Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
10th out of 69 books
—
16 voters
Father of the Rain
by
Lily King (Goodreads Author)
Prize-winning author Lily King’s masterful new novel spans three decades of a volatile relationship between a charismatic, alcoholic father and the daughter who loves him.
Gardiner Amory is a New England WASP who's beginning to feel the cracks in his empire. Nixon is being impeached, his wife is leaving him, and his worldview is rapidly becoming outdated. His daughter, Dale...more
Gardiner Amory is a New England WASP who's beginning to feel the cracks in his empire. Nixon is being impeached, his wife is leaving him, and his worldview is rapidly becoming outdated. His daughter, Dale...more
Hardcover, 384 pages
Published
July 6th 2010
by Atlantic Monthly Press
(first published July 1st 2010)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
3,000)
It's always good to see Maine authors receive mainstream attention and when Lily King's Father of the Rain was featured as an Oprah Book Club choice for summer reading in 2010 I knew it had to be special; if you're thinking, "Is she related to Stephen King?" — no; there are other authors in Maine besides him.
Father of the Rain carries us through Daley Armory's life starting at age 11 when her parents tumutulous marriage dissolves and young Daley must share time between the two. The book is split...more
Father of the Rain carries us through Daley Armory's life starting at age 11 when her parents tumutulous marriage dissolves and young Daley must share time between the two. The book is split...more
This is a story that takes you deep inside the scars of being raised by an alcoholic father. We watch this young girl, Daley, blossom and move from her dysfunctional blended family clumsily into adulthood and romantic entanglements. There aren't many books that can bring a reader to tears (at least, not this reader) but "Father of the Rain" did just that. If anyone can relate to any parts of Daley's story they will also be moved to tears by book's end, I'm sure of it. King's descriptions of Dale...more
I really liked this novel about a dysfunctional family. I thought a bit about ‘The Man Who Loved Children’ (this book focuses on a daughter’s story – mainly in connection with her father, who amongst other things, reads extracts from Penthouse to his barely pubescent daughter, Daley) and a bit about other family narratives. Children are extraordinarily resilient but there is always damage.
The following is from an interview with the author.
“One of the rave reviews (and there are many, many, many...more
The following is from an interview with the author.
“One of the rave reviews (and there are many, many, many...more
i liked this book. it is written from the perspective of a woman at three points in her life: childhood, just after grad school, and about ten years after that. the author does a good job in the childhood part of restricting the view of the world to what is understood by the girl. the reader gets less of a comprehensive picture of the girl's life than a series of moments deeply affecting the girl - so we catch fragmentary glimpses of the girl's wealthy boston suburban existence in the 1970's. he...more
I enjoyed this book and, again, found it to be one that made me excited to pick it up where I left off and continue to see what happened in Daley's life. I appreciated her struggles with her relationships with her parents after the divorce and her extreme challenges with her father and his alcoholism. While I thought the political messages that sprouted up occasionally were a bit much, I did view them as another example of how we can choose and believe things differently than our parents and fam...more
This is an “adult” book, Lily King sets her sharply insightful family drama in an upper-middle-class suburb where she traces a complex and explosive father-daughter relationship from the 1970s to the present day. The book begins when eleven-year-old Daley’s parents separate and she is thrust into a chaotic adult world of competition, indulgence, and manipulation. (Because her father immediately remarries a neighbor with her own children). Unable to place her allegiance, (which parent to choose)...more
I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. "Father of the Rain" is a story about a troubled father-daughter relationship. The book is told in three parts that capture three periods in their lives: (1) around the time of the parents' divorce, when the girl is 11 years old, (2) when the father is going through a particularly difficult period when he is 60 and she is 29, and (3) many years later. Like other reviewers and critics, I thought the strongest section was the first section. I am not particularly "t...more
view 2 comments
This portrait of a broken family, narrated by the daughter, is compelling and beautifully written. The author's decision to devote the first section of the book to "Daley's" perspective as an eleven-year-old is very smart: the hurts and indignities haven't been faded by time, and readers will feel an abiding compassion for Daley that will carry them through the later sections--otherwise, they might be exasperated by the adult Daley.
