Father of the Rain

Dear Reader-

It's week three of November-Lily King Month. This week, I'm reviewing Ms. King's third book, Father of the Rain. Hope you get a chance to read and enjoy this one!

Happy Reading!

Abby

Genre: Fiction

This is the story of Daley Armory, daughter and sister. We first meet Daley when she is a young teenager and her parents are going through a contentious separation and divorce. The story follows Daley’s very complicated relationship with her alchoholic father who is neglectful and abusive, but also extremely charismatic and sometimes loving. Daley and Gardiner separate and then return to each other when Daley is in her 20’s and about to launch her career in the world of academia. They separate again and return to each other when Daley is a wife and mother. This is a story about the intricacies and ebbs and flows of families and learning that true love shouldn’t be given as a right of birth, but, rather earned.

I think this might be my favorite of King’s books (maybe my favorite ever!). The plot isn’t thick, but very rich. King doesn’t write this book from the perspective of the father, the mother or the brother, but through Daley’s alone, and I think this makes the story even more powerful. I’m not sure why I’m so drawn to this book, in particular. But, I think it’s because King does such an amazing job revealing both the deep pain of rejection by her father that Daley feels and the vast flawed humanity that is her father in equal measure. As children, we want to demonize our parents, but as adults, we understand that our parents come to the table with their own set of luggage, and King does an amazing job straddling both perspectives.

In this book too, King shows her writing chops. Early on, when I was reading a particular part of the book, I went back and reread and then reread and reread it again. I was blown away! So much so, that I wrote my friend, Jen, who introduced me to Lily King’s book, Euphoria, this email:

I'm reading Lily King's Father of the Rain and am just loving it. I'm only reading a little at a time and my late bill for the library will be in the hundreds of dollars by the time it's all said and done, but I can't help it, I just don't want it to end (I should just buy her books!). Anyhow, I'm just loving her writing more and more and then I get to this part, and (as Noam says!)...mind. blown! Thought you'd appreciate this and had to share with you:

So the daughter walks in on her father having sex with his new girlfriend. She describes it, "...My Father naked on his hands and knees on the bed, his shoulders between Mrs. Tabor's spread legs, licking her red vagina like a beast bent over its kill." Such a bold description and so befitting the characters in the story. Wait, then the end of the chapter. Daughter goes home to her mother's house and is really upset with her, ostensibly because of a furniture move, but really because she's devastated over what she saw while at her father's house. She yells at mom and they fight. The chapter ends with mom saying, "I swear, Daley Armory, you are like a wild animal every time you come home from your father's..."

I mean, who does that?! She's brilliant! Love, love, love this author. She's my new favorite!"

Did you get that? The parallel King draws between Daley and her father being beasts? Seriously incredible! This book is special. Truly. This one should absolutely go on your reading list and I hope you love it as much as I do. This is now on my book shelf!