Small Rain

Reviews

Advance Praise

“Greenwell—such a finely tuned, generous writer—transforms a savage illness into a meditation on a vital life.”
—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“I just didn’t put it down . . . Very romantic, incredibly moving.”
—Miranda July, author of All Fours

“A fierce, beautiful novel about loving, living, dying, caring and being cared for. Greenwell’s sentences crackle with contained energy.”
—Sarah Moss, author of Summerwater

“An exquisitely human novel which confronts death and meets it with poetry, art and love . . . An utter triumph of expression.”
—The Bookseller

“Small Rain is a marvel, one of America’s greatest writers working at the top of his game, moving into new territory with force and grace and wisdom and overwhelming beauty.”
—Phil Klay, author of Missionaries

“Greenwell writes tenderly about what it is to be subject to the crises of the body. Small Rain is a document of searching, an interrogation of love, care, and time, daring in its refusal to be abstract about the concrete facts of life and death.”
—Raven Leilani, author of Luster

“Greenwell writes with exquisite precision about pain and loss—but his novel is equally a meditation on joy, beauty, and above all, love. Small Rain is a triumph, one of the most deeply moving books I have read in a long time.”
—Katie Kitamura, author of Intimacies

“Small Rain is a marvelous novel: exceptionally vivid, real, and true. Garth Greenwell’s sensibility is rich and generous—the narrator's memories are haunting, and his experiences of both illness and love are deeply affecting. You are in the room with him. This is a true achievement, written with engaged humanity and a great command of style.”
—Colm Tóibín, author of The Magician