Stopping to Rain by Mike Kernan

Although Stopping to Rain is the sequel to Mike Kernan’s excellent debut novel The Fenian, it works well as a stand-alone. Both books are set in the 1970s and have their roots in a Scottish ‘new town’ called Cumbride. I loved The Fenian, so I have been looking forward to learning the fate of the star-crossed teenage lovers separated by a religious divide. I was not disappointed. The two stories meet in an arresting conclusion, and Kernan recounts the experiences of Fred, Trish, Greg and Ricky as sensitively as he treated Lorna and Robert in The Fenian. I also enjoyed the other aspects the two novels share - the playlist, the 70s and 80s cultural references, and Kernan’s exploration of the attitudes of the time.
In Stopping to Rain a new generation of teenagers has taken over the bus shelter where the gang from The Fenian used to hang out, but their banter and coming-of-age antics are just as outrageous. By switching the action between time periods, Kernan tracks the life-changing effects of a drunken prank in March 77 to an unpredictable outcome in April 03. The lives of the four friends are very different, but they all face the same question. Will confronting the dark secrets of the past redeem them or destroy them?
Stopping to Rain follows Fred and his schoolmates into a harsh adult world where terrible things happen, but it also celebrates the lasting power of friendship. Kernan’s journalistic style brings to life the fun of teenage life in Cumbride, and the horror of domestic violence, with equal success. Through it all, the love and loyalty formed in their schooldays supports the bus shelter gang.
I recommend Mike Kernan’s novels for realism, humour and nostalgia.
Stopping To Rain: Secrets, love and bad grammar