A review by mycouscous
The Rain Before it Falls by Jonathan Coe

4.0

Rosamund has just passed away, and her neice finds a series of casettes that were apparently home-recorded. For the most part, Rosamund narrates this story via these tapes. Each chapter is based around a different photograph she is trying to describe for the benefit of a blind girl she long ago lost contact with. The story is propelled forward by the chronology of these photos, uncovering an untold family history of cruelty and tragedy. Coe's use of the descriptions of photographs serves as a technique that provides in-depth and evocative descriptions, successfully creating a sense of atmostphere and place. Well-written and recommended.