the rain watcher book review

• ADMIN AREA MY BOOKSHELF MY DASHBOARD MY PROFILE SIGN OUT SIGN IN

THE RAIN WATCHER

by Tatiana de Rosnay ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 23, 2018

The weather and Paris are the main attractions here, not the people.

A novel of Paris, family secrets, and catastrophic weather, from Franco-British author de Rosnay.

In Paris, the severity of flooding is traditionally measured by how close the waters of the Seine come to submerging the statue of a colonial soldier near the Pont de l’Alma. In de Rosnay’s ( Manderley Forever , 2017, etc.) latest novel, the river rises to the statue’s waist and beyond, disrupting the weekend plans of the Malegarde family. Paul, an eminent arborist; his wife, Lauren, an American who toured Europe in the 1970s with her sister, Candice, and never left; their son, Linden, a world-renowned photographer; and daughter, Tilia, a not-so-renowned painter, meet at a hotel to celebrate Paul’s 70th birthday. Rain has been unusually constant even for January (presumably 2018). Linden, whose perspective dominates, is genteelly estranged from his parents and sister. His mother could never accept his gayness, which is why he left his father’s ancestral village to spend his adolescence living with Tante Candice in her 15th arrondissement apartment. Paul always reserved his most fervent emotions for trees. He suffers a stroke at his birthday dinner and is hospitalized. In view of his saintliness, it seems excessive for de Rosnay to silence him this way, with occasional cryptic diary entries and a baffling obsession with David Bowie as the only clues to his character. The family reunion is further complicated when Lauren develops pneumonia, the trauma underlying Tilia’s hospital phobia surfaces, her drunken husband comes to town, and the tragedy of Candice’s last days is revealed. The evocation of Paris is worthy of Modiano, and de Rosnay’s projection of the city’s worst deluge since 1910 is not only horrifying, but timely after the actual Seine floods of January 2018. However, the 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.

Pub Date: Oct. 23, 2018

ISBN: 978-1-250-20001-3

Page Count: 240

Publisher: St. Martin's

Review Posted Online: July 30, 2018

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2018

LITERARY FICTION | FAMILY LIFE & FRIENDSHIP

Share your opinion of this book

More by Tatiana de Rosnay

BOOK REVIEW

by Tatiana de Rosnay translated by Sam Taylor

by Tatiana de Rosnay ; translated by Sam Taylor

by Tatiana de Rosnay

THE NIGHTINGALE

by Kristin Hannah ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 3, 2015

Still, a respectful and absorbing page-turner.

Hannah’s new novel is an homage to the extraordinary courage and endurance of Frenchwomen during World War II.

In 1995, an elderly unnamed widow is moving into an Oregon nursing home on the urging of her controlling son, Julien, a surgeon. This trajectory is interrupted when she receives an invitation to return to France to attend a ceremony honoring  passeurs : people who aided the escape of others during the war. Cut to spring, 1940: Viann has said goodbye to husband Antoine, who's off to hold the Maginot line against invading Germans. She returns to tending her small farm, Le Jardin, in the Loire Valley, teaching at the local school and coping with daughter Sophie’s adolescent rebellion. Soon, that world is upended: The Germans march into Paris and refugees flee south, overrunning Viann’s land. Her long-estranged younger sister, Isabelle, who has been kicked out of multiple convent schools, is sent to Le Jardin by Julien, their father in Paris, a drunken, decidedly unpaternal Great War veteran. As the depredations increase in the occupied zone—food rationing, systematic looting, and the billeting of a German officer, Capt. Beck, at Le Jardin—Isabelle’s outspokenness is a liability. She joins the Resistance, volunteering for dangerous duty: shepherding downed Allied airmen across the  Pyrenees to Spain. Code-named the Nightingale, Isabelle will rescue many before she's captured. Meanwhile, Viann’s journey from passive to active resistance is less dramatic but no less wrenching. Hannah vividly demonstrates how the Nazis, through starvation, intimidation and barbarity both casual and calculated, demoralized the French, engineering a community collapse that enabled the deportations and deaths of more than 70,000 Jews. Hannah’s proven storytelling skills are ideally suited to depicting such cataclysmic events, but her tendency to sentimentalize undermines the gravitas of this tale.

Pub Date: Feb. 3, 2015

ISBN: 978-0-312-57722-3

Page Count: 448

Review Posted Online: Nov. 19, 2014

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2014

HISTORICAL FICTION | FAMILY LIFE & FRIENDSHIP

More by Kristin Hannah

by Kristin Hannah

More About This Book

BOOK TO SCREEN

SEEN & HEARD

THEN SHE WAS GONE

by Lisa Jewell ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 24, 2018

Dark and unsettling, this novel’s end arrives abruptly even as readers are still moving at a breakneck speed.

Ten years after her teenage daughter went missing, a mother begins a new relationship only to discover she can't truly move on until she answers lingering questions about the past.

Laurel Mack’s life stopped in many ways the day her 15-year-old daughter, Ellie, left the house to study at the library and never returned. She drifted away from her other two children, Hanna and Jake, and eventually she and her husband, Paul, divorced. Ten years later, Ellie’s remains and her backpack are found, though the police are unable to determine the reasons for her disappearance and death. After Ellie’s funeral, Laurel begins a relationship with Floyd, a man she meets in a cafe. She's disarmed by Floyd’s charm, but when she meets his young daughter, Poppy, Laurel is startled by her resemblance to Ellie. As the novel progresses, Laurel becomes increasingly determined to learn what happened to Ellie, especially after discovering an odd connection between Poppy’s mother and her daughter even as her relationship with Floyd is becoming more serious. Jewell’s ( I Found You , 2017, etc.) latest thriller moves at a brisk pace even as she plays with narrative structure: The book is split into three sections, including a first one which alternates chapters between the time of Ellie’s disappearance and the present and a second section that begins as Laurel and Floyd meet. Both of these sections primarily focus on Laurel. In the third section, Jewell alternates narrators and moments in time: The narrator switches to alternating first-person points of view (told by Poppy’s mother and Floyd) interspersed with third-person narration of Ellie’s experiences and Laurel’s discoveries in the present. All of these devices serve to build palpable tension, but the structure also contributes to how deeply disturbing the story becomes. At times, the characters and the emotional core of the events are almost obscured by such quick maneuvering through the weighty plot.

