by Maggie
5.0 out of 5 stars
It's still raining...
October 31, 2018
Format: Kindle Edition
The backdrop of rain and rising flood waters in the Paris setting gives the novel almost a gothic feel. This was made much more real for me by the heavy rains currently in my locale! Other reviewers have synopsized the plot, I will not. I will just tell you that Ms. De Rosnay is such a master at setting a mood and telling a story. Our family saga is full of twists and turns, and the revelation at the end of the book is shattering. I would have liked a few more words at the end, a bit of a feeling of being dropped...but the writing and story is so very exquisite!

The Rain Watcher by Tatiana de Rosnay. Tatiana de Rosnay is a new writer for me. Tatiana writes with a good plot style. The characters deal with circumstances that are different from the ones that every parent hopes for having a grandchild a way for the family to live on. Tatiana de Rosnay brings in a flood to deal with the problems. All the characters have hope for the future.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. From the first sentence, this novel enveloped me in the beautiful storytelling world that is signature to Tatiana de Rosnay’s writing style. Her wonderfully intimate descriptions and pointed dialogue not only build sense of time and place, but also escalate tension in each character’s personal story, as well as intrigue in those facts that readers are yet to discover.

A Family Reunion in Rainy Paris

The Malagarde family is cerebrating their father Paul’s, seventieth birthday and the parents fortieth wedding anniversary. The reunion at the mother Lauren’s request is limited to family members only. Both Linden, the son, and Tailia, the daughter, have significant others, but this is to be only for the family that grew up together.

Lauren has planned a series of activities, but the rain is pouring down threatening disaster for the city of Paris. The deluge curtails many of these sightseeing and dining trips throwing the family on their own resources. Each member has secrets and stories to tell. Just as the rain threatens Paris, the secrets threaten the family unity. Watching both Paris and the family deal with the unexpected and struggle to survive is wrenching and heart warming.

Linden is the narrator. Torn between French and American culture, he has never felt at home in either society. Although he has become an international success as a photographer, he wonders if he will ever win his father’s regard. Linden is a troubled character, but dealing with his issues makes for intense reading.

The descriptions of Paris in the rain are very atmospheric giving exactly the right tone to the family’s struggle as well as that of the city of Paris. The book has a leisurely feel. The author spends the early part of the book recounting the family background. It’s interesting and good preparation for the rest of the story, but it does take some perseverance to get to the present situation.

I enjoyed the book and recommend it if you enjoy a well written family drama.

I received this book from Net Galley for this review.

The Rain Watcher by Tatiana de Rosnay was a vivid and beautiful story about a family reunited in Paris for what should be a joyful celebration, but instead is a tragedy. The story is mostly told from the perspective of Linden Malegarde—a successful photographer who grew up with dual citizenship in France before moving to the USA. He has found the man he wants to spend the rest of his life with, but as far as he knows his dad doesn’t know he’s gay. He and his father have never been good at communicating with one another, but their love and affection for each other is apparent. One of the story threads centers on this lack of communication between father and son and how it is resolved. This was one of the most beautiful and moving parts of the book.

In the beginning, Linden joins his parents and sister at a hotel in Paris for a celebration of his father’s birthday and his parents’ wedding anniversary. The moment he arrives there is talk of the incessant rain causing the Seine River to flood. What follows is a serious uprooting of plans, but sometimes lives need to be shattered in order to be healed. Hard truths are faced, painful memories brought back to the surface, and secrets revealed.

The Rain Watcher was slow in the beginning, but I was soon hooked. Even the most minor characters were brought to life, seeming to leap out of the page. I honestly fell in love with the entire Malegarde family.

This was an eloquent and hauntingly beautiful story. I wanted to savor every evocative sentence, and felt a sense of loss after reading the last page. This was the first time I read anything by Tatiana de Rosnay. I can safely say I have discovered a new favorite author.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and Net Galley for the free galley to review. This was a 5 ⭐️ read!

My review can be found on https://www.caitlingemmell.com/blog/the-rain-watcher

I enjoyed Tatiana de Rosnay’s earlier novels so I was looking forward to diving into ‘The Rain Watcher’.
The book is beautifully written and extremely descriptive. I enjoyed the backdrop of Paris and the building suspense as the city endured a natural disaster. I also enjoyed how de Rosnay illustrated the family dynamics of the Malegarde family who had gotten together to celebrate a birthday and anniversary over the weekend. A celebration that quickly went down hill.
The story unfolds in the present as well as through flashbacks. I found the story a little slow moving in the beginning but once I got into it I was eager to see it unfold.
I highly recommend this family drama. I received an Advance Review Copy. All opinions are my own.

