Wrapped in Rain — Book Review

I must read each night as I lay in bed; it helps me unwind. One of my favorite things is to snuggle into my bed with the electric blanket on and read until I just fall asleep. The book gently slips out of my hands and I snooze.

An author I recently stumbled on in Trinity’s library has really caught my attention. I loved the first book I checked out so much that I ordered all his other books from the public library and I’m working my way through them.

The author is Charles Martin. He develops his characters and draws you into them. In three of his books that I’ve read, there is always one character that has wisdom and a fear of God that makes a profound, if not immediate, impact on the main character’s life —done in a humorous, straightforward kind of way. This particular book, Wrapped in Rain, is told through the voice of one man, Tucker. The other characters in the book are his father, his half brother, a neighbor girl and her little boy, and the woman who raised Tucker and his brother — a God fearing woman named Miss Ella. It’s a story about relationships as well as a man struggling with his faith in a God who has been represented as love but also has seemed to turn his back to Tucker’s suffering. In this story there is tragedy, abuse, sadness, humor, love, forgiveness, redemption and healing. What I love about his books are the characters. In Wrapped in Rain I really felt like I got to know the characters in this story. When the book was over, I didn’t want my relationship with the characters to end! Wrapped in Rain is the kind of book you stay up late to finish.

Sally Hall