I love de Rosnay's beautiful style of writing. She's so descriptive, and in this book her depiction of Paris are lovely. I found the story and characters to be well written, though I did find it stalled a little towards the middle. Still, it was a very good book that I would highly recommend.

"Why did 'just the four of us' sound both so cozy and ominous?"
Linden Malegarde foreshadows joy, heartbreak and grief as he embarks on a birthday/anniversary trip to Paris. The renowned photographer is summoned to the continent for a celebratory weekend with his parents and only sister. As the Seine rises to historic flood-levels, each member of the Malegarde family confronts haunting, unspoken truths, as complex and intertwined as the family trees which firmly anchor the novel. "Sarah's Key" holds a special place in this reader's heart, and I had high expectations of Ms. de Rosnay's new book. The writing is wonderfully eloquent and lyrical. I imagine any reader who loves Paris and the french countryside will thoroughly enjoy "The Rain Watcher".

Thank you St. Martin's Press, NetGalley & Tatiana de Rosnay for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I love books based in Paris & this one was no exception. Tatiana immediately draws you in with her beautiful writing style of vivid details that felt like you were with Linden Malegarde & his family in Paris! The Malegarde family is there to celebrate Lindens fathers 70th birthday. This is meant to of course be full of love and happy memories. But instead there is a natural disaster, sickness, sadness, surprises, basically just one thing after another that takes you on an emotional journey with this family. I enjoyed this book very much!!!

I have read almost 15% of this book and haven't a clue as to what it's about. Oh yes, there is endless talk about the rising of the Seine and of Linden trees. But how is this all connected into a plot?

A good book always gives you a sense of plot from the beginning. It is the sense of wanting to find out what is going to happen. Here I assume that the rising waters will have impact, but on WHAT? I know this because the title of the book is The Rain Watcher. But at 15% we, the readers don't have a clue, as to how or why this will impact this family or Paris in general and frankly I lost interest in reading more to find out. Because if the rest of the book is as boring as this, I don't want to continue.

My suggestion is that there is so much repetitive and/or unnecessary information that could be simply cut out. I suggest a good editor to go through and "cut to the chase" and get this seemingly plotless book in shape.

I loved "Sarah's Key" and was hoping for the same kind of magic with "The Rain Watcher." Firstly the title seems irrelevant. I don't think anyone in this semi- interesting family was bothering to watch the deluge flooding many parts of Paris. This is the story of a family coming together to celebrate the father's 70th birthday in Paris (they are mostly French), which unfortunately coincides with the worst floods Paris has seen since 1910. The characters all seemed somewhat caricatured; the famous photographer son, the gorgeous American mother, the distant French father who is a world renown tree expert, etc. Way too much freudian daddy issues for the son, although his struggle to accept his homosexuality will resonate with many readers. Then there is a parallel story set in the first person, that describes a first-idyllic, then traumatic childhood event that interrupts the present day narrative. It's a secret until the end and then..... I found it incomprehensible. Was this the father's story? the son's story? As victims or perpetrators? By the end I just didn't care. The descriptions of the city flooding were vivid and harrowing, but overtaken by the family drama that had too many wild coincidental events too many dramatic occurrences, and not enough real unique dialogue between characters.

The Rain Watcher was a beautiful story that was very descriptive, poignant, and sophisticated. Paris was described and written in a way that the reader could visualize the scenes easily. I almost felt the gloom and mood while reading, yet could also envision and appreciate the beauty of the city that lay beyond the rains and flooding. It at times was slow, but I was drawn in to the plot enough that I was eager to continue. The characters were also presented as realistic characters with traits and personalities that were believable and individually unique. I love novels about families and this one definitely did not disappoint.

The pace is too slow for my liking. The characters are not that well developed, and I caught myself rereading some pages because there was so much randomness. A lot of repetition. I just did not enjoy this book and struggled to finish it.

Thank you Netgalley and St Martins Press for this advanced readers copy.

Fractured family relationships,incessant rain in the City of Light. A beautiful atmosphere for this melancholy family drama. The story had too many complications with the main character Linden and the his family. Left me a bit sad. Not the typical story I like to read.