Pub Date: April 24, 2018

ISBN: 978-1-5011-5464-5

Page Count: 368

Publisher: Atria

Review Posted Online: Feb. 5, 2018

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2018

GENERAL THRILLER & SUSPENSE | SUSPENSE | FAMILY LIFE & FRIENDSHIP | SUSPENSE

More by Lisa Jewell

by Lisa Jewell

• Discover Books Fiction Thriller & Suspense Mystery & Detective Romance Science Fiction & Fantasy Nonfiction Biography & Memoir Teens & Young Adult Children's
• News & Features Bestsellers Book Lists Profiles Perspectives Awards Seen & Heard Book to Screen Kirkus TV videos In the News
• Kirkus Prize Winners & Finalists About the Kirkus Prize Kirkus Prize Judges
• Magazine Current Issue All Issues Manage My Subscription Subscribe
• Writers’ Center Hire a Professional Book Editor Get Your Book Reviewed Advertise Your Book Launch a Pro Connect Author Page Learn About The Book Industry
• More Kirkus Diversity Collections Kirkus Pro Connect My Account/Login
• About Kirkus History Our Team Contest FAQ Press Center Info For Publishers
• Privacy Policy
• Terms & Conditions
• Reprints, Permission & Excerpting Policy

© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Popular in this Genre

Hey there, book lover.

We’re glad you found a book that interests you!

Please select an existing bookshelf

Create a new bookshelf.

We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!

Please sign up to continue.

It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!

Already have an account? Log in.

Trouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.

Almost there!

• Industry Professional

Welcome Back!

Sign in using your Kirkus account

Contact us: 1-800-316-9361 or email [email protected].

Don’t fret. We’ll find you.

Magazine Subscribers ( How to Find Your Reader Number )

If You’ve Purchased Author Services

Don’t have an account yet? Sign Up.

• Member Login
• Library Patron Login

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR

FREE NEWSLETTERS

Search: Title Author Article Search String:

The Rain Watcher : Book summary and reviews of The Rain Watcher by Tatiana de Rosnay

Summary | Reviews | More Information | More Books

The Rain Watcher

by Tatiana de Rosnay

Critics' Opinion:

Readers' rating:

Published Oct 2018 240 pages Genre: Literary Fiction Publication Information

Rate this book

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.

• "Beyond the Book" articles
• Free books to read and review (US only)
• Find books by time period, setting & theme
• Read-alike suggestions by book and author
• Book club discussions
• and much more!
• Just $45 for 12 months or $15 for 3 months.
• More about membership!

Media Reviews

Reader 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

Author Information

• Books by this Author

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 ...

... Full Biography Author Interview Link to Tatiana de Rosnay's Website

Other books by Tatiana de Rosnay at BookBrowse

More Recommendations

Readers also browsed . . ..

• The Bullet Swallower by Elizabeth Gonzalez James
• Ways and Means by Daniel Lefferts
• A Great Country by Shilpi Somaya Gowda
• Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar
• Held by Anne Michaels
• Fruit of the Dead by Rachel Lyon
• The Extinction of Irena Rey by Jennifer Croft
• Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld
• The Atlas of Us by Kristin Dwyer
• One Hour of Fervor by Muriel Barbery

more literary fiction...

Support BookBrowse

Join our inner reading circle, go ad-free and get way more!

Find out more

BookBrowse Book Club

Members Recommend

The House on Biscayne Bay by Chanel Cleeton

As death stalks a gothic mansion in Miami, the lives of two women intertwine as the past and present collide.

The Stone Home by Crystal Hana Kim

A moving family drama and coming-of-age story revealing a dark corner of South Korean history.

Who Said...

Censorship, like charity, should begin at home: but unlike charity, it should end there.

Click Here to find out who said this, as well as discovering other famous literary quotes!

Solve this clue:

and be entered to win..

Your guide to exceptional           books

BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.

Subscribe to receive some of our best reviews, "beyond the book" articles, book club info and giveaways by email.

What's Better Than Books?

Book Reviews, Author Interviews, Guest Posts, Ratings, and More!

#BookReview The Rain Watcher by Tatiana de Rosnay @tatianaderosnay @StMartinsPress

The first new novel in four years from the beloved superstar author of Sarah’s Key , 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.

Vivid, captivating, and melancholic!

The Rain Watcher   is a moving, beautiful portrayal of a city in turmoil and a family struggling to understand, accept, and outwardly show compassion and love for each other.

The writing is impassioned and eloquent. The characters are empathetic, distressed, and genuine. And the plot is a mesmeric, foreboding tale set both in the present day and mid-1900s about life, loss, love, family dynamics, secrets, determination, hope, sacrifice, and the desolation and destruction mother nature can reap.

The Rain Watcher is a wonderful blend of historical facts, intriguing fiction, and palpable emotion. It’s a nostalgic, heartbreaking, consuming tale that reminds us of the complex relationship that can exist between a father and son and highlights once again de Rosnay’s insight and passion for La Ville-Lumière.

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

Thank you to St. Martins Press for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

About Tatiana de Rosnay

TATIANA DE ROSNAY is the author of more than ten novels, including the New York Times bestselling novel Sarah’s Key, an international sensation with over 9 million copies sold in forty-two countries worldwide that has now been made into a major film. Tatiana lives with her husband and two children in Paris.

Photograph by Charlotte Jolly de Rosnay.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest

Share this:

• Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
• Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)

2 Comments on #BookReview The Rain Watcher by Tatiana de Rosnay @tatianaderosnay @StMartinsPress

Glad you enjoyed this story, Zoe! It’s up soon for me.

I hope you enjoy it. I look forward to reading your thoughts. Xx

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Notify me of follow-up comments by email.

Notify me of new posts by email.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed .

• Bookreporter
• ReadingGroupGuides
• AuthorsOnTheWeb

The Book Report Network

Sign up for our newsletters!

Regular Features

Author spotlights, "bookreporter talks to" videos & podcasts, "bookaccino live: a lively talk about books", favorite monthly lists & picks, seasonal features, book festivals, sports features, bookshelves.

• Coming Soon

Newsletters

• Weekly Update
• On Sale This Week
• Spring Preview
• Winter Reading
• Holiday Cheer
• Fall Preview
• Summer Reading

Word of Mouth

Submitting a book for review, write the editor, you are here:, the rain watcher.

• About the Book

The first new novel in four years from the beloved superstar author of SARAH'S KEY, 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.

Audiobook available, read by Simon Vance

The Rain Watcher by Tatiana de Rosnay

• Publication Date: October 30, 2018
• Genres: Fiction
• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press
• ISBN-10: 1250200016
• ISBN-13: 9781250200013

• Biggest New Books
• Non-Fiction
• All Categories
• First Readers Club Daily Giveaway
• How It Works

Get the Book Marks Bulletin

Email address:

• Categories Fiction Fantasy Graphic Novels Historical Horror Literary Literature in Translation Mystery, Crime, & Thriller Poetry Romance Speculative Story Collections Non-Fiction Art Biography Criticism Culture Essays Film & TV Graphic Nonfiction Health History Investigative Journalism Memoir Music Nature Politics Religion Science Social Sciences Sports Technology Travel True Crime

April 9, 2024

• On Octavia Butler, Audre Lorde, and the power of pleasure
• Maggie Nelson talks to Lauren Michele Jackson
• The most challenged books of 2023 are probably exactly what you expect

New York Times Bestselling Author

Barbara Delinsky

Book review, the rain watcher.

