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Check for Availabilityout of stock. Click on the button below to search for this title in other formats.  The Character of Rain
Synopses & ReviewsPublisher Comments:The Japanese believe that until the age of three, children, whether Japanese or not, are gods, each one an okosama, or "lord child." On their third birthday they fall from grace and join the rest of the human race. In Amelie Nothomb's new novel, The Character of Rain, we learn that divinity is a difficult thing from which to recover, particularly if, like the child in this story, you have spent the first tow and a half years of life in a nearly vegetative state. "I remember everything that happened to me after the age of two and one-half," the narrator tells us. She means this literally. Once jolted out of her plant-like , tube-like trance (to the ecstatic relief of her concerned parents), the child bursts into existence, absorbing everything that Japan, where her father works as a diplomat, has to offer. Life is an unfolding pageant of delight and danger, a ceaseless exploration of pleasure and the limits of power. Most wondrous of all is the discovery of water: oceans, seas, pools, puddles, streams, ponds, and, perhaps most of all, rain-one meaning of the Japanese character for her name. Hers is an amphibious life. The Character of Rain evokes the hilarity, terror, and sanctity of childhood. As she did in the award-winning, international bestesller Fear and Trembling, Nothomb grounds the novel in the outlines of her experiences in Japan, but the self-portrait that emerges from these pages is hauntingly universal. Amelie Nothomb's novels are unforgettable immersion experiences, leaving you both holding your breath with admiration, your lungs aching, and longing for more. Synopsis:From the author of the acclaimed international bestseller "Fear and Trembling" comes a shimmering novel about childhood and memory--a portrait of the artist as an infant. Synopsis:The Japanese character for "Amelie" is the same as that for "rain, " and in her brilliant and tender autobiographical novel Amelie Nothomb shows how right that is. After she emerges from a prolonged vegetative state, the main character, a two-year-old child, dives into the world with abandon. That world happens to be Japan, a place where children under three are considered gods. The Character of Rain is a portrait of the artist as an infant, as well as a haunting depiction of infancy itself — its terrors, joys, and, most of all, its immersions. From the author of the acclaimed bestseller Fear and Trembling, this is a novel about beginnings. About the AuthorAmelie Nothomb's previous novels include The Stranger Next Door, Loving Sabotage, and Fear and Trembling, which won the Grand Prix of the Academie Francaise (and is now available in paperback from St. Martin's Griffin). Born in Kobe, Japan, she lives in Paris. What Our Readers Are SayingBe the first to add a comment for a chance to win!Product Details
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