Set against a background of beauty and natural disaster, The Rain Watcher, by Tatiana deRosnay, is the achingly heartbreaking story of a family’s secrets coming to light. Each family member has his or her own secrets. Yet most believe the others have led charmed, problem-free lives. The secrets begin to unfold as Paris is consumed by flood waters.

Linden Malegarde, half American, half French, is a famous photographer whose mother, Lauren, has set up a family gathering in Paris in honor of Linden’s father, Paul’s, 70thbirthday, and of Lauren and Paul’s 40thwedding anniversary. On arrival, Linden immediately recognizes that his father is not well, yet Lauren denies it, insisting everything is fine.

The Rain Watcher is an account of a son confronting mistreatment by his mother, as well as having stumbled upon her secret; and confessing his own secret to his father, who may have known all along. It is an examination of coming to terms with who we really are, and being comfortable in our own skin. It is another revelation of how secrets and prejudices can destroy relationships.

As a public health educator, this grabbed my attention: Lauren catches a cold, and develops pneumonia. When the pneumonia is diagnosed, the narrator states that it’s not that bad, but that it is contagious. Actually, the reverse is true. It is quite serious, and it is NOT contagious.

What Made this Book Reviewer Grumpy?

• The book was a bit heavy on description for my taste, and I found myself skimming over some of it, but that is a matter of personal preference.
• Most issues were resolved, but the ending was extremely abrupt, and left some questions unanswered.
• There were a lot of misused words, but this is common when English is a second language for an author.
• Several times two words were written as one word when they should have been hyphenated.
• In several places, punctuation is missing.

I would rate this book as 3.5 out of 5 stars. The story focuses on the Malegarde family as they come together in Paris to celebrate the patriarchs seventieth birthday. The constant rain and threats of flooding portend the troubles to come and provide the backdrop for a family coming to terms with internal demons. The story navigates between past and present, and focuses mainly on the son Linden. While the storyline of Paris being threatened by a flood is engaging, and the hidden secrets of the family are intriguing, at times the multiple storylines seem to detract rather than add to story.

The Rain Watcher had all the makings of a 4/5 star book - family drama, a great main character, pathetic fallacy, a Paris setting - but that ending? Maybe I'm missing something, but it left me seriously confused. One part of the book just didn't seem necessary to me and took away from the rest. For that reason, I marked it down to 3 stars.

Fortunately, this con didn't take away too much from the many positive aspects of the book. I really enjoyed Paul and Linden's characters. Paul is such a "dad" character, quiet and more comfortable in nature than around people. Linden, a once-bullied and miserable child turned famous photographer, was well-developed and I loved him as the main character. The book is set during a family reunion in Paris as the Seine river threatens to flood, plunging the city into chaos and forcing millions of people to evacuate. This dramatic backdrop was very effective in adding to a sense of urgency to the plot and speeding up the pace of the novel.

A family reunion to celebrate a father’s seventieth birthday and the parents’ wedding anniversary brings together a family whose love for each is part and parcel of this story. Yet they don’t seem to know each other very well, harboring secrets of who they are, holding regrets over mistakes they made, or something they can’t bear to speak about, sad times in their past. This time in Paris, the complicated family relationships slowly to come to light while the relentless rain is flooding Paris. Mostly from Linden’s point of view but interspersed with some reminiscences of the past from his father’s point of view, this is not a very long book. Yet Tatiana de Rosnay slowly reveals to the reader events of their pasts - Linden’s sister Tilia and his father Paul’s and his mother, Lauren and Linden’s that make us understand who these characters are. One couldn’t help but hope that they will come to a better understanding and acceptance of each other. The writing is wonderfully descriptive. I felt drenched in this city, undergoing this storm, and seeped in the family’s demons hovering over them like this rain. This really is a beautiful story about many things - regrets, forgiveness and understanding of each other, of themselves, about marriage, identity, trauma and how tragedy from the past can influence who you are. Beginning and ending with Paul’s love of trees, this is a sad, contemplative and hopeful story. I loved it.

