Book Review: Rain as a Luxury of the Very Rich

 The Rain Artist, by Claire Rudy Foster (Moonstruck Books)

In a dystopic future, the Earth is so polluted that pure water is a luxury enjoyed only by the ultra-rich. Rivers have run dry and the seas have become so heavily saline that whales are extinct. Quadrillionaires throw artificially generated “rain parties,” complete with handmade bespoke umbrellas created for each occasion by Celine Broussard, the last umbrella maker. The front of her workshop is rented by a florist, who seems to be a gentle soul, happy to arrange artificial flowers, but who is actually a far darker, far more dangerous character. And that’s before we learn just how dark and dangerous he really is. As a result of a dynastic power struggle, Celine finds herself framed for the patriarch’s murder. Soon she’s on the run across a devastated landscape, along with her terrifyingly competent tenant and a young woman desperate to terminate an illegal pregnancy.

I loved the gorgeous, sensually evocative prose that drew me into each setting through the direct experiences of the character. I loved even the unlovable characters and how the author portrayed their crimes and shortcomings in a way that allowed me to change how I felt and make up my own mind about them. I loved how the characters changed, finding both courage and fellowship on their flight.

In many ways, The Rain Maker doesn’t fit the usual dystopian-thriller genre. With sureness and skill, the author draws the reader into the world and its inhabitants, beginning with very accessible scenes and progressing, layering subtle details upon details, into a world like and unlike our own. She doesn’t hit us over the head with bizarre elements as she slowly and carefully creates a world in which they are plausible. In this way, the book is generous with its welcome to readers who are familiar with the genre as well as those who are new, naïve.

Gorgeous and unsettling and ultimately filled with hope. Highly recommended.