While perhaps best known for her novels for children and young adults, Madeleine L'Engle began her writing career with "The Small Rain", an effortless and elegant novel. Anyone familiar with her work will see her common themes taking shape with this first novel, and will be happy to know that the main character's story is revisited in "A Severed Wasp". I must admit that I read "A Severed Wasp" before this one, but even with knowing what happens to Katherine Forrester in the future, there was no suspense loss, no sense of predictability, for hers is a story that unfolds slowly and richly under L'Engle's magnificent hand.

We first meet Katherine Forrester as a girl of ten, acting a small part in a play with her famous Aunt Manya, a somewhat unhappy child, small for her age but wise beyond her years. Her mother, Julie was a famous pianist whose dream was crushed by an accident, and Katherine hopes to become just like her one day. But her world is forever altered when her mother dies when she is fouteen and she is sent off to a boarding school where she is miserable and friendless. She devotes herself to her music, almost to the point of exhaustion and exclusion, but is still vulnerable to the hard life lessons she must learn along the way to growing up.

Truly it is difficult to summarize the plot of "The Small Rain", for it is more an examination of Katherine's thoughts and feelings, the discoveries she makes throughout the eight years the story covers. The beauty of L'Engle's prose is that it unfolds effortlessly, ensnaring the reader in the lives of her characters quickly and not letting go. Katherine is a sensitive and intriguing character, and I am glad that L'Engle allowed her to grow and revisited her story in "A Severed Wasp", a magnificent book that does her characters, and her readers, justice.

Originally written in 1945 when L'Engle was just out of college, this lovely little novel is about the coming of age of a talented young pianist, Katherine Forrester, whose mother is a tragic figure and whose father is a shadowy figure. She is a child amidst composers, pianists and theater performers and lives between New York and a French boarding school where the teachers and administrators are uncreative, dim-witted people.

Oddly, the novelist I most though of while I read this was Patricia Highsmith (who wrote, "The Talented Mr. Ripley)... because both novels contain characters who are so steeped in the sophisticated worlds of the early 1950s. There is a sweetness and innocence to the dialogue in "A Small Rain". People are simpler in their needs and tastes and although they hurt each other (as human beings do) they do it with much less malice. As a result of her upbringing and otherworldly existence, our protagonist is lonely and much of her life is spent wishing for the kinds of moments that she does very occasionally experience. As other reviewers have mentioned, this is a beautifully written bittersweet little book and one worth reading.

The fact that this was a first published novel is amazing. It is excellent! It is written in another time and place about another time and place. And, it has moments of melodrama. But, the characters are real and fleshed out and human. Some people don't like that there is no romantic happy ending. Well, Katherine does find a lifetime love ... with one of the characters in this book. But, you have to read the sequel to find out about that. And that is appropriate for a character as young as Katherine is in this novel. In A Severed Wasp, you meet her as an old woman looking back on her life, in a way. In this book, you meet her as a young girl with a promising future and you watch her as she gets some life experience under her belt. There is meaness in her life and there is love. There is hope and disappointment. She is growing up. And that is a hard thing to do. This novel portrays that. This does not have a saccharin happy ending of a romance novel. And it is that much better for it. It does, however, have an ending full of hope. You know Katherine will go on and make something great out of her life. And, indeed, that's exactly what she does (if you read the sequel). In some ways this book is not quite young adult and not quite what one thinks of as adult fiction, either. It's in between. It's about an adolescent girl, but it is written for adult audiences - perhaps it was originally intended for people in their late teens and early 20s. I don't think I would suggest it for someone very young. But for an older teenager or any age adult, this is a delightful novel.

In general, I love Madeleine L'Engle, and this book is my very favorite that she has written. As a pianist, I was deeply inspired by Katherine's sheer determination and drive. She is a very admirable character, and by the end of the book, I felt like I had made a new friend. I read the book two years ago for the first time, and was amazed at the depth and understanding that Madeleine wrote with--she seemed to fully understand the feelings and struggles of the musician, I felt that I could empathise with Katherine, and to me that is very important in a book. I've started reading it again, and was totally inspired to work and work with my music. I have been going through a dry period with my music and have not felt much like practicing.
Upon reading this book for the seconed time, that has changed. I am now inspired, and have been practicing 3 hours a day. I feel like I am a born again musician. It's a thrill. I recommend this book for everyone who really wants to feel and empathise with a character, and especially for those of you who are musicians or artists.
Enjoy!

This book just sang - the writing was lyrical, beautiful and subtle. It was stunning. It showed the mind, growth and development of an artist, and how things - feeling like an "oddball" in school, the death of an acquaintance, hurts in love, an unusual childhood - can affect an artist deeply, and at the same time contribute to her art.
I also loved the 1940s flavor of the book - everybody smoked like fiends, wore fur, even the children drank, and her piano teacher had a live in valet. Her books all have such an east coast/European intellectual artist feel - its like entering a different world. You could never imagine a L'Engle character, even one in the 2000s, watching "Outback Jack", going on the Adkins diet, or shopping at WalMart.
Also, L'Engle's minor characters were fascinating - I wanted to know more about Julie Forrester - she seemed just out of reach, and very mysterious. Everyone seemed to admire her, despite her glaring flaws, and she enriched the others' lives in a strange, indescribable way.
L'Engle's talent is unbelievable. I strongly recommend this book.