The Rain

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The Rain reads like a totally crazy but completely realistic inner monologue from a protagonist who is the embodiment of annoying, teenage girls everywhere. I warmed up to Ruby instantly, seeing myself in her at many times during the novel. I know I would have reacted just as she did, and she had so much depth; it was hard not to love her and want to be her best friend. In later adventures of Ruby, she finally decides to go out and open the houses of her neighbors and set their pets free. She does this so she can get them killed later or abandon them. She also releases the prisoners in the police station, something I assumed would have a point but didn't. She tries fake tan, takes all the make up and designer clothing she wants, and promptly loses most of it. She dyes her hair red and eats lots of chocolate. Basically she does what a five year old with no grasp of the situation would do, instead of a fifteen year old. Also, because it was told in an autobiographical way, I think I would have enjoyed it far more if I was a bit younger. The ending was a bit meh for me too. Zuerst dachte ich: Das ist ungewöhnlich und interessant, aber vielleicht gewöhne ich mich ja daran. Dann wollte ich irgendwann nur noch, dass die Protagonistin endlich den Mund hält, weil ich es nicht mehr ausgehalten habe. Ihre verdrehten Gedankengänge plus dieser grausame, Leser unfreundliche Schreibstil. I skimmed the last couple of chapters, so I have a pretty good idea of what happens between the part that I stopped at and the end.

I have never willingly not finished a book before, but this book was so frustrating that I couldn't go on. The weather, and in particular the incessant rain, plays a significant symbolic role. It starts when the characters arrive, and only stops when the tension is broken with the story's conclusion. Breaking out of the typical YA apocalypse mould, I couldn’t put the book down because Bergin has created such a scarily imaginative concept. I couldn’t go out for days without wondering why people were jumping in puddles when there was the chance they could get infected! Es gibt unnötige Absätze, zusammengewürfelte Wortkombinationen, verwörtlichte Geräusche (Bsp. WUUUUUUUMMMMMSSSS oder so etwas) und Schimpfwörter werden mit Schmetterlingszeichnungen ersetzt (das fand ich irgendwie cool, muss ich sagen). Außer dem sehr gelungenen Anfang und dem sehr guten Ende ist ein Hänger im Mittelteil drin. Wir begleiten Ruby (und ärgern uns über sie), allerdings wird die veränderte Welt total gut verbildlicht, wodurch man etwas entschädigt wird. Die Autorin scheut sich nicht verwesende Leichen zu beschreiben, was zur tristen Atmosphäre viel beiträgt. An manchen Stellen sieht man auch, dass die Autorin eigentlich einen sehr flüssigen Schreibstil hat. Die Betonung liegt auf eigentlich.Although the denouement is signalled fairly early on, when Mrs. Davidson observes how Mr. Davidson had experienced great difficulty in getting his South Sea island constituents to recognise sin, the real pleasure lies in enjoying the masterful storytelling. W. Somerset Maugham is, as usual, on top form. It's no surprise that the story has been adapted on numerous occasions into plays and films.

Davidsons are missionaries who have a high opinion of themselves. They look at indigenous people as being barbaric and subject to be reformed and 'civilized.'As if this darn book wasn’t bad enough, just when I was thinking I might be generous and give this book 2.5 stars, we got to the ending. So, did this end with a happily ever after? Did we get some idea that Ruby might be safe? Might go on to live a long and happy life?

Auch einen andereren Nebencharakter, der sich alleine durch die Welt durchschlägt, fand ich sehr interessant. Natürlich wird er für seine Vorsicht und Logik von Ruby erst mal ausgelacht … Dieses Mädchen, mir fehlen die Worte. His parents died early and, after an unhappy boyhood, which he recorded poignantly in Of Human Bondage, Maugham became a qualified physician. But writing was his true vocation. For ten years before his first success, he almost literally starved while pouring out novels and plays. Oh, so I'll be honest here. I totally judged the book by the cover on this one. But could you blame me? It just looks so cool. H2O” is an apocalyptic thriller centering around the premise of deadly rain, and I found it quite enjoyable. For maximum scare factor, be sure to read it during a rainstorm, as I accidentally did.The plot is simple: While stranded waiting for their ship to be released from quarantine, Dr. and Mrs. Macphail must share lodging with the Davidsons, an evangelical missionary couple, who also happen to be the only polite company on the island near Pago-Pago in the South Seas. Things take an unexpected turn when Mr. Davidson takes it upon himself to save the soul of their immediate neighbour, Sadie Thompson. Imagine this: It’s a warm, sunny Bank Holiday (rather unusual for the UK), you’re in a hot tub with the boy of your dreams, and it starts to rain. It’s not, however, normal rain. One drop can, and will, kill you.

Personally I think this is the best book I have read this summer, beating the trilogy "the hunger games" which I would describe as similar in the style of writing, e.g strong female character leading it, with a few traumas thrown in. There are people slating what ruby does in the book, such as her own mini riot, but as a teenager I can safely say this book is extremely relatable. I may not smear myself in make-up but would steal and go crazy if people are dying all around me, and although there are traumas for ruby, there are many bits of good humour in the book. Opening Sentence: If this was a really good story, like the kind you read for fun, it would have such a great beginning. Most of all, I appreciated how he contrasted stereotypical self-righteous and hypocritical Christian behaviors against reason and logic. In addition, his critique of colonialism shows how both Christianity and colonialism are forces used to exploit and oppress others. Rain makes for an excellent reminder of how vitally crucial it is to resist these dangerous forces to prevent the destruction of traditional cultures and people’s lives. Secondly, I wish the ending wasn't so ambiguous. I'm not sure if this is going to be a series either so that definitely adds to the “huh,that's it” factor I experienced. In short, if you love a good natural disaster novel and don’t mind having your heart broken, “H2O” is a wonderful choice for upper middle graders and up.

H20 or The Rain (if you're from Britain) is a book that I've been really looking forward to reading for quite some time. We all need water to survive so the concept was equally terrifying and ingenious. Now take that idea of tainted water and add in a pathogen of some sort that eats you from within and replicates in said water and you have yourself a pretty damn interesting story. I'll start with the things I liked. The story itself was actually fairly good and the pacing was enough to keep me just the right level of interested. I think the panic of the population was captured well and I could definitely imagine people acting in the ways they were acting with all the looting etc. Trying to think of more to say... genre. Και επειδή μ' άρεσε και μ' έκανε να καταλάβω πως υπάρχουν κι άλλα πράματα να διαβάζεις και να αγαπήσεις,, ακόμα και στα φλούφλικα βιβλία, μου αποτυπώθηκε στην συνείδησή μου ώς άξιος ποιοτικός συγγραφέας.