<b><i> Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free, electronic ARC of this novel, received in exchange for an honest review. </b> </i>
<i>“The Rain Watcher” by Tatiana De Rosnay is a powerful family drama, set in Paris, as the Maldegarde family gathers to celebrate the patriarch Paul’s birthday, as well as the wedding anniversary of Paul and his wife, Lauren. As their children, Talia and Linden, gather with them to celebrate it continues to rain in Paris. In fact, it rains so torrentially that Paris is under a flood warning. When Paul becomes sick, and then Lauren, both Talia and Linden are left struggling to try and keep the family together on what was supposed to be a happy occasion. </i>
De Rosnay is the author of the charming “Sarah’s Key” and “A Secret Kept” (as well as several others). “Rain Watcher” is just as beautiful, and the breathtaking scenery and epic setting capture the author’s love for her home country. De Rosnay’s Paris (France in general, in fact) is depicted in this novel through the eyes of someone who loves it, and someone who’s lived it. Through “Rain” it was easy for a reader to escape to the River Seine, or the 19th Arondissement, simply by turning a page, which is what makes reading so magical (especially reading De Rosnay).
Although the premise itself seems rather simple (A family gathers together around the patriarch to celebrate his birthday), the plot spins a charming tale as family secrets are discovered and hurts are revealed. “Rain” kept me engaged from page one. The beautifully told novel illustrates all of the ups and downs of an adult child/parent relationship, with passion and honesty.
The novel flows well, the characters are well developed, and the ending comes on suddenly, but also provides a bittersweet satisfaction. De Rosnay is unlike other authors in her ability to take an everyday situation, add a beautiful backdrop and a splash of family drama, and tell a lovely story. “Rain Watcher” is an addictive and pleasing novel that provides entertainment and escape, all in one striking package.

The Rain Watcher by Tatiana de Rosnay is a perfectly lovely book about Linden Malegard a mid-thirties photographer with a reputation worldwide, who is meeting his parents and his sister in Paris to celebrate his father's birthday and his parents' anniversary. W meet these four people and learn their stories over a seek or so during which time Paris is having it's worst flood in over 100 years. Because of his reputation, Linden gets photograph things many others could not. Because of this opportunity, Linden gets to visit places from his past that have helped define him today.

De Rosnay has, not only a way with words, but also an ability to dig into her subjects' souls and bring out the very depth of them. Every child eventually deals with the knowledge their parents' are aging and dying, but de Rosnay has managed to couch those feelings amongst many others for the member of this family, bring them to the conclusion of this part of their story. She does it beautifully and simply. The emotions are not complicated or shallow but touch the reader as a reflection of his own experience.

I could not recommend The Rain Watcher more highly. Its characters are lovingly drawn, and mostly through memories, develop the stories that have brought them together on this day. Life is varying degrees of good for the members of this family, just as in any family, and that is as it should be.

I received a free ARC of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. #netgalley #therainwatcher

Summary: The novel mostly takes place in Paris, France in the winter of 2017.

Linden Malegarde is traveling to Paris to spend a weekend with his parents and sister, Tilia. His parents are celebrating both his father, Paul’s, seventieth birthday and his parents’ fortieth wedding anniversary. Linden Malegarde is a busy man with a lot on his mind. A well-known photographer, he is scheduled to do an important photo shoot immediately after the weekend gathering. Between emails to his agent and his partner, Sasha, he wonders why his mother, Lauren, has chosen Paris as the family meeting place. He knows his father isn’t particularly fond of the city. Then there was a bothersome email from the hotel in Paris, warning of altered traffic routes due to flooding from the Seine to consider.The Rain Watcher

Paul Malegarde is also well known by a nickname he doesn’t particularly like, “Mr. Treeman”. Paul, a Frenchman by birth, travels around the world saving notable trees. His wife, Lauren, is an American who never quite mastered any language beyond English, despite living in France for many years.

It has been a while since Linden has seen his parents. He is startled to see his father looking older, shrunken and perhaps not entirely well. His mother brushes off his concerns and insists on just having a good time. His sister, Tilia, is doing her best to cope with her slushily drunk husband.

