Rainlight
Author(s):
Alison McGhee
Label: Picador
Publisher(s):
Picador
Studio: Picador
Manufacturer: Picador
Binding: Paperback
List Price: $14.00
Our Price: $11.90
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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Editorial Reviews
Product Description
The moving story of a father who dies young and the family he leaves behind
Even in a small town people have secrets, including how much they really mean to each other. In Alison McGhee?s haunting debut, a tragic event sparks revelations from nine-year-old Mallie, her mother, her grandfather, a waitress, and Mallie?s father?s ex-lover. They discover long-hidden truths and forge new bonds in this unforgettable, heartbreaking novel about parents, children, and love.
Customer Reviews
This is a poignant and touching story
The children in this book are just lovely characters. Ms. McGhee is adept at writing in a child's voice; she makes them completely believable and sympathetic. This is a very gentle book that should be savored.
My "Newest" Favorite Book!!
I have read "Shadow Baby" and enjoyed it, but this one is just so sweet and wonderful!! I truly did not want the story to end. Each chapter being told by a different character made the reading so interesting and they were all so very entwined. Mallie was my favorite--so sweet and loving and so very serious at the same time. This little book was just fabulous!!
WHAT A SWEET LITTLE BOOK!!!! DON'T MISS THIS ONE!!!
Browsing thru AMAZON I found -- and am glad I did -- the writings of Alison McGhee. RAINLIGHT is the first book I have read by her, but it will certainly NOT be the last.
The book revolves around the loss of Starr Williams who does a heroic deed and sacrifices his own life for another. Each chapter is narrated by different people. I love books like this, where each character weaves his or her story with the others to make for excellent reading.
The chapters are narrated by four different people -- Mallie, Starr's nine year old daughter was the character I enjoyed the most. Mallie is a wonderful character. She grieves and longs for her father. She blames herself for his death since she didn't kiss him goodbye that fateful day. She is a warm and caring person and tries to take care of everyone. She has her daily rituals which she follows religiously. Her chapters read well and are funny and warm.
Another character to narrate is Tim Williams, Starr's sixty-something father. He is a good person, a teacher, a loving grandfather who worries about Mallie and her little brother, Charlie. He is a huge part of their lives and his coping with loosing his son is heart-wrenching.
Lucia Williams is Starr's wife, mom of Mallie and Charlie. She is coping with the loss of her husband and trying to stabilize her kid's lives too. For me, she was just an OK narrator, I enjoyed the others much more.
The last narrator is Crystal Zielinski who is Starr's ex-lover and mother of Johnny, who is handicapped mentally and physically. Crystal runs the diner in this small town and is involved in everyone's life. I found Crystal to be a good narrator and her life is one heartache after another.
This is a good book. It should not be missed. It is NOT sad. It is not depressing. The fact that Starr dies is not too hard for the reader to take since you do not really get to know him. You will get to know him thru the other characters and their time spent with him.
This is a great book. Miss McGhee has several other books that I cannot wait to read. Don't miss this book. It was a gem.
Thank you. Pam
poignant and delicate ... a sure winner
A tragic accident brings out musings from 4 different characters and reveals secrets between each other that some goes a long way.
This book is beautifully written. It's poignant, delicate, touching ... reading it feels like having a soft velvety whisper of air on your skin. Each character grows on you that you feel like you know them very well. Each secret is revealed flawlessly. And after reading her 2nd novel -- Shadow Baby -- I think Ms. McGhee is very good in writing about child characters.
A gem of a book about the place I grew up.
I grew up in exactly that part of Upstate New York, and McGhee captures perfectly what life is like there, the insularity, the long winters, the ever-present mountains. She names places and towns I know well, and fictionalizes others I also know.
Beyond that familiarity, her book is crowded with real people whose lives are constrained by where they live, the limitation of small town existance. I've been recommending this, and her other books, to everyone I know.
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