The Night Rainbow by Claire King
Jan. 12th, 2014 12:23 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
quippeThe Blurb On The Back:
The problem with a lot of people, says Margot, is that they don’t notice the important things.
During one long, hot summer, five-year-old Pea and her little sister Margot play alone in the meadow behind their house, on the edge of a small French village. Her mother is too sad to take care of them; she left her happiness in the hospital, along with the baby. Pea’s father has died in an accident and Maman, isolated by her Englishness, has retreated to a place where Pea cannot reach her.
Then Pea meets Claude, a man who seems to love the meadow as much as she does and who always had time to play. Pea believes that she and Margot have found a friend, and maybe even a new papa. But why do the villagers view Claude with suspicion? And what secret is he keeping in his strange, empty house?
The Night Rainbow is an unforgettable novel about innocence and experience, grief and compassion and the dangers of an overactive imagination.
Pea (short for Peony) is five and a half years old. She lives in a farmhouse in France with her younger sister Margot and her mother (Maman), who’s pregnant. Pea’s father died in an accident the year before and all Maman’s really wanted to do since is sleep so Pea and Margot entertain themselves by playing in the surrounding countryside. It’s there that she meets Claude and his dog Merlin. Claude’s got a strange face and walks with a limp but he’s nice and makes a nest for Pea and Margot to play in. So why do Pea’s other neighbours object to her playing with him? And why doesn’t he want to be her new papa?
Claire King’s debut novel is a sweet but slim tale of grief seen through the eyes of a child. Pea is an utterly delightful character and I completely believed in the games she plays with Margot, albeit the dialogue at times is a little too precocious. I enjoyed the slow reveals of the various secrets although I did guess the twists. I also felt that Maman was a little underdeveloped and would have liked to have seen more interaction with the villagers, especially Josette and Mami Lafont given they are important to the two main storylines. It’s a short book and there isn’t a huge amount of plot, but the characterisation of Pea goes a long way to offset that and I would definitely check out King’s next book.
Pea is front and centre to the story and King gives her a narrative voice that’s for the most part convincing (albeit some of the vocabulary at times seems a little advanced). The best scenes in the book are those where she’s playing and talking with Margot, whose observations on the world and the adults around them are pertinent and sometimes cutting. Pea’s innocence and attempts to help cheer up Maman are at times heart breaking and it’s difficult to read this book without feeling critical of the mother (albeit she has good reasons for her behaviour), which is why I think King needed to show more of her isolation and the tension between her and her partner’s mother.
The twists are quite easy to guess and this book won’t appeal to those who prefer plot-heavy stories. However, it’s a well-written, sweetly told tale that stays on the right side of sentimentality.
The Verdict:
Claire King’s debut novel is a sweet but slim tale of grief seen through the eyes of a child. Pea is an utterly delightful character and I completely believed in the games she plays with Margot, albeit the dialogue at times is a little too precocious. I enjoyed the slow reveals of the various secrets although I did guess the twists. I also felt that Maman was a little underdeveloped and would have liked to have seen more interaction with the villagers, especially Josette and Mami Lafont given they are important to the two main storylines. It’s a short book and there isn’t a huge amount of plot, but the characterisation of Pea goes a long way to offset that and I would definitely check out King’s next book.
During one long, hot summer, five-year-old Pea and her little sister Margot play alone in the meadow behind their house, on the edge of a small French village. Her mother is too sad to take care of them; she left her happiness in the hospital, along with the baby. Pea’s father has died in an accident and Maman, isolated by her Englishness, has retreated to a place where Pea cannot reach her.
Then Pea meets Claude, a man who seems to love the meadow as much as she does and who always had time to play. Pea believes that she and Margot have found a friend, and maybe even a new papa. But why do the villagers view Claude with suspicion? And what secret is he keeping in his strange, empty house?
The Night Rainbow is an unforgettable novel about innocence and experience, grief and compassion and the dangers of an overactive imagination.
Pea (short for Peony) is five and a half years old. She lives in a farmhouse in France with her younger sister Margot and her mother (Maman), who’s pregnant. Pea’s father died in an accident the year before and all Maman’s really wanted to do since is sleep so Pea and Margot entertain themselves by playing in the surrounding countryside. It’s there that she meets Claude and his dog Merlin. Claude’s got a strange face and walks with a limp but he’s nice and makes a nest for Pea and Margot to play in. So why do Pea’s other neighbours object to her playing with him? And why doesn’t he want to be her new papa?
Claire King’s debut novel is a sweet but slim tale of grief seen through the eyes of a child. Pea is an utterly delightful character and I completely believed in the games she plays with Margot, albeit the dialogue at times is a little too precocious. I enjoyed the slow reveals of the various secrets although I did guess the twists. I also felt that Maman was a little underdeveloped and would have liked to have seen more interaction with the villagers, especially Josette and Mami Lafont given they are important to the two main storylines. It’s a short book and there isn’t a huge amount of plot, but the characterisation of Pea goes a long way to offset that and I would definitely check out King’s next book.
Pea is front and centre to the story and King gives her a narrative voice that’s for the most part convincing (albeit some of the vocabulary at times seems a little advanced). The best scenes in the book are those where she’s playing and talking with Margot, whose observations on the world and the adults around them are pertinent and sometimes cutting. Pea’s innocence and attempts to help cheer up Maman are at times heart breaking and it’s difficult to read this book without feeling critical of the mother (albeit she has good reasons for her behaviour), which is why I think King needed to show more of her isolation and the tension between her and her partner’s mother.
The twists are quite easy to guess and this book won’t appeal to those who prefer plot-heavy stories. However, it’s a well-written, sweetly told tale that stays on the right side of sentimentality.
The Verdict:
Claire King’s debut novel is a sweet but slim tale of grief seen through the eyes of a child. Pea is an utterly delightful character and I completely believed in the games she plays with Margot, albeit the dialogue at times is a little too precocious. I enjoyed the slow reveals of the various secrets although I did guess the twists. I also felt that Maman was a little underdeveloped and would have liked to have seen more interaction with the villagers, especially Josette and Mami Lafont given they are important to the two main storylines. It’s a short book and there isn’t a huge amount of plot, but the characterisation of Pea goes a long way to offset that and I would definitely check out King’s next book.