As the river rises and the city reaches a crisis point, so does the Malegarde family. Long-kept secrets bubble up along with the detritus in the Seine, forcing the family members to reveal them.

Comments: The Rain Watcher left me wondering which story the author most wanted to tell. Was it the story of Linden Malegarde, a gay man struggling with his dual-citizenship identity? Was it the story of the recent, tragic floods in Paris? Or was it a novel about trees? The Malegarde family’s trials seemed to be merely the backdrop to all three of these topics. Any one of these questions could have become a focal point for the book but the four topics seemed to bear equal weight.

The novel moved very slowly, with pages of rumination and background information. The most interesting part of the book for me was the detailed accounting of the flooding in Paris.

3 out of 5 stars, mostly for the quality of the writing and the research that went into writing the book.

THE RAIN WATCHER BY TATIANA DE ROSNAY BOOK REVIEW
“I will start with the tree. Because everything begins, and ends, with the tree.”

The Rain Watcher begins with one of the most beautifully written first lines I have read in some time. The story of the Malegarde family gathering in France, rain soaked Paris, for an important reunion and celebration, is deeply emotional. I have not read Sarah’s Key by de Rosnay, but it has been on my TBR shelf for a long time, and I am certainly ready to pick it up now.

THE RAIN
The Rain in The Rain Watcher is its own character. I was instantly transported from my couch in sunny California to a gloomy, drenched Paris. The backdrop of the family reunion is the constant rain and the rising Seine, and de Rosnay depicts it so well it is impossible not to feel like you are in the middle of the storm. It certainly helped in getting me totally immersed in the Malegarde saga.

FAMILY DRAMA
The four members of the Malegarde family are gathering for the father’s 70th birthday, and the parent’s 40th wedding anniversary. Though the story is told through Linden, the son of Paul and Lauren, I felt connected to the entire family. Linden and his sister, Tilia, are asked to meet their parents in Paris, without their significant others. Plans are derailed and the family works through some deep seeded issues. It was extremely touching and emotional to read. While these kind of plots are in no way groundbreaking, The Rain Watcher still felt original.


THE VERDICT
I am Really Into The Rain Watcher by Tatiana de Rosnay. There were a few problems with the structure of the book – it was maybe not as cohesive as it could have been, and there were some story lines that felt either incomplete or unnecessary, but these issues never got in the way of me absolutely getting lost in the rainy, wet family reunion of The Rain Watcher.


Special thanks to Tatiana de Rosnay, St. Martin’s Press & NetGalley for providing our copy in exchange for an honest & fair review.

"The Rain Watcher" by Tatiana de Rosnay, St. Martin's Press, 240 pages, Oct. 30, 2018.

The Malegarde family arrives in Paris to celebrate the father's 70th birthday and the parents' 40th wedding anniversary.

Paul, the father, is a famous arborist. He is French. HIs wife, Lauren, is American. Their daughter, Tilia, is an artist and son, Lauren, is a famous photographer who lives in San Francisco.

As they arrive, torrential rain falls. There are concerns that the river Seine will flood.

At dinner before the celebration, Paul suffers a severe stroke. Lauren develops the flu. TIlia was the only survivor of a car accident as a teenager and refuses to go to the hospital, so Lauren has to go to be with his father. The family members all have secrets.

The plot is very slow-moving. A lot centers around their memories. I didn't connect with the story or the characters.

In accordance with FTC guidelines, the Advanced Readers Copy of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A beautifully told, powerful story, about the complexities of family....

“I will start with the tree. Because everything starts and ends with the tree.”

Just as Linden’s story begins and ends with a tree, so does this book... The perfect and very telling first line to this wonderful story.... a story told solely from the POV of Linden.... A charming young man, who has struggled throughout his life to find acceptance of Who he is... not only from others, but from himself! The themes in this book are very universal; acceptance, forgiveness, understanding, Love,secrets, and family.... The Malegarde family could be my family, they could be yours...

This somber story is set against the backdrop of Paris in the midst of a natural disaster... The endless reigns have lead to the river Seine reaching flood levels... this aded so much atmosphere to this book, I felt the wet, I heard the raindrops, I smelled the river.... and all from my living room in the middle of a very dry California, in fact our water levels are dangerously low at the moment.... it really takes a talented author to transport you so completely through her words... I felt as though this was the perfect backdrop for the story, I think it would have been a completely different book had it taken place in a bright sunny Paris....

