Many times a favorite author such as Sandra Brown switches her style or genre of writing, and we as readers are filled with disappointment that a favored author is making a change that we may or may not embrace. With the release of RAINWATER Sandra Brown switched time periods, but I felt that her basic writing style remained much the same that I personally have come to enjoy over the years.
RAINWATER is set in 1934 when the United States of America was suffering through a depression, and racial lines were still strongly believed in. Ella Barron seems to be making it through fairly comfortably with the income she receives from the running of a boarding house. She has a maid who comes daily to help tend her residents, and at times to help care for Solly, Ella's son, who we come to find out is what today we might consider austic.
When the town doctor asks Ella to rent a room to David Rainwater he leaves out the fact that Mr. Rainwater has issues of his own until after the rental agreement is set. At first Ella is a little distressed about the possibility of caring for Mr. Rainwater as she calls him, but as the story develops so does their friendship, and their strong desire to help others who are less fortunate than themselves.
In the writing of RAINWATER Ms. Brown could easily have trivialized the strains of the times, and the tensions of the people barely scraping by. It's a talent to her writing skill that instead she was able to turn Rainwater into something of a history lesson, that translates well into our more modern times, and perhaps leaves readers like me learning something that was either skipped or not absorbed while in school.
It feels awkward to say you enjoyed a book that was as intense as this one tended to be at times, but enjoy I did. Through Ms. Brown's words I truly felt as though I could have been Ella Barron boarding house owner trying to fight the feelings I had for a man I knew I should never want, while struggling to protect the rights of the handicapped son I loved like no other.
I only hope that when you read RAINWATER you get from the story even part of what I did be it the history lessons learned, or the moral lessons of how to treat your fellow human being.
The year is 1934. With the country in the stranglehold of
drought and economic depression, Ella Barron runs her Texas
boardinghouse with an efficiency that ensures her life will
be kept in balance. Between chores of cooking and cleaning
for her residents, she cares for her ten-year-old son,
Solly, a sweet but challenging child whose misunderstood
behavior finds Ella on the receiving end of pity, derision,
and suspicion.
When David Rainwater arrives at the house looking for
lodging, he comes recommended by a trusted friend as "a man
of impeccable character." But Ella senses that admitting
Mr. Rainwater will bring about unsettling changes.
However, times are hard, and in order to make ends meet,
Ella's house must remain one hundred percent occupied. So
Mr. Rainwater moves into her house...and impacts her life
in ways Ella could never have foreseen.
The changes are echoed by the turbulence beyond the house
walls. Friends and neighbors who've thus far maintained a
tenuous grip on their meager livelihoods now face
foreclosure and financial ruin. In an effort to save their
families from homelessness and hunger, farmers and
cattlemen are forced to make choices that come with
heartrending consequences.
The climate of desperation creates a fertile atmosphere for
racial tensions and social unrest. Conrad Ellis --
privileged and spoiled and Ella's nemesis since childhood --
steps into this arena of teeming hostility to exact his
vengeance and demonstrate the extent of his blind hatred
and unlimited cruelty. He and his gang of hoodlums come to
embody the rule of law, and no one in Gilead, Texas, is
safe. Particularly Ella and Solly.
In this hotbed of uncertainty, Ella finds Mr. Rainwater a
calming presence. She is moved by the kindness he shows
other boarders, Solly...and Ella herself. Slowly, she
begins to rely on his soft-spokenness, his restraint, and
the steely resolve of his convictions.
And on the hottest, most violent night of the summer, those
principles will be put to the ultimate test.
From acclaimed bestselling author Sandra Brown comes a
powerfully moving novel celebrating the largess and
foresight of a great bygone generation. It tells a story
that bears witness to a bittersweet truth: that love is
worth whatever price one must pay for it.
No excerpt available.
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