I didn’t read Sarah’s Key , but I had heard praise enough that when I saw the author had a new book out, I thought I’d give it a try.  I’m not sure what I expected, but it wasn’t as quiet a novel as this.

The Rain Watcher is a family drama, telling the story of mother, father, daughter, and son, gathered for a family reunion to celebrate the father’s 70 th birthday.  Each of these four family members has a life hidden from the others; those secrets and fears are little by little exposed.  There is no great mystery, no great intrigue, no great emotional twist.  Revelations are more sympathetically-rendered than unexpected.  But I did care about the characters, so listenedon and on.  At no point was I drawn to tears.  Nor did I understand the ending.  Or the title.  I’m sorry.  Maybe someone can explain either of those to me?

And yet I’ve given this book four stars – because it is beautifully written.  The setting is contemporary Paris at a time of unprecedented rainfall that results in catastrophic flooding, and the description of this is exquisite.  The author has an amazing imagination and a masterful way with words.  The reader can see, smell, feel Paris as the water rises higher and higher – can see, smell, feel the angst of each of the characters.  Even cameo characters are described in a simple but picturesque way.

I listened to the audiobook, and the narrator was a delight.

That said, for me The Rain Watcher is about the journey, rather than the destination.

BOOK REVIEW: The Rain Watcher by @tatianaderosnay @stmartinspress #6bookbestiessmp #6bookbestiesrainwatcher

Beautifully written and filled with quiet emotion— The Rain Watcher by Tatiana De Rosnay is the type of book that made me feel an incredible stillness while reading. There is an elegance to the way De Rosnay writes that is so delicate, and I think that is where the sense of peace comes from as you read her work.

I was a big fan of Sarah’s Key . I still remember the first time I read it. This book is quite different from Sarah’s Key , but no less immaculate. I am so thrilled to share this beautiful book today with readers!

About the Book

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.

“I will start with the tree. Because everything begins, and ends, with the tree. The tree is the tallest one. It was planted way before the others. I’m not sure how old it is, exactly. Perhaps three or four hundred years old. It is ancient and powerful. It has weathered terrible storms, braced against unbridled winds. It is not afraid.”

This story is about a family. But at its core, it is also about how we survive in the most difficult of times. In the way the waters of the Seine creep into the city, with the rains pouring down unrelentingly outside, this family has seen their share of hardship. Life is not always easy, but that doesn’t diminish its’ beauty. But this family also has their roots—their lifeboat in a storm, their ancient unafraid tree.

The way the novel is written is based largely on memories. The memories are woven together in a non-linear fashion. We may start in a current setting and then remember a conversation from many years before. There is very little dialogue, and what is there is Linden’s description of the conversation rather a literal transcription. And this is what I mean when I describe the writing as delicate. It is fluid and intricately woven together.

The Rain Watcher is the story of a family trip to Paris, but more than that it is the story of this family. All the way from the beginning, through the hard times and the times they felt disconnected, and through the times that they find one another. There are many lessons to be learned in this book, and it is a book I will continue to learn from each time I read it.

I want to leave with one final quotation that really spoke to me. I have been an environmentalist my whole life (I went to college in Oregon, afterall). When I was a child I wrote several poems and short stories about trees. They have been a source of comfort to me my whole life. And so more than anyone, else, I felt a connection to Paul in this book. This quotation makes my heart happy, and I hope you enjoy it too.

“We now know trees connect to each other. They do that through their roots, and through their leaves. […] The problem is that people don’t attach importance to the secret lives of trees. […] In this fast new world where everything happens instantaneously, we aren’t used to waiting anymore. We have forgotten how to be patient. Everything about a tree is slow, how it thrives, how it develops. No one really understands how slowly trees grow and how old they become. Some trees are thousands of years old. In fact, a tree is the exact opposite of the crazy, fast times we live in.”

Many thanks to St, Martin’s Press for my copy to review.

Book Besties Approved

This was a read with my Book Besties, and I hope you see their reviews here:

Berit at Audio Killed the Bookmark

Holly at Dressed to Read

Jennifer at Tarheel Reader

Melisa at The Book Collective

Share this post!

You May Also Like

BOOK REVIEW: Say You’re Sorry by Karen Rose @KarenRoseBooks @BerkleyPub #sayyouresorry #bookbestiessayyouresorry

BOOK REVIEW: #FashionVictim by @drrramina @crookedlanebks

BOOK REVIEW: The Beast’s Heart by Leife Shallcross @leioss @berkleyromance @berkleypub #bookbestiesbeastsheart #thebeastsheart

14 comments.

sunflowerbooklvr

Beautiful review Kenzie! So glad you enjoyed this one! 🙂

Thank you, Kendie!!!

thebookcollectiveblog

Beautiful review, Kenzie! So glad you loved it!

Thanks, Melisa!!! So glad we got to read together!

Holly B / Dressedtoread

Wonderful review Mac!

Thanks, Holly!!!

Berit&V@Audio Killed the Bookmark

Beautiful review my friend!💛

Thanks, Berit!!!

B Lostinacoulee

Wonderful review, Mackenzie! Glad you enjoyed. I don’t have this one but Lindsay read it.

Oh I think if you ever have time you would love it, Brenda!!!

jennifertarheelreader

Your review is absolutely stunning, Mack! You captured the essence of this book, and I loved reading it with you and sharing in the experience. ♥️

Thanks so much, Jennifer!!! I get intimidated reviewing books like this because they are so well written! Loved reading this together 💕

Wonderful review Mackenzie. I love how you described her writing, so beautiful. I need to read this one.

Thanks so much, Carla!!! It’s truly beautiful, I think you’d like it!

Let me know your thoughts!! Cancel reply

Logout | Profile

    Experience France beyond the cliché

The Rain Watcher by Tatiana de Rosnay: bookclub event recap

In the beginning, I insisted that I had good reasons to choose ‘The Rain Watcher’ even though I had intentionally not read any reviews, namely; 1. The author is Tatiana de Rosnay (known for Sarah’s Key)

2. A great title ‘The Rain Watcher’ which I found poetical

3. The topic and themes: A French-American family reunion in Paris, the flooding, the love of trees, a family reunion, and secrets to be revealed.

However, I pointed out that in the end, I did not think the book had held to these promises. How so?

Prompting discussion …

I had added three questions into the ‘chat’ section of the zoom event, in order to prompt possible discussion. – Each member of the family has a secret that is revealed throughout the story. What are these secrets? Do you think secrets should be revealed under the same circumstances? – Linden: do you think that his ‘coming out’ would have been different in an American/Australian/ English family? – Did you find the descriptions of the Seine flooding realistic? – The invisible man of the book, Paul. What do we learn about him? What do you think of exposing him through the letters?