A book like this is difficult to review because its beauty is in the words... its elegance is in the structure.... its meaning is in the silence.... I can however tell you this is a stunning story, filled with beautiful language, and characters you will feel four.... the Author does not hit you over the head with this story, instead she allows it to slowly seep into you until it is all consuming.... A journey that I believe should not be missed!

Absolutely recommend to those of you who enjoy a quieter beautifully told family drama that will leave you feeling hopeful....

*** A huge thank you to St. Martin’s Press for my copy of this book ***

I had read de Rosnay’s “Sarah’s Key” and really enjoyed it. The Rain Watcher dives even deeper into family drama. The setting is Paris and a family reunion to celebrate a birthday and an anniversary. The story is largely told from the perspective of the adult son, Linden. The long paragraphs and minute details paint a dense and detailed picture of Paris. As the story begins, the rain is falling heavily on Paris, threatening to ruin the family’s time together. In fact, as Paris is flooding and facing ruin, the family is falling apart. Meanwhile, the story is interrupted by brief flashbacks of a day in the father’s young life, which we gradually learn was the defining moment that shaped his life. By the end, the adult children learn the extent of their father's love from an unexpected source.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advance copy of the ebook in exchange for an honest review.

The Malegarde family has decided to celebrate Paul Malegarde 70 birthday. Paris is in the mist of an emergency. It has been raining for days and the river is starting to overflow. When Paul collapses during dinner the family stays to weather the storm. This book was sad, emotional,a beautifully written novel. This is my second book that I have read of author Tatiana de Rosnay, both of which I have been intrigued by.

The Rain Watcher is a family drama, set in Paris during the flooding of the Seine River. Each family member seems to carry a host of secrets, and just as the river cannot be contained by its banks, these secrets seem to spill out.

I was initially excited to read this book as Tatiana de Rosnay is well regarded as the author of Sarah's Key. However, this book missed the mark for me. Between the stories of the family members, the health issues of a family member, and the flooding of Paris, it became hard to keep together all the threads. And a couple of the threads didn't seem to be resolved at the end of the book.

You may enjoy this book if you enjoy family dramas like The Nest. I ended up giving this book 2 stars because I never fully engaged and found issues with the plot.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book.

4.5 Stars. Wonderful book. Author Tatiana de Rosnay has written a beautiful story. Like many of Rosnay's books the setting is Paris. Beautiful Paris during a catastrophic weather event.

The story is about a family struggling to reconnect. A powerful tell of love, deception, secrets, and loss..

I really enjoyed this book. The story is character driven , at times heartbreaking and consuming.

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin Publishing for the opportunity to read and give an honest review.

THE RAIN WATCHER is the first book I've read by Tatiana de Rosnay and I'm impressed by how the story got under my skin. I watched the movie version of SARAH'S KEY a couple of years ago and it was fabulous. For some time I have wanted to read Tatiana de Rosnay's work, and I am glad to have started with THE RAIN WATCHER.

READ THE REST OF THE REVIEW OVER AT FRESH FICTION: http://freshfiction.com/review.php?id=67117

I resisted this book so much even though I kept hearing great things about it. I think I was put off by experiencing similar miserable rainy weather as in the book whenever I started reading it. However, I am really glad I gave the book a chance. It is so beautifully written with deep characterization of the lives of the family featured. It touched my soul. The author also comprehensively researched about disparate topics like trees and photography and I learned many things from reading it. I have never been to Paris but feel like I virtually traveled there after this novel, as well.

Thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and the author Tatiana de Rosnay for an advanced electronic review copy.

The Rain Watcher is another amazing novel by Tatiana de Rosnay. Linden is a famous photographer who was raised in France by his American mother and French father. Linden lives in San Fransisco and has traveled to Paris for a family reunion with his parents and sister. Linden is greeted in Paris by steady rain and the rising Seine. Determined to enjoy their vacation, Linden and his family refuse to leave Paris against several warnings. When Linden's father suffers a stroke, the family is trapped in Paris under devastating conditions. Linden's father is a renowned arborist and this story has many branches. It is rooted in secrets and revelations. The characters are fascinating and the book is difficult to put down. The author's exploration of nature should not be missed.

This book is about a family that meets up in Paris to celebrate their fathers 70th birthday. As they arrive the city is being flooded by the Siene.because it has been raining for several days with no end in sight. As the story unfolds lots of secrets come to light and many truths are revealed.
This author never disappoints. I loved Sarah's Key and this is another great one.