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The Rain Before it Falls

By Jonathan Coe

(136)

| eBook | 9780141909295

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Book Description

'What I want you to have, Imogen, above all, is a sense of your own history; a sense of where you come from, and of the forces that made you.'

Rosamund lies dying in her remote Shropshire home. But before she does so, she has one last task: to put on tape not just her own story but Continue

'What I want you to have, Imogen, above all, is a sense of your own history; a sense of where you come from, and of the forces that made you.'



Rosamund lies dying in her remote Shropshire home. But before she does so, she has one last task: to put on tape not just her own story but the story of the young blind girl, her cousin's granddaughter, who turned up mysteriously at her party all those years ago. This is a story of generations, of the relationships within a family - and of what goes to make a child. Called "the best English novelist of his generation" by Nick Hornby, Jonathan Coe extends his range in this magnificent account of a Shropshire family in the last half of the twentieth century.

Critics

  • THE RAIN BEFORE IT FALLS by Jonathan Coe

    “Beatrix could be a selfish person, at times, there was no doubt about that. . .But at the same time, she was quite capable of love.” Reviewed by Danielle Bullen (APR 23, 2009) The Rain Before it Falls is an elegant, multi-generational saga that draw ... (read full critics)

    mostlyfiction published on Thu, 30 Sep 2010

  • Secrets in a cold climate

    The Rain Before it Falls by Jonathan Coe Viking £17.99, pp278 Jonathan Coe emerged from the labour of writing Like a Fiery Elephant, his biography of novelist BS Johnson, with his respect for Johnson more or less intact - a remarkable achievement - b ... (read full critics)

    guardian.co.uk published on Sat, 25 Sep 2010

9 Reviews

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  • 3 people find this helpful

    I absolutely loved this book

    This was the first Jonathan Coe novel I read and I loved its thoughtful, clever structure. By the end of the book you feel like you know the characters and that you've been on a journey with them. If you like Ian McEwan novels, you'll probably like this one. An excellent read.

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    Danielle said on Mar 2, 2011 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback

  • 2 people find this helpful

    A wonderful book!
    I loved the way the narration is structured: the history of a family told through the description of some family photographs. The story is all centered around 3 main female characters and their history through the years, from the beginning o ww2 to nowadays.

    I find it an ... (continue)

    A wonderful book!
    I loved the way the narration is structured: the history of a family told through the description of some family photographs. The story is all centered around 3 main female characters and their history through the years, from the beginning o ww2 to nowadays.

    I find it an unusual book for Jonathan Coe for two main reasons:
    -it is strongly (and wonderfully) centered on the characters and no space is left to political or social events and comments.
    -the ending (that I'm not going to spoil) avoids what, for me, is one of the weaknesses of most of the previous books by Coe (i know I'm being a bit enigmatic ;) )

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    sterte said on Apr 6, 2008 about the Hardcover edition | Add your feedback

  • 1 person find this helpful

    Un libro bellissimo, lieve e commuovente. Un racconto di sentimenti, di un sottile male di vivere, coming to its best in the scene which gives the title to the book: the rain before it falls.
    "Of course there's no such thing-she said. That's why it's my favourite. Something can still make you happy ... (continue)

    Un libro bellissimo, lieve e commuovente. Un racconto di sentimenti, di un sottile male di vivere, coming to its best in the scene which gives the title to the book: the rain before it falls.
    "Of course there's no such thing-she said. That's why it's my favourite. Something can still make you happy, can't it, even if it isn't real?"

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    Pollapollina said on Mar 20, 2011 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback

  • 1 person find this helpful

    *** This comment contains spoilers! ***

    I enjoyed this book quite a lot. It it interesting to see the deep feminine point of view of the author in this novel. At some point it gets a little too hard, but the end makes everything good again.

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    Stefanie said on Jan 26, 2011 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback

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