Strange rain

by Venero Armanno

From one of Australia's hottest writers comes a brooding novel of suspense and dark secrets, retribution and rock 'n roll.

A lonely road on a dark night when the rain comes sheeting down. A motel room in a small town where fantasies fester and money changes hands.

One man determined to preserve the past, at any cost. Another man trying to escape it. And between them a young woman with ink-black hair and secrets she doesn't want to tell.

Joe's a man with memories he'd rather forget. Memories of driving through the rain one night when the world turned upside down. Now the rain's come again and Joe's world is spinning out of control.

394 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

Venero Armanno, the son of Sicilian migrants, was born in Brisbane. He has travelled and worked throughout the world. In 1995, 1997 and 1999 he lived and wrote in the Cité International des Arts, Paris. He is the author of Jumping at the Moon, a book of short stories (equal runner-up in the prestigious Steele Rudd Award) and eight novels, including The Volcano, which won the Queensland Premier's Literary Award for Best Fiction Novel (2002) and was short-listed for the Courier Mail Best Book of the Year. His work has been published internationally and he is currently a senior lecturer at the University of Queensland.

Reviews

[Kate Cornfoot · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a long-time fan of Venero Armanno, having read everything he's published since his first book of short stories in 1992. Everything except Strange Rain, until now. I suspect I was too squeamish in my youth to read this novel; the violence, sinister themes and suspense are not for the faint-hearted. Boy this book packs a punch! It sits firmly in the Australian Gothic tradition - masterfully using the stark, oppressive outback environment as an ominous setting for a dark tale of revenge, cruelty, love and redemption. There are some impressive twists and turns I didn't see coming; but it's protagonist Joe Santo's soulful journey that kept me turning the page. Strange Rain is another brilliant book in an excellent collection of novels by a one-of-a-kind writer.

[Drew Sanderson · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dreadful. The characters evoke no feelings; you neither love or hate them, like or dislike them. In the end, the only thing I felt was frustration for bothering to read this, and relief that it was finally over.