Member impressions

Members present gave their impressions of ‘The Rain Watcher’: 1. Elisabeth said she taught a course about French books and films and had had Sarah’s Key in its syllabus. She found this book ‘the Rain Watcher’ interesting for its themes but average and not flawless and that there were too many layers. 2. Sherrie is currently taking French lessons and as a student of French language and culture, she was very much interested but agreed the story was disappointing and it was not great literature. 3. Amy enjoyed a few things, like walking down the streets of Paris along with Linden as she is missing France very much. Also, she is a ‘tree person’. It was a quick read. 4. Susan found the book to be ok, and as a francophile she also enjoyed the Paris description of streets and setting, imagining herself in all the different places described. However, she found most elements of the story over the top, not believable. 5. Beverly has read several books by Tatiana de Rosnay and since she is a gardener and tree person enjoyed the parts played by nature. She thought the book had interesting dynamics. 6. Jane is a ‘new’ Francophile and compared it to Sarah’s Key in terms of drama. 7. Judy enjoyed the book despite its flaws (she could only get the audio version, so it was a first and different experience where she tried to not pay attention to the narrator’s voice) and she liked particularly the description of the trees.

One hour of lively discussion & varied perspectives

During the one-hour non-stop discussion we made many remarks: In a way, and regarding the present situation, we found the book quite premonitory: – the doctors overwhelmed, – the transfer from one hospital to another due to the torrential rain and flooding, – the impossibility to anticipate the turn of events and to leave Paris, – the family stuck in Paris, all this looks like ‘déjà vu’ right now.

We also examined the names, which sounded phony for some (could be those of the protagonists of soap opera) but which had not been chosen accidentally. All had a purpose and meaning.

We found there were plenty of inadequacies and improbable situations. – Telia’s secret for instance, how could her family not know she had spent six months in a coma? How could she look for her friends’ photos on Facebook in 2004? – Also, there was more to expect from the finding of the box in the tree at the end and it lacked a sense of closure. – We agreed the relationship between father and son should have been developed in more depth. – We also wondered what the unexpected arrival of Colin, Mistral and finally Sacha could have brought to the narrative. -At the same time, we found the secrets themselves were either gory or conventional and expected, – the chopping of the head, – Susanne’s horrible murder, – the aunt’s defenestration, and – Linden’s coming out and – the mother’s return of a youth lover.

The Rain Watcher: Movie or soap series?

We definitely could not imagine a movie made of this story, it probably would be better as episodes in a Netflix series!

To conclude, it was obvious that the book was not such a bad pick as there were many things to say from its silences, its flaws, and great potential.

We particularly loved the Paris tour and the precise description of trees and their importance.

A tribute to a special person

I would like on this occasion to pay a tribute to Alisa Bearov Landrum , who passed away at the beginning of June. Alisa was a very active and passionate member, who had attended a face-to-face book club meeting in Paris and had become a friend to many of us, and whose last post for MyFrenchLife was when I made the suggestion for this book, she wrote:

there are so many bad reviews on Goodreads that it makes me want to read it!

Have you read ‘The Rain Watcher’? Do you agree with our commentary? Leave your comments below.

About the Contributor

Jacqueline dubois pasquier.

Share This Story, Choose Your Platform!

Related posts.

French Film Review: Mr. Blake At Your Service!

French Film Review: Iris and the Men

French Film Review: The Edge of the Blade

Thank you for posting this recap. I had read this book early summer, 2019. I actually enjoyed it. I agree, I loved walking the streets of Paris. I actually had been in Paris during the flooding of 2016 and 2018. I enjoyed learning the history of the flood in 1910. The theme of secrets…so many secrets in all of the characters’ lifes….probably very realistic to many in our orbits. I loved the tree theme…”a tree is very much alive….it has its own rhythm.” After reading about trees..I spent a lot of of my personal time thinking of trees and how it related to me as an individual. Thank you for selecting this book. I enjoyed rereading my book notes from it. I can’t help to think of some of these themes in my current pandemic light. Thank you again!

I read this book because it was chosen for my book club. Usually I read a book club book twice but I found myself unable to finish it a second time. It was not a compelling enough story, it lacked meaningful character development, the quotes in French at the beginning of sections were irritating to a non-French reader (I did translate them.) and I didn’t feel that the book was particularly well written. I might have found it somewhat interesting if I’d been to Paris. I would not recommend it.

Leave A Comment Cancel reply

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Notify me of followup comments via e-mail. You can also subscribe without commenting.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed .

• Arts + Culture
• Gastronomie
• Mode + Beauté
• Reportage + Société
• Vie française
• En Française

et plus…

• Contributors
• Experiences
• Stay in Paris
• Stay in France
• Invest in France
• Meet our team
• Careers & internships
• Become a contributor
• Our favourite links

My French Life™ – Ma Vie Française®

Come with us to experience French life beyond the cliché. Magazine – Events – Experiences

Would you like to work with our team?

Wherever you live, if you’re a francophile or French and you’d like to join our team of Contributors then we’d love to hear from you – check out our submissions   page. We’re also constantly seeking savvy interns – please check on available internships

© 2012 – 2023 My French Life™ – Ma Vie Française®. All rights reserved.

Privacy | Terms

BookBlast® est. 1997

Home of all things books & translation.

• [ April 3, 2024 ] Donald Rayfield OBE author & translator Interview Interview
• [ April 1, 2024 ] Shadow of the Sun, Taleb Alrefai Review Fiction
• [ March 24, 2024 ] London Book Fair 2024 Spotlight Spotlight on Publishing
• [ March 22, 2024 ] The Connection Between The Sabres of Paradise and Dune? Spotlight Legacy Agency
• [ March 12, 2024 ] Celebrating Translation at Hatchards, Piccadilly News & Events News & Events
• [ March 6, 2024 ] The London Book Fair 12-14 March 2024 News Spotlight on Publishing
• [ February 11, 2024 ] Abdallah Uld Mohamadi Bah, Birds of Nabaa A Mauritanian Tale Review Fiction
• [ February 3, 2024 ] The Hand that Feeds You, Mercedes Rosende Review Fiction
• [ January 26, 2024 ] De plomb et d’or (Of Lead and Gold) François Jonquet 4Translation 4Translation
• [ January 15, 2024 ] Forgotten female photographers, Gael Elton Mayo Spotlight Legacy Agency

Review The Rain Watcher, Tatiana de Rosnay

BookBlast reviews The Rain Watcher by bestselling novelist Tatiana de Rosnay. Together with Dan Brown, Stephanie Meyer and Stieg Larsson, she has been named one of the top ten fiction writers in Europe.

