Saturday, March 20, 2010

Review: Rain Village

Rain Village Cover
Rain Village, by Carolyn Turgeon, was my choice for the first ever Spotlight Series on Unbridled Books!  The story piqued my interest immediately.  Tessa Riley is a very small 12-year-old living in a Kansas farming village with her very tall family.  Her parents are very religious and don't think that Tessa or her siblings need to know anything besides how to farm land and sew.  But Tessa is so small that she cannot help with the farming.  So instead, she starts working with the new librarian, the sexy and fascinating Mary Finn.

Mary helps Tessa find herself, discovering a deep core of strength and self-esteem.  Mary teaches Tessa to read and tells her stories about her home, Rain Village, and her stint as an acrobat in the Velazquez circus.  These hours with Mary help Tessa deal with difficult conditions at home, but eventually Tessa must set out on her own.  She does so, escaping to join Mary's former circus troupe and making a home for herself there.  But even after making a new life for herself, she finds she can't quite keep the old life out.

I was absorbed into this book immediately!  The author, Turgeon, is excellent at description.  She makes Mary come alive, giving her flowing hair, a beaming smile, and a scent of cinnamon and cloves.  She shows just how lonely Tessa feels, completely ill-at-ease in her skin and depressed about her future prospects.  She describes circus life and Rain Village in great detail.  And I think she does very well with the "magical realism" aspect, as though strange and wondrous things just happen and do not cause anyone to so much as blink.  I felt so invested in the story and in Mary and Tessa.

But then, about 200 pages in, it just stopped working for me.  Tessa felt a deep bond with Mary and when the two had to separate, she was deeply affected.  But after Tessa made a wonderful, happy life for herself in the circus, she kept claiming that her old life would never leave her.  That she had to have "closure."  Personally, I have very little patience for people (real or fictionalized) who risk a great deal of happiness and trust and family in order to find "closure."  What does that word even mean?  How can you be sure that you'll get it?  What happens when you get it?  Does your life change for the better?

I also thought that, compared to Tessa and Mary, all the other characters seemed a bit one-dimensional.  We know that the circus people are beautiful and vibrant, but we don't really get to know them well enough (except, perhaps, Tessa's mentor Lollie).  Tessa claims to be in love with her husband, but I was unconvinced because I didn't know her husband well.  I didn't feel sympathy for her compulsion at the end of the book (quite rushed in about 50 pages) to find out more about Mary because she seemed to have gone years without mentioning Mary to anyone.  She doesn't like talking about Mary, even to the circus people who knew her well.  And I didn't really feel invested in her decision because I didn't know much about the people around her.

While I think Turgeon used wonderfully evocative language and I enjoyed her use of magical realism, this book ultimately fell flat for me.  I felt disappointed that I was so invested at the beginning, but at the end felt that no real resolution- on any level- had been reached.  I was unsatisfied.

I believe Rain Village is one of Turgeon's earlier works, if not the earliest.  So I plan to keep an eye out for her and see if I like the way she develops stories in later novels.

Note:  The book blurb on the inside flap for this book gives away far too much information in my view!  If you read this book and dislike spoilers, do not read it!!

31 comments:

  1. Didn't she write one called Godmother too? I have heard that one is good. I remember finding both books last year on Amazon and wondering what they would be like. It is a shame it started so well, only to disappoint in the end.

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  2. I sure do not like blurbs like that, blurbs can be tricky

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  3. It's too bad it petered out at the end, but nevertheless the key words in your review are "the new librarian, the sexy and fascinating Mary Finn." I agree with you about the idea of "closure" though - to me it is just a chimera.

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  4. I think closure is one of those things that would be hard to understand for someone who doesn't need it. I'm someone who needs closure, and if I don't have it, it's like things aren't finished yet. I'm restless, antsy, and can't relax. Things around me grow into ridiculous proportions until they can be "done." I do my best NOT to do this, but it's like when I was first married and stuff would be wrong between me and Jase, I'd have to be up arguing/talking until 2 or 3 in the morning until we were "done" before we could sleep, even t hough we had a newborn and were dead tired and all. I wouldn't be able to sleep otherwise. It's a difficult thing and personally I imagine it's a major character flaw, but some of us do have it.

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  5. This is a beautifully written review and well balanced. Based on your post, I would have responded the same way. I love gorgeous descriptive writing and I thoroughly enjoy magical realism. But without strong character development and a compelling story, it wouldn't keep me all the way till the end.

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  6. Vivienne- She did write the story Godmother. I have heard of that book but didn't realize that this was the author. I have heard good things about that book, so maybe it's better!

    Blodeuedd- Yes, sometimes they give up FAR too much information!

    Rhapsody- I loved that the library was sexy, too ;-)

    Amanda- Based on what you say, though, you like to get closure (or at least resolve a situation) immediately. Tessa went years without any closure and then suddenly just up and left everything to get it. I can understand wanting it, certainly- but I guess for me, I'd weigh it against the other things in my life.

    Stephanie- I feel the same way! I don't like investing in a story and then feeling let down.

