Father of the Rain A Novel

“Luminous . . . uplifting . . . fresh, with vividly drawn characters . . . and a clear eye for the details of their singularly messed-up relationships.” —O, the Oprah Magazine
 
“King is a beautiful writer, with equally strong gifts for dialogue and internal monologue. Silently or aloud, her characters betray the inner tumult they conceal as they try to keep themselves together . . . [and] demonstrate through their confusions that what we like to call coming-of-age is a process that doesn’t always end.” —Liesl Schillinger, The New York Times Book Review
 
“Father of the Rain is a big, powerful punch of a novel [that] will linger in your mind long after you’ve finished it.” —Entertainment Weekly
 
“Surprising and wise . . . by a writer who understands the horrible burden of trying to save someone who’s ruining your life. . . . A brilliant exploration of the attraction of martyrdom, the intoxication of playing savior . . . An absorbing, insightful story written in cool, polished prose right to the last conflicted line.” —Washington Post
 
“Spellbinding . . . Marvelous . . . A story of high drama in the court of Nixon-era New England aristocracy . . . King brilliantly captures the gravitational pull of the past and the way it can eclipse the promise of the present . . . You won’t be able to stop reading this book, but when you do finally finish the last delicious page and look up, you will see families in a clearer and more forgiving way.” —Vanity Fair
 
“[An] excellent novel . . . Sensitive and perceptive . . . King gives us the messy complexities of family without tidying them up or providing neat morals. . . . The moving final pages depict a reconciliation all the more realistic because no one dramatically repents or forgives; they simply acknowledge bonds that can’t be broken. . . . [Father of the Rain] may be King’s best yet.” —Chicago Tribune
 
“Lily King’s breakout third novel, Father of the Rain, harrowingly evokes a daughter’s fierce devotion to her magnetic WASP father, whose flair for cocktail-fueled self-destruction rivals anything out of Cheever.” —Vogue