Having previously read Sarah‘s Key I was looking forward to this next novel set in Paris. The tone was different as the POV was the 37-year-old son who was coming to terms with the relationship he had with each of his parents. The backdrop of a Paris in crisis as the Seine reaches epic flood levels only heightened the ominous feeling of peril that the characters were facing with the patriarch’s health crisis.

Oh my goodness! I don’t know what to think! I want to write a review about this book while everything is sharp in my mind; while at the same time, I want to just go sit and think about it for a bit. This book is so very different from the author’s very popular novel “Sarah’s Key”. It’s as different as Elizabeth Gilbert’s first two novels—of which I also loved both. Or as different as JK Rowling’s HP series and “Casual Vacancy”. What is the same and obvious in both of de Rosnay’s novels is her command of words with the ability to enable the reader to feel the characters’ souls. Wow! I need to think for a bit.

I can’t stop thinking about this book. I’ve just raised my rating from 4 to 5 stars. It’s genius!

Thank you, Ms de Rosnay, St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC free of charge.

The Rain Watcher by Tatiana de Rosnay
As I loved Sarah’s Key by the same author, I was excited to get this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Unfortunately this book was a great disappointment for me. A family gathers in Paris for the father’s Paul’s 70 th birthday and Paul’s and his wife’s wedding anniversary. They live in France, about 6 hours away from Paris. Their son, Linden comes from San Francisco, their daughter, Tilia with her daughter from London. While in Paris, the Seine is rising to historically high proportions, causing flooding and a total disruption of life, without electricity, transportation, food availability, etc. Paul has a stroke during the birthday dinner and is hospitalized. This is the whole premise of the book, how the family copes with both the flood and illness, how they relate to each other, etc. There is also back flash’s giving the reader background information on the protagonists.
There is another totally different story line about Suzanne, which I couldn’t understand at all. I would love someone to explain it to me. The story is told from Linden’s point of view, and he is the only character I could sympathize with. Overall, disappointing, can’t give it more than 2 stars.
Thanks NetGalley, St Martin’s press, and Tatiana de Rosnay for the advanced copy.

Set in Paris during a stunning natural disaster “The Rain Watcher is a drama that slowly unfolds the Malegarde’s family secrets. Paul and Lauren Malegarde are celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary and Paul 70th birthday with their two adult children but unfortunately the reunion doesn’t go as planned. The streets of Paris are waterlogged and the Seine is still rising at a rapid pace amongst the chaos sickness is at the family door…..

The atmosphere in Paris is dark: electricity is out, it is cold: no one has heat and everything is wet: water is still rising and flooding basements: one catastrophe after the other is at everyone’s door. While everything is going haywire in the city of lights, Linden, the Malegarde youngest son analyses and critics his relationships with each member of his family in a very moving tone. His narration is the heart of this story.

This is a story of love and redemption where everyone has withheld something. Secrets… sounds intriguing but what a letdown, as it moves along in an snail pace, the story soon goes in random directions and becomes repetitive. There are a lot of dots to connect but don’t try to do so, you will be questioning yourself wondering if you missed a point... Most of the book is about the flood but I failed to match this with the family saga. Was this story about the hardship of the flood or the family reunion gone badly?

Finally, this family with a dysfunctional background slowly reveals their secrets: memories trigger a deluge of emotions in its members….and bonds finally tightens but is it too late…..

More thoughts:

Although the writing is fluid and all the descriptions of Paris in the rain are wonderful, unfortunately, despite Ms. De Rosnay great writing skills and beautiful descriptions, I never really got into this book; I found it long and devoid of suspense. The story is bland, the characters without consistency, I was bored and had trouble finishing the book.... in short, a colorless novel, odorless and tasteless….Not Ms. De Rosnay best….

Really intense story. Family gathering in Paris.. many past stories come together with the story of a massive flood in Paris. Great read!