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  7. Oh! I hate it when I am totally invested in a book and then it lets me down. I can see by your explanations why this happened, but it's always so frustrating when it does. The fact that so many of the characters are one-dimensional and the protagonist struggles so mightily for this elusive "closure" that she so desires would probably have the same effect on me that it did on you. I do like that the book uses magical realism so well though, because so many books seem to struggle with it. Sorry that this book ended up being disappointing for you. It sounds like with just a bit of tweaking that it might not have been too bad.

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  8. What a shame - I'm sorry you were disappointed. Such an appealing cover but I do dislike too much information.

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  9. Thanks for the review. I read Godmother by Carolyn Turgeon last year and didn't really enjoy it, so I'll probably pass on this one.

    Thanks for the warning about spoilers on the flap. I always read the flaps (can't help myself), and I hate it when they give something big away :/

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  10. Zibilee- I like books that do magical realism well, too! I think Salman Rushdie is very good at that.

    Cat- haha, I like the cover, too! I like most of Unbridled's covers.

    Dana- I remember that book getting mixed reviews. I may try it anyway as I used to have a Cinderella obsession. Maybe :-)

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  11. Too bad the whole book didn't live up to the promise of the beginning. I read her Godmother last year and enjoyed it although I knew before picking it up that the ending was very different from the rest of the book so it wasn't a disappointment to turn 360. Maybe that's just her method of writing?

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  12. That sucks when a book turns bad. It was sounding good and I love the cover

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  13. The cover is gorgeous --sorry the story did not live up to your expectations.

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  14. I have to agree, the cover is just beautiful and I think that I would have bought the book on the spot had I not read your review, because I very often buy books if they have beautiful covers. I just can't help it. Thanks for this honest review. I am sorry that the book disappointed you.

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  15. I was not a huge fan of Godmother, the only Turgeon book I've read. I certainly loved parts of it, but it also didn't work as a whole for me. The subject of this novel intrigued me, but I may wait for another one now that I know you had similar misgivings to the ones I had with Godmother.

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  16. I'm so glad Unbridled Books is being featured on the Spotlight Series. I just love their books and it gave me an excuse to read one of the books I'd been wanting to get to.

    I am sorry this one fell flat your you in the end. It sounds like it got off to a great start. I hate it when books do that. I end up feeling cheated in the end.

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  17. I'm sorry to hear it fell flat for you, Aarti :( But I'm glad you thought she at least had some potential, as I have Godmother on my tbr pile :P

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  18. Kristen- Yes, if she writes like that a lot, maybe that's her style.

    Bookmagic & Diane- yes, the cover is gorgeous!

    Andreea- I sometimes buy books like that, too, just because they are so pretty. I am a sucker for a book with one of those vintage covers, especially, at the used bookstores.

    nomadreader- It seems a lot of people have read Godmother! I am still not sure if I want to. I think I heard that in it, the godmother was in love with the prince, and I just can't imagine that!

    Literary Feline- Yay, I'm glad you had fun participating! 31 Hours sounded great in your review.

    Nymeth- Yes, I look forward to seeing what you think of Godmother, for sure, as it seems to get a lot of mixed feelings, too.

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  19. I am very skeptical about going on a search for closure. If you're not satisfied with what you find do you really manage to get it anyway. I feel as if that might be a very American thing. Sometimes you just have to assess a situation, make a choice and move on.

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  20. I will not be reading the blurb. I find that most blurbs I've read lately give away far too much.
    Anyhow, despite the fact that this book fell flat for you, I think the evocative language might do it for me.
    Even though I'm with you - what does closure even mean, anyway?

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  21. I'll definitely keep a look out for this book since I enjoyed reading Godmother. :)

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  22. That sounds very much like what I thought of GODMOTHER- a book that was terrific 7/8 of the way through, only to bomb out. A shame.

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  23. It's a shame this one didn't follow through for you. I really dislike leaving books feeling like things are unresolved. (And isn't that downright ironic in a book about getting 'closure'?)

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  24. Good review! This one does look like a hit-or-miss for me. Though I do feel captivated by its cover and theme. Maybe I should consider giving it a peek!

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  25. Nicole- Ditto. I am not sure that I think it's only an American thing. I think it might be a girl thing!

    brizmus- Yes, I think a lot of blurbs do, too- I am not sure why. It's such a turn-off.

    Melody- I've heard so much about Godmother!

    Marie- Yes, it seems many were disappointed by that book. I would hate to be disappointed right at the end.

    Lana- That IS ironic! You're quite right.

    Aths- Yes, the cover and theme captivated me, too!

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  26. I have never read Turgeon, but your review makes me curious about her work, even though this one fell a little flat for you.

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  27. This book is not about mermaids? Where did I get that idea from...I've heard quite a few people say this felt flat to them and didn't live up to the hype.

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  28. This book is not about mermaids? Where did I get that idea from...I've heard quite a few people say this felt flat to them and didn't live up to the hype.

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  29. Hmmm...I was happy when I saw this review on your blog, as I loved her novel GODMOTHER, but now I'm not so sure. I think I'll skip this one, thanks for the review!

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  30. Anonymous3/26/2010

    I think it must be a fascinating story.

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  31. Sounds interesting, might try it. Thanks!

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