A Farmhouse in the Rain, by Joe Kilgore, is unquestionably a five star piece of writing. A story about dreams, aspirations, love, war, unbroken romance and the darker side of human vengeance and cowardly and debased criminality. It is a novel that has it all - appealing to the human spirit on every level. The story is character-driven, while thematically holding the reader to the very last page. The quality of the writing is excellent and shows that the author not only commands the English language, but has a flair for metaphors and descriptive allegory. In spite of the fact that the first half of the story takes place during the later-part of World War II, it is not a grim or violent read - but rather, the story of several young men, each from different worlds, who come together under the hand of war, who survive by their wits and who find themselves leaving the war zone with a horrible and haunting secret. From there, the author does a wonderful job of showing how, in the post-war years, they fare in life and love, and how, by the most unpredictable of circumstances, their paths cross once again. A few lines are worthy of mention here, because they show the color and depth of the prose the author uses throughout the story.
"The curving coastline of California mountains reached toward the rocky shores of Big Sur like knuckles on the hand of God." "The rumble of engines was only slightly louder than the beating hearts of the men inside the planes." It was as if the heavens were having a good cry, and all beneath its falling tears would simply have to deal with it."
Highly recommended. A taunting and compelling read that will remind you that people are connected in ways which are not entirely explicable - and possibly that love is the most powerful force in the world.
Review by International Writers Inspiring Change
About Joe Kilgore
Joe is an award-winning writer of novels, novellas, screenplays and short stories. His stories have been published in magazines, creative journals, anthologies, and online literary publications. One of them was honored by the Kurt Vonnegut Museum & Library. A collection of his short stories was recently published by Encircle Publications. Joe is the author of six published novels, one novella, and has won awards for original screenplays as well. In addition, he also writes professionally for national and international book review companies. Joe’s wife, Claudia, is an accomplished artist. They live in Austin, Texas with a dog, multiple cats, and other animals that always seem to be wandering by.
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