My one complaint is that there are several lines in French at the beginning of a good number of the chapters. I don’t read French so I missed what ever meaning these may have had for the story. It wasn’t like it was a word or two that I easily look it up and I was quite annoyed by this I have to admit . A translation would have been nice. But in spite of what I missed, 4 stars.

I received an advanced copy of this book from St. Martin’s Press through NetGalley.

2.75 stars rounded up to 3.*

When I saw a book by Tatiana de Rosnay while browsing titles on NetGalley I lept at the chance to get a digital ARC. I adored Sarah's Key and A Secret Kept and was so excited to tear into The Rain Watcher that I didn't read any advance reviews and didn't even bother with the blurb. I'm wondering if I would have enjoyed it more if I had had an inkling of what the premise of the novel was.

The Rain Watcher is primarily the story of Linden Malegarde, a world-renowned Franco-American photographer who returns from the US to his native France for a family weekend in Paris to celebrate his father's 70th birthday. Linden's relationships with his sister, Tilia, his mother, Lauren, and his father, Paul are paramount to the story. The timing of the family reunion couldn't be worse- Paris is inundated by the worst rain & flooding in over 100 years, Paul suffers a stroke and Lauren falls ill with pneumonia.

The story flashes back periodically to a child bearing witness to his governesses rape, which doesn't track logically with any part of the story and only confused me.

The backstory of Paul's expertise as an arborist is interesting, but somehow feels disconnected from Linden's storyline.

What rubbed me wrong, and just left me with a bad taste in my mouth was Ms. DeRosnay's decision to tiptoe, almost cheekily, around Linden's homosexuality at the opening of the book. Intentionally avoiding any gender specific pronouns when referring to Sascha (Linden's fiancé) didn't flow well and only made the lack of those pronouns more pronounced. I felt like she was trying to shock the audience, but it's 2018. I found the eventual revelation unsatisfying and trite. I liked Linden and felt that he and the rest of his family were interesting and engaging. But I felt like the story just ended. Overall I was underwhelmed by this one.

*with thanks to NetGalley for the digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. It moved along at a fast pace, and I read it all in one afternoon.

The novel involves a complex family drama, set in Paris as the Seine floods the city. The writing was crisp. The plot was well developed. The locations in the books almost serve as additional characters. If you like intelligent literary novels this is highly recommended. Also highly recommended to those who love Paris.

Great book until the ending! I loved it all the way through...the people, the mystery, the story development, everything until the “no ending” end. A rewrite of the conclusion would be the only saving factor! Disappointed to say the least.

Genre: Historical and General Fiction
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Pub. Date: October 23, 2018

To begin with, let me tell you that the real characters in this family saga are not the characters, but rather Paris itself and the weather. I read and enjoyed Tatiana de Rosnay’s previous historical novel “Sarah’s Key” which also takes place in Paris but during WWII. I found her soon to be published novel, “The Rain Watcher” less enjoyable. The story mostly takes place in the present. The author’s descriptions of the city in natural crisis will take your breath away. Unfortunately, the rest of the plot will not.

In this tearjerker, you will meet a family whose members are filled with pent-up tensions along with secrets (sounds like most families to me). The adult daughter and son are joining their parents in Paris for their dad’s 70th birthday. Both offspring suffer from Post Traumatic Stress for different reasons. The son is gay and was bullied as a child. At almost 40, he still has not come out to his dad. The daughter as a teen was in a car accident where she was the sole survivor. The mother has her own secrets. The son is a well known photographer. The story is narrated in the first person through his photographer’s lens—good descriptive writing. In a nutshell, the dad has a stroke and the mother gets pneumonia. Somehow, while taking care of their parents, they all heal as a family. I didn’t expect to find such a worn out cliché from this talented author. If only it is this easy in real life. Not even one shrink makes it into the plot filled with dysfunctional characters.