Speaking of exasperation, I have to admit that I felt a little o...more
Speaking of exasperation, I have to admit that I felt a little o...more
2 likes · like · see review
It is an irony that the most challenging the person is to deal with, the more attention and affection they receive. Daley's relationship with her father, presented here in three chunks each representing a pivotal time in their lives, proves this out. Daley tells the story from the perspective of a child of 11, a woman of almost 30, and finishes 15 years after that. The Amors of Ashing Massachusetts are the kind of Brahmin family that have had their way for generations, and due to their charm and...more
Lily King traces the story of Daley Amory in three parts. The first part tells Daley's parents divorce from her 11-year old perspective. She loves her father and her mother and doesn't understand either their break up or their problems. After earning her PhD, Daley makes a short visit home and realizes the depths of her father's issues in life. Most stories stop here, after a character makes a difficult choice. But King continues the novel into a third part, ending with Daley looking back on her...more
Father of the Rain
by Lily King
Lily King has written two previous novels which won praise and awards. In "Father of the Rain" King she handles themes of father/daughter relationship , dysfunctional family, alcoholism and more with a real understanding of the psychological and social implications and with believable characters. Daley is an eleven year old who has to deal with enormous pressures, from both of her parents. Her father Gardiner Amory is an out of control Harvard educated alcoholic who...more
by Lily King
Lily King has written two previous novels which won praise and awards. In "Father of the Rain" King she handles themes of father/daughter relationship , dysfunctional family, alcoholism and more with a real understanding of the psychological and social implications and with believable characters. Daley is an eleven year old who has to deal with enormous pressures, from both of her parents. Her father Gardiner Amory is an out of control Harvard educated alcoholic who...more
Years ago, I sent out a birthday invitation with the theme, “It’s never too late to have a happy childhood.” Funny – or so I thought.
But for Daley Amory, the main character of Lily King’s poignant and at times heartbreaking Father of the Rain, those words are anything but funny. We meet her as an 11-year-old, torn between the liberal and do-good world of her mother and the conservative, erratic, liquor-soaked world of her charismatic and arrogant father. A WASP of the first-degree – rich, Harva...more
But for Daley Amory, the main character of Lily King’s poignant and at times heartbreaking Father of the Rain, those words are anything but funny. We meet her as an 11-year-old, torn between the liberal and do-good world of her mother and the conservative, erratic, liquor-soaked world of her charismatic and arrogant father. A WASP of the first-degree – rich, Harva...more
What a phenomenal book this was. I couldn't put it down--yet didn't want it to end, so I got slower towards the end. I still read it in two days though.
The description will make you not want to read it, because it sounds so sad. And it IS sad, but it doesn't feel that way while you're reading it (more so at the end, but still not excessively so). And it's worth it anyway. Essentially, this is the story of a young girl's relationship with her alcoholic father throughout the course of her life, st...more
The description will make you not want to read it, because it sounds so sad. And it IS sad, but it doesn't feel that way while you're reading it (more so at the end, but still not excessively so). And it's worth it anyway. Essentially, this is the story of a young girl's relationship with her alcoholic father throughout the course of her life, st...more
Lily King was one of my high school English teachers. Her prose is 70% description, 30% plot, but lots of dense character development along the way.
I like so far the perspective of a young teenager--it's a unique voice. Usually I don't like "books about rich white couples' marriages falling apart" the addition of Daley's voice is welcome.
Once we transition to Daley at 29, I liked her voice less. It veered towards being contrite/stereotypical.
In the end I liked it, though towards the middle I di...more
I like so far the perspective of a young teenager--it's a unique voice. Usually I don't like "books about rich white couples' marriages falling apart" the addition of Daley's voice is welcome.
Once we transition to Daley at 29, I liked her voice less. It veered towards being contrite/stereotypical.
In the end I liked it, though towards the middle I di...more
Lily King's FATHER OF THE RAIN should be on my top ten fiction list that I published too early this year. So I will put it into my top ten for 2011, which already features Caroline Leavitt's PICTURES OF YOU.
FATHER OF THE RAIN brought out a series of emotions in me, from laughter to terror and tears. Daley narrates the story of her mixed-up family life, a life which (like any childhood) affects her adult relationships.
She loves her impetuous, socially conscious mother. She loves her gallant-looki...more
FATHER OF THE RAIN brought out a series of emotions in me, from laughter to terror and tears. Daley narrates the story of her mixed-up family life, a life which (like any childhood) affects her adult relationships.
She loves her impetuous, socially conscious mother. She loves her gallant-looki...more
I would have given this 4 stars for the first half of the book but after that it started slipping for me. This is a father-daughter story and the father is not a monster but he IS a deeply flawed man. He is racist, classist, and sexist and he seems to hold tremendous power over others.
