The Rain Before It Falls by Jonathan Coe (2008, Hardcover)

Jonathan Coe has written an elegant piece of literary fiction that spans three generations of a Shropshire, England family. Terminally ill and looking to hasten her impending death, elderly maiden aunt Rosamunde has one thing she must do first: record an oral family history for her cousin Beatrix’s blind and long-estranged grandchild, Imogene. Her legacy to Imogene, who was last seen as a young child 20 years before the novel opens, consists of 4 tapes that narrate the substance and subtext of 20 well-chosen old photographs that Rosamunde believes will validate Imogene’s sense of self and restore her to her place in the family continuum.

This is a quiet novel of kinship, of its bonds and traits, of its mysterious generational parallels and well-kept secrets, and of what goes into making all of us exactly who we are. Because Rosamunde’s taped monologue comprises most of the story, actress Jenny Agutter narrates in one voice. However, she perfectly captures the dying woman’s ferocious loyalty and decency and the powerful emotions vibrating beneath her matter of fact surface. A beautifully written and moving production for adult and sophisticated YA readers.