“ The flooding was not going to subside. Linden had turned off the TV. He had felt slightly nauseous. The Seine’s upwelling had upset him, but his parents’ state worried him all the more. The bad timing of their visit to Paris stupefied him. How could their family weekend have turned into such an ordeal? ”

“ So here she is, nearly forty, an emotional wreck, a failed artist, the miserable wife of a drunkard .” Tilia is fragile – still traumatised by a car crash in which all of her girlfriends were killed. Her second husband, an art expert, seems the perfect English gent, but his debonair charm masks his alcoholism. Making a surprise appearance at a family get-together is not such a good idea if you are full of booze and resentment. His “ insults are daggers of venom .”

BUY The Man Who Planted Trees

During the family’s reunion-and-birthday dinner at the restaurant La Villa de Roses, Paul slides down in his chair and collapses. The ambulance takes him to Georges Pompidou hospital.

Apocalyptic Paris While Paul lies in intensive care in hospital, long repressed things from the past come out into the open, and assorted tribulations are played out among the family members as the torrential rain continues to fall.

Fear that there will be a repeat of the 1910 Great Flood of Paris when the Seine’s level rose eight metres above the ordinary level is exacerbated by the Media. “ Linden turns on the television, positioned on the wall opposite the bed. The Seine is on every channel, even the foreign ones. Another panel of specialists resume their dire forecasts. This could last up to a month, with a seven-day peak that has not yet been reached.”

This is not the Paris of the tourist brochures, or that of the romanticised Proust or Hemingway beau monde littéraire , but a very different rather sinister and desperate place full of agitated crowds, ambulance-chasers, paperazzi, soldiers and harried officials.

People are evacuated from their homes and there is extensive looting. The Ministry of Defence launches ‘Plan Neptune’ and tourists are asked to leave. Everyone’s eyes are on Le Zouave on Pont de l’Alma – the Parisians’ unofficial marker of the water level. The nineteenth-century statue represents soldiers of the French regiments of North Africa who fought during the Crimean War between 1853 and 1856. As the Malegardes battle out their own intense and wounding family drama, Paris sinks into watery putrefaction, and begins to look “ like an obscure and sinister Venice, a drowned metropolis gradually sinking into oblivion, incapable of putting up a fight, yielding to the unhurried and lethal violence of its demented rive r.”

Home Sweet Home Tatiana de Rosnay is clear-eyed and unsentimental about the complexities of family relationships. Her lucid, strong writing is both understanding and challenging; disturbing and a delight. Her flawed yet endearing characters are very real. Brother and sister are particularly well drawn: loving but imperfect, they do their best in difficult circumstances. She is good on marriage, friendship, love and frustrated desire; on the tricky but necessary journeys a life entails, and finding the courage to be true to yourself.

“ We need trees to save the world. Trees are living encyclopaedias. They give us all the keys .” The author’s underlying concerns are serious. She is powerfully reflective on nature and rural communities; on how the arrival of supermarkets in the French countryside have turned once thriving picturesque market towns into derelict ghost towns.

David Bowie – one of the most offbeat and unorthodox rock stars with genuine insight into the human condition – is the improbable hero of rebellious yet conservative Paul: the emotionally absent father who is world-famous for his campaigns to save notable trees. What makes him tick? What is his secret?

BUY The Rain Watcher

The Rain Watcher is Tatiana de Rosnay’s thirteenth novel. Among Le Figaro ‘s top 5 most read French authors (2011), she is discovery.

The copyright to all the content of this site is held by the individual authors and creators. All rights reserved. Enquiries: please use the contact form

Share this:

• Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on X (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Mastodon (Opens in new window)
• adult readers
• Bestsellers
• book club choice
• book review
• book-to-film adaptations
• bookblast france
• bookblast recommends
• David Bowie
• french culture
• world literature

Related Articles

Interview Jane Aitken, Gallic Books

Jane Aitken and Pilar Webb met when they were both working at Random House children’s, and they went on to co-found Gallic Books in 2006. Headliners Muriel Barbery (trs. Alison Anderson), Antoine Laurain (trs. Emily […]

Interview Samantha Schnee, translator

Samantha Schnee, tell us a little bit about yourself. I was born in Scotland and moved to the US with my family at the age of four. We lived in the heartland of the US, […]

Spotlight The 2018 Saif Ghobash-Banipal Prize for Arabic Literary Translation

“Judging the 2018 Saif Ghobash-Banipal Prize was a most enriching experience. It reminded me that literature can be a force for good – no bad thing! We need to be shocked out of a comfortable […]

© 2000-2023 BookBlast Ltd. Your use of this site constitutes your acceptance of the Terms of Use as specified and your agreement to be bound by them.

• WordPress.org
• Documentation
• Learn WordPress

Scan barcode

The Rain Watcher by Tatiana De Rosnay

Only show reviews with written explanations

carmenelyse 's review against another edition

Go to review page

amandae129 's review against another edition

Hannahjsimpson 's review against another edition.

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

triciaralph 's review against another edition

Susanp 's review against another edition, hskrkelle 's review against another edition, smittenforfiction 's review against another edition, ammbooks 's review against another edition, kdurham2 's review against another edition, guylou 's review against another edition.

By using The StoryGraph, you agree to our use of cookies . We use a small number of cookies to provide you with a great experience.

Find out more

Enchanted Prose

A blog for beautiful fiction, memoirs, inspiration.

France’s bestselling author Tatiana de Rosnay ( Sarah’s Key , A Secret Kept, The House I Loved , more) uses a literary style that seems designed to make the reader feel the growing anxiety of the family’s worsening situation as the waters of the river Seine rise and overflow. The prose has a very distinctive quality: long sentences that turn into unusually long paragraphs – one, two, three pages long. The author wants us to feel the panic.

We’re so used to short paragraphs and clipped chapters this literary approach places demands on us; soon it sweeps us along as both disasters unfold, intersect, and devolve. There is, though, brevity in prologues that preface each of the novel’s six lengthy parts. However, it’ll take you most of the novel to nail down the narrator of these prefaces, a young boy, and how he figures into the multi-layered plot.

The last time the Malegarde family of four were all together was thirty years ago. They’re meeting in Paris to celebrate the 70 th birthday of Paul, the patriarch, and the anniversary of Paul and Lauren, who planned this reunion for two years to make it happen. They have two children, Linden, in his 30s, and his sister Tilia, 40; her daughter, Mistral, 18, also arrives.

The first thing to know about the family is the names Linden, Tilia, and Mistral are all inspired by Nature. Lime trees are also called Linden, also Tilia in Latin; Mistral stands for a “powerful northwesterly wind.” Their names are connected to a piece of inherited property, “a little paradise on earth.”

Located in the Drone Valley some four hours south of Paris among fields of lavender and farmlands, a beautiful landscape where Paul and Lauren live; Linden and Tilia grew up here. Surrounded by lime trees, one at least three-hundred years old, and an arboretum, both mean everything to Paul. Famously known as Mr. Treeman, he’s an arborist who saves ancient and magnificent trees around the world. “A mystery to his only son,” a mystery to everyone actually, because he prefers trees over people, fanatically. A “silent” man, Linden “has been missing his father’s voice all his life.” He wants to communicate with him, doesn’t know how. (A running theme in the family’s dynamics.)