The novel is in three parts and commences when Nixon is resigning and ends with Obama's election. When it begins, the narrator is 11 years old and finds her father's cruel and drunken antics amusing. He strips na...more
The novel is in three parts and commences when Nixon is resigning and ends with Obama's election. When it begins, the narrator is 11 years old and finds her father's cruel and drunken antics amusing. He strips na...more
É com um aperto na garganta que termino de ler O Pai da Chuva, este livro genial de Lily King. Com apenas onze anos Daley tem de enfrentar a separação nada amigável dos progenitores. Afastada do pai durante um curto período de tempo, Daley sente-se sozinha no seu mundo e espera pelo reencontro. Com uma educação completamente disfuncional, uma mãe que não consegue cuidar inicialmente da sua rebeldia de pré-adolescente e com um pai alcoólico e racista e com uma vida completamente caótica e boémia,...more
I adored this book. A gorgeous, heart-wrenching but never sentimental journey through the agony of dysfunctional family love. The story begins as a coming of age story, set within a Nixon-era marital split (pretty familiar territory for me!) and then takes a couple of big jumps in time, eventually covering the entire span of Daley's complicated, compelling and fraught relationship with her impossible, magnetic father--an alcoholic relic from New England conservative aristocracy. Daley yearns pai...more
I really enjoyed this book -- if enjoy is the right word to describe a relationship between a daughter and her alcoholic father. The characters were very interesting and very believable. Basically, it is the story of a daughter, who despite the fact that her father does everything to push her away, cannot escape her love for him even when it means that she puts her life on hold. Despite everything that she does for him, her father does nothing but criticize her every move; and even when he promi...more
1 like · like · see review
Critics loved Father of the Rain, describing it as an honest, elegant, and unflinching look at alcoholism and family dysfunction. They also marveled at King's ability to portray Gardiner (described by the Boston Globe as a cross between Archie Bunker, Homer Simpson, and Jack Nicholson) in a sympathetic light despite his many flaws. The Seattle Times reviewer, in the minority, disagreed, noting that the interaction between father and daughter lacked complexity. But perhaps many interactions betwe...more
This book portrayed beautifully the relationships between a highly dysfunctional family. The alcoholism in this book touched me much deeper than any real life portrayal (for example The Glass Castle). What makes this book so cathartic is the realistic picture painted to the outside of a normal family with a fun loving, charming father and his "country club" family. I know what it is like to be in an alcohol affected family (my in-laws are mostly alcoholics). My husband has often told me what it...more
If I were to judge this book on the first half it would have received 4 stars. The first half (childhood) was interesting, and a fast read. Granted it was not a "nice" story. It was about the messed up childhood of an 11 year old girl, whose family family goes through a divorce. The mother was a fairly sane woman who just couldn't take living with an crazy alcoholic anymore. The problem was that the kids still spent a fair amount of time with this destructive man and his new alcohol fueled relat...more
Father of the Rain is the most recent choice for our book club, and I found it interesting, easy to read, and a page-turner. One thing that can turn my opinion of a book on a dime is the believability of the characters. A lot of people think that when you write a story, you are in control of the characters and their decisions, but this is not the case. Well-developed characters are so important, and accomplished authors are often surprised by the choices these fictional voices make. They can tak...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
I didn't really like this book and yet I couldn't stop reading it. I did like that it covered three very different time periods. Almost halfway through the first part, I realized how hard it must be to have parents get divorced. I've been asking myself recently as I'm reading, why am I reading this, what am I learning? I learned a new perspective on divorce and how crappy it is to have an alcoholic parent. I did find myself questioning Daley, like all her friends. I wonder what I would have done...more
It's been a long time since I've sobbed in a book and it's been since never that I've put the book down 10 pages from the end to do a Soduko puzzle because I didn't want it to end. I can't even explain why this book so deeply affected me. It's about a woman and her very complicated relationship with her father, spanning several decades. I have a great, easy relationship with my own father so it's not that I could relate. But somehow these characters really pulled me in. I loved all of them - Dal...more
4 likes · like · see review
Set in New England during the 70's, Father of the Rain is the story of a broken family and the complex, volatile relationship between a "larger than life" alcoholic father and his daughter who seemingly loves him unconditionally. Daley is 11 when her parents separate and almost immediately her world is turned upside down and sideways. As she tries to find a balance between her liberal, socially conscious mother and her conservative, self-indulgent father she struggles to find a place for herself...more
King's book is about a very dysfunctional family and narrated from the point of view of the daughter starting at age 11. The book was a very compelling story of divorce and alcoholism. The author explores the impact of both on the kids and their relationships with their parents. It take you from the 1970's through present day beginning with the 11 year old daughter learning of her parents separation. It is set in the New England country club world. The relationship between the narrator and her a...more
Nov 04, 2010
Daphne
added it
This is a beautiful and devastating novel. The first person present tense narration and the clarity of detail and observation make everything feel that much more real and painful. The first half of the book was such an uncomfortably compelling read, it actually gave me nightmares. I particularly appreciated the details of the 1970s, when parents were allowed to be less attentive to/concerned about their children, which puts the narrator's experiences in richly drawn historical context. The secon...more
Although it doesn’t seem that way at first, this beautifully written and impeccably paced novel is about a woman’s complicated relationship with her father, even though it begins when she’s eleven years old, on the last days she’ll be living with him full time. The first third of the book is about the next year or so, told in a child’s voice from her point of view. Most of the rest is about the year she turns 29, from an adult perspective but made richer by what we’ve learned of her childhood. I...more
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
