True to her tradition of writing great books --- with over 50
bestselling titles to date --- author Sandra Brown releases another
first-rate novel, RAINWATER, this time in the historical fiction
genre. In the novel's background, familiar scenes from the Great
Depression recall the dire situation for farmers who found
themselves in the Dust Bowl of the ’30s. In the foreground, a
tender love story is borne out of hardship.

It is in the countryside of Gilead that Ella Barron runs her
boardinghouse. Families she knows are struggling, and some have
become homeless. Money is tight, yet Ella works hard to keep her
place full. She splits her daily time working and caring for her
disabled 10-year-old son, Solly. The boy’s situation is
complicated as doctors aren’t really sure what’s wrong;
his disease leaves him unable to communicate but causes an odd
fixation on order. There is no cure for Solly’s malady, and
Ella would never consider sending him away. Her days are spent
trudging forward, taking life day by day.

Summertime brings change as Ella takes in a new boarder, Mr.
David Rainwater. Introduced by the town doctor, it seems Ella was
drawn to him from the start. Sensing a change of the tides, Ella is
intent on keeping her distance. She defies her instincts until the
man makes an astounding discovery about her son. One afternoon, in
an effort to get to know the child better, Mr. Rainwater seeks out
Solly’s company. The two play simple games in solitude, and
while playing dominoes, the child does something intriguing: under
no direction whatsoever, he lines up dominoes in numerical order.
This seems a minor achievement until one recognizes the discovery
for what it is: a definite demonstration of reasoning ability in a
child many presumed to have no intelligence. Mr. Rainwater quietly
calls Ella in to show her, and she is simply overcome; it is an
epiphany that fills her with hope as she can now dare to dream that
Solly might lead a full life one day. Ella also watches the man who
made Solly's discovery possible, realizing that he genuinely cares
for her son. It is with this realization that she relinquishes the
long battle and opens herself to Mr. Rainwater. Ella is now deeply
in love, with Mr. Rainwater feeling the same. And it’s clear
to both that their lives have been changed inexorably.

Ella’s home of Gilead is in what has been named the Dust
Bowl. Once-productive farms in Texas are now barren wastelands.
Farmers have gone bankrupt, joining the herds of homeless in the
shantytown on the border. For many who remain, the only option left
is to ask for federal aid. Franklin D. Roosevelt's Drought Relief
Program offers farmers financial help: cattle are purchased at a
fair price and hauled away, and the meat is distributed to hungry
people nationwide. It's a program formed of honorable intentions,
to be sure, yet it’s flawed in its execution. Though
it’s saving many people, the fact remains that not all of the
herds are taken. Large numbers are being slaughtered and wasted,
sometimes even half the herd. Cows deemed "unfit for consumption"
are led into a pit and shot, and then their carcasses quickly
buried. These are animals that are simply too small or too thin to
yield prime cuts of beef. And presumably this is done by federal
mandate as it is being backed by law.

With homeless families starving in the same vicinity as large
quantities of meat are wasted, it's not all that surprising that
the injustice becomes too difficult to bear. Even the farmers who
are selling the herds are disgusted by what is happening;
essentially, they're watching much of their efforts (and their
animals) go to waste. To top it off, even calves and nursing cows
are among those shot and left. Some of them don’t die from
the initial shot, and the shooters aren’t checking if they
are dead before they bury them. Horrifically, some of the animals
are certainly being buried alive.

Some of the farmers and the homeless families in this situation
are folks whom Ella knows. As the government trucks arrive at each
of the families’ farms, Ella and Mr. Rainwater ride out to
see what's happening. Once Mr. Rainwater sees the injustice to the
hungry people of the town, he is determined to do something. He is
the one who will lead the charge to help them passively fight for
the right to feed the hungry. The situation is sure to get bloody,
of course, and there will be a showdown between the people and the
law. To make matters worse, a man named Conrad Ellis --- who just
happens to be a lawman --- is just itching to pick a fight.

The central focus of this deep, well-written novel is definitely
the classic love story. And it's not one to be missed. As
characters, Ella and Mr. Rainwater are courageous and admirable.
The book touches on a myriad of subjects, including racism, poverty
and pacifism. In a few ways, this Great Depression-era novel seems
reminiscent of THE GRAPES OF WRATH. I felt it was equally
thoughtful, showing just how bad things were. Where our nation is
once again experiencing an economic crisis at the present, this
seems an appropriate reminder that we’re sitting pretty
compared to what was happening in America 80 years ago.