Book info

• Title Some Rain Must Fall and Other Stories
• Author Michel Faber
• Year 1981
• Genre Short Stories

Michel Faber's short stories reveal an extraordinarily vivid imagination, a deep love of language and an adventurous versatility. Playful, yet profoundly moving, wickedly satirical yet sincerely humane, these tales never fail to strike unexpected chords. 'Some Rain Must Fall' juxtaposes the tragic circumstances of traumatised schoolchildren with the interior monologue of a teacher/psychologist enlisted to aid their recovery. In the pseudo-sci-fi 'Fish' a mother tries to protect her child in a terrifying world where fish swim through the streets and lurk in alleyways. Faber's collection is rich and assured, with a dazzling reach.

Thoughts

I really liked the Crimson Petal and the White - both book and TV adaptation - and I guess around about the time I read that, I picked up a couple of other Michel Faber books as well. This one is a book of short stories, his first publication, in fact, and it’s a mixed bag, as you might expect. There are some really good ideas in there, but I have to admit a lot of the stories I found frustrating, as they didn’t really go anywhere. It was more of getting an idea on a page and then moving on. Interesting but ultimately unfulfilling.

Rating: 2 / 5