Rainwater

In this post I am experimenting with my writing and reviewing style do let me know whether its a YAY or NAY.

OKAY so this is the very first Sandra Brown book that I have read and from what I've heard Rainwater is quite a different one from her usual writing style. I can't really comment on that, but honestly I was a bit disappointed, as from what I have heard Sandra Brown is an amazing author whose stories captivates you and stays with you for long. Ironically I did not experience all that..ALAS! How sad :(

The start was well set-up. The suspense, the motivation, the time reference ,all laid the necessary build-up to the main story to follow. It starts with an old man recalling a story set in 1934, when the country faced a Great Depression accompanied by drought. The Federal Government came up with a Drought Relief Service, by which they bought cattle from farmers who found it expensive to keep the cattle and those animals unfit for consumption were killed.

Ella ran a boarding house, where she also stayed with her autistic son, Solly. Solly's autism has always been a cause of concern for Ella, but autism didn't have a name then nor was there much research on the topic.  The story is very slow paced. Ella's relationship her boarders and her son were well captured and very well described.

David Rainwater arrives in the story as a mystery. He has an illness, he helps Solly while almost everyone else scoffs him. All of what we see of David Rainwater is through Ella's eyes, so he is as much a gray figure to me initially as he is to Ella.

There is not very much story as in any momentous event that happens. This books is about Ella as she tries to grapple with her feelings as a woman aching to be loved. This book is about Solly as he observes things once and remembers them. This book is about Rainwater as he helps Ella, Solly and even the farmers who are being terrorized by Conrad Ellis, who even has the Sheriff in his pocket.

Although the racial troubles are essential themes of the book, they are more felt along the edges of the story, rather than as a centerpiece. Other than occasionally turning up at certain phases of the story, the racial segregation between the whites and blacks did not feature a prominent presence.

 The book itself is very very slow paced but the ending was very rushed. Even till page 248, I was waiting for something to happen that will give closure to the story. When it does happen, it's all over in a few pages.  There were so many characters whose disposition and bearings should have been summed up. Moreover, although the story started with a pocket watch, there is no mention of it in the story that the old man says.

Overall, this is a very short read, only 256 pages. pretty well researched I must say. If you enjoy character-oriented and relationship-focused themes, this book should be for you. On the other hand, do not expect anything huge to happen, as nothing of monstrous proportions happens till well into the last third of the book. This book is more about the little things that build up to the climax, setting the stage to certain important events.

MY RATING: 2.5/5

The kite runner

When I bought the book I didn’t expect much from it and thought it might turn out to be a typical eastern plot consisting of violence, vicious murders, ruthless cold blooded killers, women being tortured and killed etc and to some extent I was right but I couldn’t have imagined that it would completely blow me away as well. What made it different from others was the fact that it reflected the weaker side of an eastern man, which has been an untold reality or somewhat a taboo in our society, like all the other men in the world even eastern men can have their moments of cowardice. An Afghani man is perceived as a strong, hot-blooded being who would kill or die in the name of honor, who would indulge in all sorts manly activities and would never find solace in books and writing but the book proved that he can. It also portrayed the extremely frictional relation between Pashtuns and Hazaras and the tale of destruction of a country and exploitation of a religion for personal agendas.

The illustration was so vivid so detailed and so engrossing. It’s extremely emotional, heart- touching, heart-breaking, horrifying and intoxicating. A tale of an unmatchable loyalty, generosity and most importantly it is painfully honest. In the beginning I was genuinely shocked when Amir (main character) would witness such a vice and couldn’t get the courage to help his friend, in fact I really wanted to talk sense into the guy and kept telling him in my mind that it is not too late turn back ….be a man… help your friend but as if that would change anything. Later in life he faces many tragic events but nothing helps in curbing the guilt or in controlling the damage that has been already done. Somewhere I wish that it would have been a little less tragic.

Overall it was completely marvelous, a timeless eastern tale and a true page turner for me.

My Rating 4/5

Basic Plot:

It’s based on the conditions of 1970’s Afghanistan and revolves around the strange friendship of Amir and Hassan they both have been brought up together somewhat as brothers. When Amir was 12 years old there was a local kite-fighting tournament, which he was desperate to win as to him that was the only hope to win his father’s love and like always Hassan promised to help. But neither one of them could have known what will happen to Hassan that afternoon, an event that is to shatter their lives as they know it. After Russians invade Afghanistan the family is forced to flee to America, Amir realises that one day he must return to find the thing that his new world cannot grant him: REDEMPTION.