Trees also enter the picture with the unknown boy narrator whose voice is heard from a treehouse. Each time he appears we learn a little more of his traumatic story, but we don’t understand its relevance to the plot, germane in the ending.

The novel is as much about unlocking the importance of Nature as it is about unlocking the nature of people.

Each relationship in the family is examined, not separately but woven into the flowing paragraphs. Linden is the star. It’s his voice and his relationship with Paul that’s center stage. Linden lives in San Francisco, a photographer as famous as his father. In fact, it was his shot of his father, Treeman Crying in Versailles, that brought Linden overnight fame.

Linden has charisma. “Even people who had barely met him were bowled over by his personality, his kindheartedness, his talent, his sense of humor.” Love and kindness take over when Linden finds he’s the only family member who can, and will, assume the role of managing his distressed family. This does not come easy for him, expressed through his long, searching prose.

Linden left his family when he was a teenager; moved in with his aunt Candice, his mother’s sister, in Paris. He told her he was gay, she loved him “just the same.” Yet he didn’t tell his “nonchalant, exquisite mother” until seven years later expecting she’d react poorly, which she did. He’s never told Paul but suspects he knows about his lover, Sacha. “Never would he have imagined it would be so tough coming back” to Paris as Linden’s regrets and secrets about Candice and a young man resurface and deepen as the flooding paralyzes the city.

All the family members have secrets and regrets. Mother and father, individually and as a couple, are not revealed until the last fifty or so pages.

Tilia too. Tormented by a tragedy in her past, she’s a “failed artist.” She lives in London with her second husband, Colin, a mean alcoholic. Her “life is a disaster,” saved by “magnificent and fearless Mistral,” who “mothers her own mother brilliantly, and has been doing so, it seems her whole life.” Mistral and Linden are close, drawn to each other’s sensitive souls. Mistral is “bubbling” with excitement around uncle Linden so her prose bubbles along. She’s a big support to Linden in the emergency role he struggles with, yet done with great strength under great duress.

“The river has turned into a gluttonous muddy monster … “The river seethes like a hostile reptile beneath leaden skies and the uninterrupted downpour.” A statue, Zouave, marks how high the river Seine rises. The more intense the family’s situation becomes the higher the waters rise.

Statue of the Zouave, Paris By Yann Caradec [ CC BY-SA 2.0 ] via Wikimedia Commons

Another tragedy is Paris had warnings: the 1910 Great Flood of Paris , revisited over and over again as people keep wondering if 2017 will be worse than 1910 when the waters rose 28 feet. (2016 flooding in Paris also noted.)

As the city becomes deluged, few can escape. Certainly not this family. Fear, exhaustion, and time feel like an eternity wearing down these characters until they weaken and finally share their innermost secrets, enlightening each other, enlightening us.

How sad that it takes a catastrophe to get the family to open up. Sad because they love each other, in their own imperfect ways, but there’s so much underlying baggage and tension among them they’ve been unable to. The Rain Watcher is a tale of many kinds of love, especially unconditional love and “love unexpressed.”

Human lessons are also viewed through an environmental lens. An historian discusses 1910 vs. 1917 flooding as the world watches the devastation in Paris on TV. The human connection is also told in a message about trees from Linden’s father he hears on a video.

The historian discusses the technological facts that made it easier for people to cope in 1910, but what sticks out is how “people were kinder to one another” compared to today as looters ransack an already ravaged city. And, Paul (who is quite talkative when it comes to trees) says: “trees care for one another … “everything about a tree is slow, how it thrives, how it develops … a tree is the exact opposite of the crazy, fast times we are living in.”

Given the dire warnings on the human toll of global climate change recently reported on , The Rain Watcher cries out on both the personal and scientific front. Tatiana de Rosnay hopes we’re listening.

Share this:

3 thoughts on “ the rain watcher ”.

Excellent review!

The novel is a masterpiece of story telling, great compassion for the dysfunctional family and appreciation of the trauma of childhood experiences. It also speaks to the courage of a son to want his dying father to know him and accept him as a gay man., which releases the repressed father’s long held secret that gives insight into his own behaviors. Too, the courage of a more traditional mother to embrace her gay son, and express love and admiration for him as she reveals her own secrets. It is a very powerful portrayal of lives examined. And we the readers are the lucky recipients of those insights. Thank you Tatiana.

Appreciate your insight. Thanks for your comments. Lorraine

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed .

• Review Policy

• International edition
• Australia edition
• Europe edition

Weather watcher: why Matt Gaw is a man for all seasons

In his glorious ode to the inclement, author and teacher Matt Gaw reveals how all weathers transform our relationship with the natural world – the secret is to open your senses and immerse yourself

I don’t usually pray for rain before an interview, especially one taking place outdoors. But a few days before our scheduled meeting, Matt Gaw tells me the chance of some precipitation is “half decent”. Excellent. As I leave north London there’s a faint, almost invisible drizzle in the air, but by the time I’m in Suffolk, the wind has blown that away.

Why do I want rain? Gaw, a nature writer, has just written a book about weather, In All Weathers , in which he argues we should experience it in all its forms. We are culturally programmed to see sun as good, pretty much everything else as bad. As soon as children are given crayons they draw smiling Teletubbie suns. In books and films, rain signifies something ominous around the corner. Mist hides scary things. Snow, perhaps an exception, is magical – until it turns to slush.

I meet Gaw at Knettishall Heath, a nature reserve on the Suffolk side of the Little Ouse border with Norfolk. It’s an alluring habitat, a mishmash of woodland, heathland and meadow, with a sizeable herd of Exmoor ponies. We stride through bog and woods with Lyra, Gaw’s jack russell, who clearly doesn’t want to be there, especially when the wind picks up. At various points Gaw carries Lyra, much to his embarrassment. Evidently, she hasn’t embraced his all-weather message.

Nature was ever present in my childhood. Family holidays were spent hiking in Snowdonia or the Bannau Brycheiniog, formerly known as the Brecon Beacons, often in the rain. I can’t say I enjoyed getting soaked, but the strong winds that blew you off course – now they were fun. But mostly I’ve never thought much about weather. When I started growing vegetables, I began to notice the changing sun and rain patterns, primarily because I wanted good tomatoes. But mostly the weather is just, well, there. Gaw wants us to change that perspective, to change the dichotomy between good and bad.

Knettishall is an important location for Gaw, who lives in nearby Bury St Edmunds. It’s the site of one of his first pieces of nature writing, a story about swimming in the Little Ouse with his daughter, Eliza, then aged four. It was a contribution to Melissa Harrison’s beloved Seasons anthology in 2016. A book deal followed. In The Pull of the River , released in 2018, he canoed Britain’s rivers. Two years later, for Under the Stars , he walked around the country at night.

