Rain: A Strange Tale of Girl's Journey to the Right Thing After Nails Rain from the Sky
Rain By Joe Hill
Finally I am coming to the end of Joe Hill’s short story anthology Strange Weather. This one’s been a mix bag of quality and tones. One has been depressing. Another has been frightening and unsettling. The most recent one has been light hearted and charming. So it’s anybody’s guess what this last story is. But I just read it and here is my review of Rain by Joe Hill.
So what is it about? It begins when our main character Honeysuckle Speck. She is in love and her girlfriend has finally agreed to move in with her. Yolanda, her girlfriend is hitching ride with her mother and when they arrive, Honeysuckle is happy as can be. But then a storm begins and heavy rain falls. Only this is not a normal storm. Glass like long slender crystals fall from the sky. The blades rain hell on the town slaughtering cars, weaker structures and anything living. Yolanda and her mother fail to get out of the rain as Honeysuckle saves a little boy she often babysits. The death of her girlfriend and her mother is heartbreaking and when the storm ends she decides to travel through the ravaged city to speak to Yolanda’s father to tell him what happened. In her travels, she runs into end of the world cultists, escaped convicts, and murderers. It’s a strange odyssey.
The good? The story is so simple and works so well from its simplicity. It’s so odd, yet has this this charm about it that works so well. Its fun, its exciting, and a little scary. Also Honeysuckle is a very likable character. She seems so grounded and real. And unlike most gay characters I’ve seen in novels, she is not defined by her sexuality. She is a strong likable character who happens to be gay. Which is a relief. Other than one other novel, everything I read with a gay character in the cast, the focus on that character involves only human rights struggles, or gay sex, like that is all gay people talk and think about, even if the world is ending! There will be life and death matters at hand, and the character will be completely defined by one or both of those traits with no personality whatsoever. So I am thankful Joe Hill is smart enough to make her a developed character. There needs to be more fleshed out characters like this in books, because I am tired of the trend I have seen in most other novels concerning gay characters. It's just a stereotype I feel brings the quality of novels and short stories down by making these types of characters obnoxious or annoying.
The bad? Not much to say. The story is well written. The tale is so odd, but I guess it could have spent more time on the crazy cultist and what not. But since that pacing was so good, it could easily be overlooked.
Overall, this is an imaginative weaved tale and its a journey worth taking. Honeysuckle is a unique engaging character. The rain is horrifying in all the right ways. And this story is just fun. I recommend it to everyone.
4 smoothies out of Four.
Overall Rating: A Strange Tale of Girls Journey to the Right Thing after Nails Rain from the Sky.
