosnay was born on September 28th, 1961 in the suburbs of Paris. She is of English, French and Russian descent.  Her father is French scientist Joël de Rosnay, her grandfather was painter Gaëtan de Rosnay. Tatiana's paternal great-grandmother was Russian actress Natalia Rachewskïa, director of the Leningrad Pushkin Theatre from 1925 to 1949.
 
Tatiana's mother is English, Stella Jebb, daughter of diplomat Gladwyn Jebb, and  great-great-granddaughter of Isambard Kingdom Brunel, the British engineer. Tatiana is also the niece of historian Hugh Thomas.  Tatiana was raised in Paris and then in Boston, when her father taught at MIT in the 70's. She moved to England in the early 80's and obtained a Bachelor's degree in ...

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