Now here is the interesting part of the novel and why the book can be marketed as historical fiction: In between the soap opera, we learn about the evocation of Paris in 1910 when the actual Seine River flooded. The powerful event is well researched and horrifying. In “Rain” we read a fictional story that's set in midst of a real disaster. The father is now in the hospital. He cannot communicate but is aware of what is happening as the evacuation begins. This is the best writing in the book. The water floods the first floor of the hospital and panic sets in. The City of Lights is now without electric light. You will feel the father’s terror as he is moved in a coffin-like sealed casing. Think of the movie, “The Poseidon Adventure” but in a building filled with sick, helpless people. Unfortunately, this chapter is not enough to save the novel, with its ceaseless rain, which gives the whole book a dreary feel. Although much happens, it is still a slow read. As I said, all in all, this is a story about Parisian weather and not much else.

Quiet study of a family and each individual history with one another. Linden is the narrator, and most everything is viewed through his eyes. It is his parents who are celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary and fathers 70th birthday. Mother planned this six months in advance and only Linden and his sister are invited, no spouses. The rain has been falling and the Seine is beginning to rise when they all arrive. Illness happens, and flooding begins, and they are stuck at the hotel and hospital. The story is told because of these events all happening at the same time, bringing back memories and encouraging conversations within the family members. No cliffhanger, or action, just lovely storytelling quietly exploring family relationships.
I received a free ebook from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.

Thanks to NetGalley for an advance copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review. I typically don't write overly negative reviews however it is called for here. Having read Sarah's Key by this author I had high hopes for this book as well. The setting in Paris during an amazing and catastrophic flood held promise but the story didn't deliver. The author used a nauseating amount of description, far more then necessary and it didn't add to the story. There were flashbacks which I typically don't mind but you weren't able to tell if they were about the father or his son. There was a secret mentioned off and on during the story however the big reveal was anticlimactic. The ending of the story was awful and very abrupt.
I won't be reading this author again.

THE RAIN WATCHER

This is a beautiful and tender novel. As a family reunite in Paris to celebrate the father's 70th birthday, a natural disaster and family illness set the stage for emotions to run high.

Throughout the days of unrelenting rain, as Paris floods, we discover the details and secrets of each member of the family.

What I found so enjoyable about this book were the fantastic descriptions and details. I felt like I was right down in the midst of the rain and oppressiveness, in contrast with all the beauty of Paris. I also liked the structure of this book, the way the characters are revealed by bits and pieces throughout the current stormy weather. I loved the depth of feeling.

I think that this is a book that is best read slowly in order to enjoy the fine details and to appreciate the emotional journey. There is a good deal of serious sadness here, but it is also uplifting and real. It is just beautiful.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Tatiana de Rosnay, and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read and review this book.

The Malegarde family was composed of the mother, Lauren, the father Paul, the daughter Tilia and the son Linden. Their family home was in a dying rural town in France that had once been prosperous. Paul and Lauren still lived in that town but Tilia and Linden had moved on.

Now it was Paul’s 70th birthday and the couple’s 40th wedding anniversary. So Lauren invited the two children to celebrate with their parents for a weekend in Paris. However Linden and Tilia were not allowed to bring their own families. Paul was a renowned arborist. Lauren was a beautiful American who fell in love with Paul as a teen when she visited France. Tilia was the wife of an older alcoholic art dealer, had one child and lived in London. Linden was a world class photographer who lived in San Francisco with his male lover.

During the celebratory dinner, Paul experienced a serious stroke and was rushed to a local Paris hospital. He lay in the hospital in serious condition for several days. Unfortunately this all took place during a disastrous flood that raised the level of the Seine and wreaked havoc on Paris and the suburbs along the Seine.

Each of the family members had a dark secret. During the course of the book, those secrets were revealed. A lot of the story centers on Linden, the narrator, and his struggles with life as a gay teen in a society that treated gays badly.

I love Paris and was familiar with many of the locations in the book. However I found that the descriptions of the floods and their aftermath to be very depressing and overdone. I found myself skipping large sections of the story where the flood’s damage was discussed in detail. I was more Interested in the colorful family and their problems. However the ending of the story was abrupt and I was left wondering what had happened.