I Will Send Rain

Starred review from June 6, 2016
Meadows’s (Calling Out) dark, moving novel chronicles a turning point in the lives of the Bells, a farming family in 1930s Oklahoma. After severe droughts and several dust storms, families are known to pack up and suddenly disappear from the once populous town of Mulehead. Annie Bell recognizes the restlessness in her teen daughter, Birdie, and hopes that Birdie gives herself a shot at a better life elsewhere rather than marrying local boy Cy Mack. Annie feels particularly unmoored herself; her attraction to Mayor Jack Lily—formerly a Chicago newspaper reporter—grows as her husband, Samuel, becomes increasingly religious. Annie and Samuel’s bond has been tenuous since their second child, Eleanor, died as an infant. It doesn’t help that Samuel regards the drought as a test from God and thinks of his nightmares of an upcoming flood as prophecy. Meadows writes the youngest Bell, sweet eight-year-old Fred, especially well. Fred, who has been mute since birth and besieged with chronic breathing problems, has a love of animals and an endearing, thoughtful nature. Annie and John begin an affair around the time Samuel begins constructing an ark with Fred’s help, and Birdie soon finds herself with a secret. Sinister imagery is restrained but has impact: a town rabbit hunt that turns into a bloodthirsty killing spree ends with Fred trying to cry out while protecting the last trembling animal in his lap. Meadows’s strength lies in letting her story be guided by the shadow and light of her well-rendered characters. When tragedy strikes or hope emerges, it makes sense and comes to fruition organically. This makes for a vibrant, absorbing novel that stays with the reader. Agent: Elisabeth Weed, the Book Group.

June 1, 2016
Set in Dust Bowl Oklahoma in the early 1930s, this is the harrowing story of a farm family struggling to survive a seemingly endless drought and the privations it brings.Drawing her title from a verse in Deuteronomy, author Meadows (Mercy Train, 2012) focuses on the Bell family, Annie and Samuel, who have migrated from Kansas in search of a better life, and their children Birdie and Fred. The book begins slowly, as the author introduces her resolute characters, who are trying to maintain some semblance of a normal life, and describes, in vivid detail, the parched, unforgiving landscape where dust storms destroy fields and crops. Then the pace picks up: Birdie, a headstrong 15-year-old, has been carrying on with Cy, the son of a local farmer; now Annie, a devoted farm wife who hasn't completely lost her youthful spark, is tempted by the advances of the slick town mayor. Dreamy 8-year-old Fred, who doesn't speak, communicating via a small chalkboard he carries with him, develops a lung ailment, and the God-fearing Samuel, perhaps the most overwhelmed member of the family, starts building a boat--convinced, somehow, that flooding rains are on the way and he will need to shelter his family with his own version of Noah's Ark. The writing is richly evocative throughout, precise in its depiction of the harsh natural world and tender in its renderings of the complicated emotional lives of the main characters. The author has an abundance of feeling for the Bells, and the reader comes to care deeply about them as they deal with unimaginable loss. There's a relentless quality to the novel, and it can almost seem too grim, especially at the end. But there are saving graces in the form of powerful writing and memorable characters who are hard to shake off even after you've read the last page.

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Starred review from August 1, 2016

Annie Bell went against her family's wishes when she married Samuel, a farmer, instead of choosing the life of a minister's wife. Leaving Kansas for the promise of free land in Oklahoma, the couple discovers their dreams have a price during the severe drought and dust storms of 1934. Loss and hardship leave a once loving partnership in tatters as Samuel becomes increasingly devout, believing that God has instructed him to build an ark to survive the coming flood. Annie turns toward another man with dreams of what might have been, while her daughter Birdie falls in love with a neighbor boy with whom she plans to escape. Annie's mute young son, Fred, may be sickly, but he has a bright and curious mind and notices everything. The dust storm exposes the cracks within the Bell family even as they muster their strength in the face of impending disaster. In her fourth novel, Meadows's (Mercy Train) lyrical and descriptive writing evokes a harsh landscape of dust, bones, and abandoned homes. She uses symbolism to great effect whether sacred (the boat) or mundane (an apron represents ties to family and home). The unforgettable characters show grit, determination, and brokenness in equal measure. VERDICT An outstanding choice for book discussion groups.--Christina Thurairatnam, Holmes Cty. Dist. P.L., Millersburg, OH

Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from July 1, 2016
An exceptional talent for creating vivid imagery and a tender regard for her characters mark Meadows' new novel set in the Oklahoma Panhandle during the Dust Bowl. With other farmers, the Bell family despairs as dust storms replace topsoil and plants with dry grit and grasshopper husks. As some neighbors abandon homes and head west, the remaining citizens of Mulehead respond differently: some cling to their faith, some take advantage of others, many cling to routines, and others grieve in anger, violence, or resignation. Hearing God's voice in his dreams, Samuel Bell builds an ark, with the help of his mute, asthmatic son. His daughter and his wife find clandestine love from others. An air of melancholy settles like dust in these pages, along with stark pictures of slaughtering jackrabbits, shooting cannonballs into the clouds to bring rain, and filling window casings with paste to keep the dust out. And, yet, the Bells' quiet courage and steely perseverance override the despair, becoming an unforgettable symbol of American tenacity and hope. Similar to John Steinbeck's haunting portrait of tenant farmers in The Grapes of Wrath, but also with the gritty, bittersweet elements in Rilla Askew's Harpsong (2007) and the poignant lyricism of Karen Hesse's Out of the Dust (1997).(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)