The Rain Watcher by Tatiana de Rosnay is anything but dreary despite the never ending rain and flooding that descend upon Paris just as the Malegarde family arrives for a family celebration. Disaster strikes the family not only with the weather conditions and flooding but also with the health of the parents.
There were some endless details about the rain and flooding, but these descriptions weren’t as distracting as the constant references to Paris landmarks, streets, and neighborhoods—all in French. I might have had a bit more patience with these details if I had a bit more familiarity with the setting; sadly, I do not. I got to where I did a bit of skimming when places (in French) were included.
The tense story that develops between Linden (the narrator), his sister Tilia, and their parents Lauren and Paul kept me turning the pages and slogging through the flooded Paris setting to see if/how these alienated characters would reconcile.
Some unfinished or unnecessary plot lines kept me from giving The Rain Watcher more stars: the mother’s alleged affair with a former lover and Suzette, Linden’s childhood caretaker. In fact, the reason for Linden’s trip to his parents’ home from Paris at his father’s request left me with more questions than closure. I’m still not sure of the meaning as Linden’s discovery doesn’t seem to be fully revealed.
Thank you to NetGallt for the digital ARC.

I wanted to love this book because I love de Rosnay but I wasn't satisfied in the end. Linden the main character who is telling the story, I felt was so bottled up in his own life that he didn't take the time to talk with him father or really be involved with his family.
The ending I didn't really understand. I felt we didn't get enough information as to what was in the box, what had happened. I believe it is part of his father Paul's story of why he loved trees so much but I may need to read it through again to know for sure.
A good story line, but it took a long time to get where it was going.

Thank you for the free ARC. I always like de Rosnay's books and this one did not disappoint. In short, a family reunion leads to new revelations in flooded Paris.

Like so many others, I loved Sarah’s Key and have read all of the subsequent Tatiana de Rosnay books in hopes that they would measure up to that amazing novel. None have, including this one. I was so disappointed with The Rain Watcher that it might well be the last of hers that I read. I hardly know where to begin. The descriptions of the flood in Paris gave an atmosphere of the world closing in on the characters and was really well done except that it went into far too much detail, and with far too much repetition, of the streets, buildings and areas of Paris that for those of us not familiar with the city, just seemed to be LOT of white noise and I ended up skimming those pieces. The characters themselves seemed to trudge through their lives, going over and over the same themes. By the time any of them opened up about their secrets, I had lost interest. I kept on, however, knowing that a surprising resolution might be lurking around the next page. When I got to the end, however, I felt totally let down. Neither of the story lines (there are two) felt fully resolved.

I want to thank NetGallery, the publisher and the author for allowing me to have this ARC to read and review.

First off I absolutely love the cover so two thumbs way, way up for that! In this perilous situation set in Paris, you get to see a family fight to survive the impending rain, and trying to over come the father family having a stroke as he is hospitalized. This story is mostly told through the eyes of the family as they watch life happen around them and you see how they do .don;t adjust accordingly. There really wasn't much action to the book per-say, as it was more character driven. This book envelops many layers of the family, and slowly you see each one pulled back as long kept secrets come to light as well as many buried emotions. This was a wonderful afternoon read and i immensely enjoyed it! 3.5 stars!

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for sending me this electronic copy in exchange for an honest review. #TheRainWatcher #NetGalley

The flooding of Paris early in 2018 served as a backdrop for this story about a family reuniting to celebrate the father's birthday. The tension of the constant rain and the concern about being able to maneuver around the city was ever-present. The story of LInden's complicated relationship with his parents unfolded layer by layer and I never lost interest in it. The characters of Linden's sister and niece were developed well and they were equally as interesting. The author clearly knows Paris well and the descriptions of the locations are wonderful.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s for allowing me to read The Rain Watcher, by Tatiana de Rosnay. This a beautiful book about love, family conflict and resolution, tragedy, and healing. When world famous photographer, Linden Malegarde, travels to Paris for a family celebration, little does he know that his life, as well as everyone in his family, will be changed forever. Paris is suffering the worst rain in history and streets are flooding. The Malegarde family is there to stay while his mother and father are both taken ill. Stories are shared and family bonds are tightened. This is a beautifully descriptive book, leaving the reader with many insights into living your best life and trusting the people you love.

