Did not care for the first section of this book at all, and I never warmed up to the protagonist, who often seemed hell-bent on destroying her own life. But I found the middle (and longest) section of the book to be completely gripping and I really couldn't stop reading until I found out how the situation was resolved. ( )

Did not care for the first section of this book at all, and I never warmed up to the protagonist, who often seemed hell-bent on destroying her own life. But I found the middle (and longest) section of the book to be completely gripping and I really couldn't stop reading until I found out how the situation was resolved. ( )

beautiful language, wounded lives, fabulous evocation of love/hate relationships with alcoholics & the havoc they wreak on family. Spot-on description of the 1960s and 70s: Nixon, Watergate, music, drugs, free love, abortion. The narrative voice perfectly dramatizes the bewilderment of a child watching her parents fall apart. Good for book group.

Lily King is a gifted writer. I like coming-of-age novels, and this one enhances the traditional genre by focusing largely on Daley as an adult daughter of an alcoholic father. I agree with an earlier reviewer that Jonathan is perhaps just a little too patient and forbearing to be true, but I would probably have been disappointed if he had been otherwise. I love the way King respects language: her choice of words, her images, her phrasing are impeccable. Her characters have depth, and they move in and out of Daley's life in a way that reflects how relationships really develop over time. Definitely worth reading! ( )

Divorce is never easy on children. They often find it difficult to split their love two ways. Daley Amory is no exception. At eleven years of age, she watches her mother move on to a happy new relationship, but her father, Gardiner, is bitter and angry. He is also a drunk.
Gardiner's alcoholism has always been a "fact of life" for Daley. He could be huge fun one minute and a raging, malignant fool the next. So when Daley has the opportunity to go away to college, she doesn't hesitate to take it. She excels academically and discovers the stability of a warm and loving relationship with her boyfriend Jonathan. They are on the brink of moving to the West Coast of America where Daley has gained a professorship in anthropology...the pinnacle of her career. When everything looks as if it is going right for them, the spectre of her father looms again when Daley receives the news of his descent into deep depression. His second wife has left him and he has lost the will to live. Against her better judgement, Daley makes a detour to New England to try and pick up the pieces of her father's shattered life, before meeting up with Jonathan at Berkeley.
I found this book truly absorbing. The author manages to convey the desperation and conflict of trying to maintain a bond with an alcoholic parent. Daley wants to do the best she can for Gardiner, but there is only so much one human being can take and the voice of reason in her head urges her to flee and turn her back on her father. In truth, Gardiner seems beyond help.. Her friends and her lover want her to walk away, but the family tie is strong. Daley believes she can help her father to recover and sacrifices her new job and her relationship with Jonathan to stay and care for him. This part of the novel is heart breaking and very well written.
"Father of the Rain" is a very accomplished novel which beautifully illustrates the emotional rollercoaster of living with alcoholism and the strong pull of family duty. Is Gardiner a lost cause? Can Daley succeed in her endeavours? From the first quote at the beginning of the book to the quiet last page I was completely hooked!
This book was made available to me, prior to publication, for an honest review. ( )