Novel set in USA, VIETNAM and JAPAN
A powerful novel set in Paris
29th April 2019
The Rain Watcher by Tatiana de Rosnay, a powerful novel set in Paris.
De Rosnay’s eleventh novel is set in Paris, but it is not The City of Lights that we know and love. The Rain Watcher gives us a city where the lights have gone out, a city of sinister darkness where the familiar landmarks are gradually engulfed by the sewage-laden rising waters of The Seine and evacuated and empty streets are invaded by gangs of looters. The incessant rain and the ever-growing threat of the flood provide a fitting backdrop to the story of the Malegarde family, for each member has secrets and unresolved issues that threaten to shatter their fragile harmony.
Linden Malegarde, a famous photographer who now lives in The United States, returns to Paris to celebrate his father’s 70th birthday. Paul, Linden’s father, is an internationally renowned arborist, whose whole life has been dedicated to saving trees, leaving him little time for anything or anyone else. Linden and Paul have an uneasy relationship; Linden has never come out as gay to his father and has never introduced him to his long-term partner, Sacha. Tilia, Linden’s volatile older sister, is struggling to come to terms with gruesome events in her past, a process not aided by her marriage to an unpredictable alcoholic. Lauren, Paul’s American wife, is nonetheless determined that the weekend will be a success and that the four of them will present as a close and happy family, despite her own secrets.
When Paul suffers a stroke and is hospitalized, closely followed by Lauren succumbing to pneumonia, the family is forced to remain in Paris indefinitely, while the city empties and the waters rise. Linden takes the opportunity between bedside vigils to accompany some press friends in their exploration of the waterlogged city, something that brings back painful memories for him. But the enforced stay in Paris in close proximity to their family also allows Linden and Tilia to resolve some of their issues. The main story, set in 2016, is framed by short chapters, giving us a glimpse of some days in Paul’s childhood, which provide an explanation for Paul’s obsession with trees.
The Rain Watcher is a well-constructed and immensely powerful piece of writing. De Rosnay creates a brooding sense of impending disaster and manages to maintain this tension throughout. This is a gripping tale, with some very disturbing and graphic descriptions – it will be difficult to forget the story of Tilia’s accident and the account of the evacuation of the hospital by boat is masterful. It is fitting that the central character in this novel is a photographer, for this is a novel that gives us wonderful visual images throughout. De Rosnay’s language is rich in imagery too “Paris looks like an obscure and sinister Venice, a drowned metropolis gradually sinking into oblivion…”
The Rain Watcher is undoubtedly dark and sinister but ultimately it offers the reader hope – that, in time, with courage and resolution, people can face their fears and move on.
Ellen for the TripFiction Team
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Will definitely keep an eye open for this one.