I loved SARAH"S KEY so I was really excited to see THE RAIN WATCHER. The writing, not surprisingly, is beautiful - so delicate and careful and lovely. The characters are very well-drawn. The plot--well, I confess it gets off to a little bit of a slow start. Just as I was beginning to worry that we as readers would hear more about the rain and potential flooding and not much else, the story did begin to pick up in a very real way. Overall, I really enjoyed this elegant story and the setting and characters will stay with me.

There are many things I enjoyed about this novel...
....I’m absolutely glad I read it. I definitely recommend it. TRUTH IS I LIKED IT A LOT.....( gorgeous writing and vivid descriptive experiences - a very interesting story - with characters to cozy up with and become intimate rather quickly).

There are some problems however:
.....incomplete tale-add-ins....stories got dropped off. Some never got developed-barley off the ground- or they interrupted the flow of the greater issues pressing.
..... At around the 80% mark — I didn’t feel it was the right place to introduce a new character and lead-in- side- story. This could be my personal preference. I’m not a fan of bringing in new characters too close to the end of a novel unless there is a very clear distinct reason to do so .....which ties into the beginning of the book.
......’Possibly’ too many themes fighting for center stage: yet... I liked it anyway.
1- Trees and all that they teach us...2- The Seine River flooding Paris...3- The family Reunion....getting the scoop on each person and how they each relate to each other: ....communication - forgiveness - embracing each other - love.


Flaws included.......I REALLY LIKED THIS BOOK .....pimples - cellulite- gray hairs and all! Did I want to change a few things - a couple!
BUT....I am still basking in the afterglow of having read it!!!!! Tatiana de Rosnay is a great storyteller. The main characters are extremely well developed. Sometimes there is nothing better than getting a great compassionate take on the characters alone.

It was only last year ....when a magazine article came out saying “France, insurers fear a major flood of the Seine”. Although the rising water was not comparable of 1910... there was extensive damage with over 19,000 houses without electricity, and 4000 evacuees. That was the REAL NEWS....
So.... Tatiana de Rosnay setting her novel in the heart of waterlogged streets - the river rising much more rapidly than normal — made for a very scary possible fascinating story.

A family reunion was planned many months before any concern of floods in Paris.
Paul and Lauren were celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary.....and it would be Paul’s 70th birthday.
Lauren planned the gathering. She only wanted their two adult children to attend ( not their partners or husbands)...
Talia, artist, ....oldest sibling, in her 30’s, lived in London with her 2nd husband, Colin Favell. ( he was often intoxicated)
Paul, ‘TreeMan’, and Lauren, social knockout beauty- a little self-absorbed , lived in Venozan, near Sevral, in Drome valley, France....
Linden Malegarde, famous photographer, lived in San Francisco’s with his partner Sasha Lord. (loves opera - cooking - works for a startup)

Other characters:
Candace —- Linden’s aunt. Lauren’s sister
Mistral —-Daughter of Talia
Oriel —friend/ photographer of Linden - lives in France
Hadrien- pass lover
There are a few other characters also — and a strength in Tatiana’s writing is we feel we know them all pretty well.

Everyone has withheld something from one another....
And the reunion doesn’t go as planned. There is sickness - pneumonia and a stroke- personality differences between each family member -and everyone seems rather exhausted simply by the conditions of Paris in itself. The atmosphere is not a happy festive place .... with restaurants, galleries, and theaters, etc all dwindling down to almost nothing.

For the majority of the novel Linden is the narrator. He’s a beautiful- compassionate man. I LIKED HIM AS THE NARRATOR! The ‘inserted’ narrator was predictable from the start for me....( except 1 part of it)....
We watch Linden analyze and critique his relationships with each family member in the present and a little from the past - especially wondering why he had such a hard time talking with his dad.
His dad loved trees passionately ( and David Bowie music), in the same way Linden did photography....so they share having a deep passion in common.


