I Will Send Rain
by Rae Meadows
I Will Send Rain
is an emotional story of an Oklahoma farm family living through Dust Bowl. The
members of our group enjoyed this novel. Meadow’s pacing brought the reader
into the Dust Bowl slowly. The way Meadow’s develops each character pulls you
into a world where each day is a struggle to survive. I Will Find Rain is gritty and raw. You feel for the characters and
want it to rain so badly.
It is hard to imagine the tough farm life. The Bells scrape the
dust off a pie then eat it which sounds horrible. Also, none of us can imagine
living in a dugout home or going into the cellar with bugs and snakes to
protect ourselves.
The Bells are each suffering in their own way and each tries
to find a way to forget the hardship. We all understand Annie’s desire to feel
feminine and alive again during such a hard time. Her attraction to the Mayor
is a way for her to escape the hopeless feeling on the farm. Samuel does not
know what to do, so he turns to God and decides to build an arc for the flood
that is surely coming. Fred, the eight year old mute boy, is one of our
favorite characters. Fred is wise beyond his years and sees things the other
characters do not.
Birdie is a typical teenager who wants to find her true
love. We all felt sorry for her when her boyfriend Cy moved to California with
his family. We all had interesting stories of what happened to Birdie later in
life. We appreciate the way this story came full circle for Annie and Samuel.
They find their way back to each other because of Birdie’s choice.
The story is wonderfully told through beautiful and stark
prose. Fans of William Faulkner, Carson McCullers, and John Steinbeck will
enjoy the Bell’s story.