Born in Colchester in 1980, Gaw grew up in Halstead, north Essex. “We weren’t birdwatchers or anything,” he says, but most of his time was spent playing outside, fording streams and climbing trees. Family holidays were in caravans in the Peak District.

At the University of Sussex, an intellectual interest in nature took hold, and reading the likes of Roger Deakin, Robert McFarlane and Aldo Leopold’s A Sand County Almanac stirred something in him, as did the works of Kathleen Jamie and Melissa Harrison. To Gaw, these writers are experts at exploring a place and their relationship with that place. “They show you that if you visit somewhere enough times, along with the fondness of familiarity, there is a strangeness, too, a newness, a different way of seeing.”

After a BA in philosophy, Gaw did a master’s degree in aesthetics, where he railed against convention. “There’s this whole tradition of distance, removing yourself and looking at a scene.” For him, nature was about immersing oneself in it, “rather than seeing yourself as removed”.

That theme runs throughout his books. By canoeing you see the country from a different angle, a “frog’s eye view”, as Deakin would call it. He avoided the sea so as not be apart from the land, and floating through the countryside, he saw it transformed. “The world becomes bigger, more interesting. The river is a window on to another world and a way of looking back at ours.”

In his 2020 follow-up, Under the Stars , Gaw saw the world through an entirely different perspective: the dark. His books, he says, are about learning, expanding his world. “What makes me really excited is that childhood feeling when you realise something amazing about the world, when it just seems bigger.”

He spent a decade as a journalist, until becoming a father, when he found himself more affected by stories he was writing. He freelanced and, in his 30s, turned to nature.

In All Weathers is a lovely book, Gaw is a brilliant writer who immerses the reader in his experiences. There are interesting facts, but it’s no scientific survey – this is about how one man experienced weather, from gales on Skye’s Neist Point and fog on the fens to rain at England’s wettest inhabited spot, Seathwaite in Cumbria. There is no chapter on sun, though it is the reason he wrote the book.

Where were you during that cloying, boiling, sleep-depriving summer of 2022, where the mercury topped 40C? I was stuck on busy London tubes and Gaw was at home in Bury St Edmunds hoping for rain. When was the last time he’d gone out walking in the rain, he thought to himself, to really experience how it felt?

“My grandparents used to have this old weather house on their windowsill,” Gaw remembers. “There were two little people inside. If it was sunny, the man would pop out smiling. If it was raining, it would be someone coming out with this horrible grimace on their face.” But that summer, nothing could be more welcome than rain.

It got him thinking. Can you pinpoint the last time you experienced a cloudy day with average temperatures? Or a light breeze, or shower? In this country we talk about the weather constantly, almost reflexively. But unless it’s extreme, knocking down trees, flooding homes or causing droughts, we don’t notice what it feels like.

Gaw set out to do just that. He tracked where rain would fall or fog would appear – the latter was trickier than he thought, often disappearing by the time he arrived. He writes about heading into Cumbrian fells in storms, as a descending walker warns him to turn back. “I was woefully unprepared. I thought everything was weatherproof. I got absolutely soaked, my phone got ruined.” But it was beautiful, too. “Watching the rain move across the fells, it was like ribbons, it felt flowing and living. It sounds a little bit hippy, but I like the idea that it was feeling you. It was almost like, you feel, therefore you are.”

We know (not too much) sun is good for us, providing vitamin D and increasing serotonin. But rain can be positive, too, Gaw argues. Research indicates that negative ions, atmospheric molecules charged with electricity, are abundant around water, including the rain, and may positively impact mental health. But many of the benefits are intangible. “Noticing the weather makes you much more present within your environment. Weather is a lot about time.” In fact, in many Latin languages, the words for time and weather are the same. “Perhaps our weather can, in some small way, teach us to see again,” says Gaw.

It is also about changes. It can be hard to get excited about a dull day, but there is little more beautiful than the shifts that can bring. Rays of sun bursting through grey cloud alter our perspective on the landscape. Birds start singing. It changes how we feel. “That’s what Wordsworth got really excited about, the transition,” says Gaw. “Not just experiencing the rain, but the sudden movement where the sun comes through. That’s the key of the book. It was about noticing the weather, but because once you start getting clocked into the weather, you clock into everything else.”

Weather is also destructive. Wind creates stress on the body, and may even increase the risk of heart attack. Rain causes floods, sun creates droughts, ice can create car crashes. “We need to respect it,” says Gaw, who doesn’t suggest putting oneself in danger just to experience “weather”.

In his day job, Gaw teaches English at a secondary school, where he constantly talks about pathetic fallacies, something deeply ingrained in our culture and language. Horror films always take place at night, the rain weeps, mist is mysterious. We talk about brain fog and not having the foggiest. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, according to him, as long as we’re aware it doesn’t have to be like that.

As we emerge from birch woodland into heath, grey clouds give way to rays of sun. The low afternoon light is sharp, brown turns almost to green, and talk turns to the climate crisis. For his previous books, Gaw could have flown to the US to canoe its great rivers, or see Nevada’s sweeping, clear night skies. He didn’t, because of the environmental impact of flying, as well as accessibility. “The nature writing I’ve always had an affinity for is where I know I’ve got a chance of experiencing it,” says Gaw.

Climate change was a big factor – after that broiling 2022 summer, 2023 was the hottest year on record. “One of the challenges of the book was to celebrate weather, but at the same time recognise this shadow of climatic chaos. I didn’t want it to be: ‘Everything’s wonderful.’”

Though he says governments bear more responsibility than individuals, nature writing can play a vital role. “It’s more than whether people go out in the rain or not.” For Gaw, understanding how weather transforms the world can ignite a passion and desire to protect it. “We only care about what we know about and what we love.”

Is he positive? We meet a few days after Labour drops its £28bn green investment pledge , amid climate being embroiled in the “woke wars”. “Hopeful is a better word.”

Gaw’s role as a teacher gives him a unique insight into teenagers’ views. It is unusual to find one who isn’t clued up and even if they don’t talk about a particular government, it’s clear they’re angry. “For them, adults are the people in power and they have not done enough.”

His children, Seth, 15, and Eliza, 13, enjoy wild swimming and have joined Gaw on many of his weather-seeking missions. “I want them to be exposed to it, to see it’s something normal. It’s harder, in some respects, for my kids to have a connection to nature like I did. Maybe they didn’t play in the same way. Even though we intend those things, our world has changed; the way we operate has changed.”

How has the book changed Gaw? He still loves sun, but now it’s “just one part of a vast, complex, beautiful weatherscape and I know I need it all to experience the world to its fullest extent”, he writes in the epilogue. “The blossoming of summer is no more precious than the glimmer of ice and snow, the wild, blood-bubbling wind, the movement and beauty of an autumnal drenching.”