One night - Linden was with Oriel part of the helping team - out on a motor boat - with search lights trying to help anyone who needed it. It was dark - midnight ...
“The moon radiates in a freezing blue-black sky, illuminating the swollen watercourse. There is a higher spot at the end of rue Cognacq-Jay, just before the bridge, and they head there. As a step out of the boat, icy waters shoots up to their shins. They wade through it, teeth clenched. The place is completely deserted. The Seine is now drenching the Zouave’s shoulders. The bridge has been entirely closed off by metal barriers and it seems to be poised on top of the river”.

The atmosphere in Paris is dark - cold - wet - filthy -
Hospitals have to move patients- streets smell - PEOPLE HAVE BEEN AFFECTED....
Can you imagine? Your family plans a celebration weekend together — it’s been a long time since THE FOUR OF YOU have been together—
Welcome to catastrophe after catastrophe!!!

“When nature got angry, there was nothing a man could do about it. Nothing at all”.

4.5 Stars

Thank You St. Martin’s Press, Netgalley, and Tatiana de Rosnay

I really wanted to like this book. I usually like the author's style and attention to detail but I could not get into it. I had trouble identifying with the characters and even the ending felt contrived and sudden.

This is an excellent book in many ways. It certainly shows the supremacy of nature particularly with water.
The city of Paris tries unsuccessfully to cope with a constant torrential rain threatening the overflowing of the Seine River.
A mother, father, daughter and son trying to reunite after years of estrangement must struggle with the catastrophe as the father becomes suddenly and seriously ill. He is in need of medical assistance.
There are wonderful descriptions of the flood damage and the people victimized yet trying to deal with the disaster.
There are however, in this novel many distractions. The author goes into too many memories of earlier days and it becomes interfering with the flow of the story which is interesting and suspenseful.

I read Sarah’s Key a year ago and absolutely loved it, so I was very excited to receive a free copy of The Rain Watcher expecting to be wowed one more time. That was not the case.
I have to say when I read the last paragraph, my first thought was “you have got to be kidding me.” I have never read a book that ended so abruptly that left so many questions unanswered. Unfortunately I was never drawn in to care enough about the characters to even read a sequel if there is going to be one.
I struggled with this book for quite a while, and seriously thought about not finishing it, but I had faith in the author from Sarah’s Key that it would take off and we would find a direction, that didn’t happen. This story is mostly about Linden and his relationship with his parents, his aunt Candace, his sister and his male lover. We follow his sleepless nights as he deals with his father’s illness and he walks the streets of Paris re-living when he was younger. I found several things really odd, for one, Linden did not call his parents by mom or dad until the very end, he called them by Lauren and Paul. His sister was struggling just about as much as Linden is, due to a tragic car accident where she was the only survivor. Linden’s relationship with his niece was probably the best part of the book. This was just not my kind of book. 2**’s.
I thank Net Galley and St. Martin’s Press for allowing me to receive a free copy for my honest review. I wish I could do a little better than 2**’s but can’t.

When I received an ARC of The Rain Watcher I was very excited because I loved Sarah’s Key, a previous book by this author. This book is not at the same level as far as I am concerned. There was not one character to whom I could relate. I read to enjoy a story, not to try to understand the symbolism. The plot was slow-moving but the ending was abrupt. I felt I was missing chapters.

I wanted to love The Rain Watcher as much as I felt for Sarah's Key. Not so much.

The story starts off with the family meeting "just the family" per the dictator mom. And rain. Rain every day, flooding, disaster occurring. Apparently the family was completely clueless about the storm & continues to be throughout. Immediately something is "off" with the dad, who winds up in the hospital. Mom suddenly ends up with pneumonia, sister can't deal with the thought of the hospital, so it is up to Linden, the son to save the day. And so the story goes...on and on.

It just didn't do it for me. The ending was abrupt. I wish so many things about it were different.

Thank you to NetGalley & St Martin's Press for the preread of The Rain Watcher in exchange for an honest review.

De Rosnay once again delivers a novel rich with insight into family dynamics, set against a backdrop of the world's most fascinating city.