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Title: Rainwater
ISBN: 144230071X
Author:
Sandra Brown
Publicate Date: 2009-11-03
Publish: 2009-11-03
List Price: $29.99
Average Customer Rating: 4.5
Format: Audio CD
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Amazon Lowest New Price: $14.64
Amazon Lowest Used Price: $14.64
Amazon Merchant Price: $19.79
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| Customer Review: |
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1: Rainwater drama audio book
I received book quickly and in good condition. A serious story but the message of the story is uplifting while the reality of the story is dark at times.
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2: It was just ok...
Single mom Ella Barron is struggling to raise her autistic son in rural Texas during the Depression. When boarder David Rainwater moves into the house, he opens her up to new possibilities. David has a sordid past and little to lose, but he takes a shine to young Solly, bringing him out of his shell, and has an impact on townspeople used to the status quo.
"Rainwater" is a departure for readers used to Brown's contemporary romantic suspense novels, and is more akin to her early novels (which I typically don't care for). There are bits and parts that I liked, but overall, it just didn't seem like a fresh novel to me - perhaps because the story was bogged down with melodrama and clich??d characters; definitely not a page turner that I will read again.
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3: Sticky and stupid all over
Okay, I knew it was not going to be a favourite, I've glanced through her books before. This would not make a list of the Ten Worst Books I've Ever Read (and there's been some real garbage go through on my watch) but it would definitely be on a list of 50 Worst.
All the way from hackneyed themes (of course we have to deal with superficial bigotry from a standpoint of ain't been there ever) and cardboard characters (does the hero absolutely have to have an errant lock of hair and be terminally ill? Does the bad guy really need the port wine stain birthmark and whiskey on his breath? After all, his dialogue already reeks), to simple research failures (Angus in Texas? Ms. Brown must be ashamed of the Brahma/Sta Gertrude cross cattle that really were there and exist mixed around with a few other strains even today), this book is so awful and so predictable and so stickily over-romantic it makes you want to urp, or worse.
I'm cured, however -- no more of this author, no matter what. It is terrible to read a story and think how badly it is written; it is terrible to read a good idea that has been over-written. But it is awful to realize you just wasted your time wading through treacle so overdone and thickly laid on the stereotypical images even got tired. Yuk.
pat chapin
[...]
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4: Good Novel
I have never read a Sandra Brown novel before so I din't know what to expect. I was happy to discover a novel with a lot of rich meaning and a nice story.
The book takes place in the depression era (1934 to be exact) where a hard working woman named Ella Barron struggles to take care of the tennants of her boarding house while dealing with a 9 year-old son with a severe case of autism. The novel begins with a new boarder moving in by the name of David Rainwater.
From there the novel follows an interesting path dealing with issues such as racism, bigotry, poverty, and even finding love when you have given up on it. The novel isn't a deep soul searching revelation by any means. But with fleshed out characters, exciting scenes, and triumph in the face of natural pains and the evil men do, the novel is a very satisfying read. Two thumbs up.
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5: Good strong story
This book is a little different from most of Sandra Brown's novels. The idea for the book came from a true story told to Ms. Brown by her father. It is a sweet but sad story set in the Texas during the dust bowl in the 1930's.
David Rainwater is the new arrival at Ella Barron's boarding house. He will change her life forever. Mr. Rainwater is terminally ill and needs a place to stay close to his doctor until his illness progresses. He only has weeks to live and wants to make the best of them. Ella is a single mother of a special needs child who runs the boarding house with the hired help of a black woman named Margaret. She works very hard to run a respectable boarding house and care for her unusual child. She risks it all when they become involved in a very unpopular cause. There is a government program that buys starving cattle from ranchers who cannot afford to feed them. The cattle are then shot to death and buried. The local law enforcement will not allow starving people from town to butcher and eat them. Mr. Rainwater organizes a group of men to stand up to law enforcement so the poor can have meat. It becomes a gruesome battle! People are killed and homes are burned to the ground.
I love the old fashioned, down home flavor of the story. Eating berry cobbler with cream, putting a block of ice in the ice box, washing clothes in a hand cranked wringer washer, snapping string beans for supper, going out for ice cream at the local drug store - all reminiscent of a slower, simpler time period and contrasting to the violent events occurring at the same time. People were starving and prejudice was thriving against the lower classes and races. Law inforcement was dishonest and untrustworthy. The good people had to band together to protect themselves.
This is a good, quick story to read with lots of contrasts. There are surprises, some unexpected romance, lots of action and violence, and also sweetness and continuity.
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