Book Review: The Rain Watcher | Tatiana De Rosnay

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 | The Rain Watcher

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.

Review | The Rain Watcher

“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.