On my way home I stop at my dad’s house in Clare, a small Suffolk town south of Knettishall. He’s keen to show me a barn owl he sees most days. The wind is heavy, a light rain begins to fall, I can hear the gentle prick prick of rain on my jacket. It tickles my face. We don’t see the owl, but I spot a kestrel on a tree 20 yards away. The sun glimmers through the cloud, brightening its rust-coloured body. It takes off, almost showing off as it gathers itself in the heavy winds above our heads before flying away. Moments later, we see a buzzard perched regally on a pole. Behind it, a rainbow begins to emerge. I think about Gaw’s book, about how in normal circumstances I might not have bothered leaving home in this weather. I would have missed the kestrel, the buzzard, the rain on my cheeks, the cloud turning to rain turning to sun.

In All Weathers by Matt Gaw is published by Elliott & Thompson, £16.99 (£14.95 at guardianbookshop.com )

• The Observer
• Biodiversity

Most viewed

This content requires the base game Rain World on Steam in order to play.

Sign in to add this item to your wishlist, follow it, or mark it as ignored

Sign in to see reasons why you may or may not like this based on your games, friends, and curators you follow.

Downloadable Content

Coming soon, about this content, system requirements.

• OS: Windows 10
• Processor: 4th Gen i3 / 1st Gen Ryzen
• Memory: 4 GB RAM
• Graphics: Intel HD (Integrated), GeForce 6 Series / Radeon R7 Series
• Processor: 6th Gen i5 / 2nd Gen Ryzen (or better)
• Memory: 8 GB RAM
• Graphics: GeForce 7 Series / Radeon RX400 Series (or better)

© 2017-2025 Videocult

More DLCs from this game

What curators say.

You can write your own review for this product to share your experience with the community. Use the area above the purchase buttons on this page to write your review.

You can use this widget-maker to generate a bit of HTML that can be embedded in your website to easily allow customers to purchase this game on Steam.

Enter up to 375 characters to add a description to your widget:

Copy and paste the HTML below into your website to make the above widget appear

Popular user-defined tags for this product: (?)

Sign in to add your own tags to this product.

• Literature & Fiction
• Genre Fiction

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required .

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

Image Unavailable

• To view this video download Flash Player

Follow the author

The Rain Watcher Paperback – Large Print, January 1, 2020

The first new novel in four years from the beloved superstar author of Sarah's Key, a heartbreaking and uplifting story of family secrets and devastating disaster, set against a Paris backdrop, fraught with revelations, and resolutions. "Hypnotic, passionate, ominous and tender--unforgettable." --Jenna Blum, New York Times and internationally bestselling author of Those Who Save Us 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.

• Language English
• Publisher Large Print Press
• Publication date January 1, 2020
• Dimensions 5.5 x 1 x 8.25 inches
• ISBN-10 143285903X
• ISBN-13 978-1432859039
• See all details

Similar items that may deliver to you quickly

Editorial Reviews

"I was mesmerized by Tatiana de Rosnay's new novel across the ocean and back--don't bring this book on a plane with you if you want to sleep! The Rain Watcher has something for everyone: an all-too-fathomable disaster story of the Seine swamping Paris; a family story about confronting lifelong secrets; a cautionary tale and love letter to our natural world, all told with de Rosnay's superlative sophistication and elegance. Hypnotic, passionate, ominous and tender-- The Rain Watcher is unforgettable." --Jenna Blum, New York Times and internationally bestselling author of Those Who Save Us and The Lost Family " The Rain Watcher is a poignant and moving story of a family in crisis. As flood waters rise in Paris, the men and women of the Malegarde clan struggle not to drown under the weight of their own secrets. 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 ceaseless rain, a brother, a sister, a birthday, a tree--seemingly ordinary things. But Tatiana de Rosnay's expert storytelling proves that within life's ordinary is the power for extraordinary change. 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 "Triumphant...de Rosnay stokes the Malegardes' histories with raw and powerful reminisces and gorgeous descriptions. This is an emotional tour de force and a thoughtful, deliberate examination of personal tragedy and the possibility of redemption." -- Publishers Weekly Praise for Tatiana de Rosnay:

"An excellent read....This outstanding biography will attract Daphne du Maurier devotees of all ages." -- Library Journal (starred) on Manderley Forever

"A lush, beautifully rendered saga layered with secrets [and] scandal.... [A] brilliant pager-turner."--BookPage on The Other Story

"Quietly elegant....Mesmerizing." -- People on The House I Loved

"Seductive, suspenseful, [a] trés formidable keeper."-- Publishers Weekly on A Secret Kept

"Masterly and compelling, it is not something that readers will quickly forget. Highly recommended."-- Library Journal (starred review) on - Sarah's Key

About the Author

Product details.

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Large Print Press; Large type / Large print edition (January 1, 2020)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 143285903X
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1432859039
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1 pounds
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 1 x 8.25 inches

About the author

Tatiana de rosnay.

Hello ! My new book," The Rain Watcher" will be published in the USA by St. Martin’s Press in October 2018.

It's my first new novel in four years !

"The Rain Watcher is a powerful family drama set in Paris as the Malegarde family gathers to celebrate the father's 70th birthday. Their hidden fears and secrets are slowly unraveled as the City of Light undergoes a stunning natural disaster. Seen through the eyes of charismatic photographer Linden Malegarde, the youngest son, 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."

I am a Franco-British author, of English, French and Russian descent.

My books include MANDERLEY FOREVER, SARAH'S KEY, A SECRET KEPT, THE HOUSE I LOVED, THE OTHER STORY and A PARIS AFFAIR.

I can also be found on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tatianaderosnay, on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/tatianaderosnay, and now on Instagram at https://instagram.com/tatianaderosnay/.

Please visit my website for more information: http://www.tatianaderosnay.com/

Customer reviews

Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.

To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.

Reviews with images

• Sort reviews by Top reviews Most recent Top reviews

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. please try again later..

Top reviews from other countries

• Amazon Newsletter
• About Amazon
• Accessibility
• Sustainability
• Press Center
• Investor Relations
• Amazon Devices
• Amazon Science
• Start Selling with Amazon
• Sell apps on Amazon
• Supply to Amazon
• Protect & Build Your Brand
• Become an Affiliate
• Become a Delivery Driver
• Start a Package Delivery Business
• Advertise Your Products
• Self-Publish with Us
• Host an Amazon Hub
• › See More Ways to Make Money
• Amazon Visa
• Amazon Store Card
• Amazon Secured Card
• Amazon Business Card
• Shop with Points
• Credit Card Marketplace
• Reload Your Balance
• Amazon Currency Converter
• Your Account
• Your Orders
• Shipping Rates & Policies
• Amazon Prime
• Returns & Replacements
• Manage Your Content and Devices
• Recalls and Product Safety Alerts
• Conditions of Use
• Privacy Notice
• Consumer Health Data Privacy Disclosure
• Your Ads Privacy Choices