Carolyn Turgeon, Rain Village

Rain Village

Carolyn Turgeon

Unbridled, November 2006, $24.95

ISBN: 1932961240

In Oakley, Kansas, tiny twelve year old Tessa Riley is so small she is unable to help her parents or her three normal siblings with the farm. In fact her mother insists that Tessa do one job, stretching exercises so that she would grow to a normal size and no longer be a freak. Tessa feels all alone, as everyone in the community and her family, following the leads of her abusive father and bible quoting mother, treat her like a pathetic sideshow reject.

The new librarian Mary Finn has all the townsfolk hopping as she enchants the men with her beauty and the women with envy. Mary especially takes a liking to diminutive Tessa, telling her tales from her days as the flying Marionetta with the Velasquez Circus. She teaches the child to read and tells her enchanting tales about the residents of Rain Village. Tessa uses the stories to hide her hurt from the scorn of all (except Mary who encourages her) and the assaults of her father. When Mary apparently commits suicide, a distraught now sixteen year old Tessa flees to Kansas City, where she joins the circus and marries flyer Mauro Ramirez until her late mentor's nephew Costas arrives and tells her he is going to Rain Village.

Though the ending is unwisely rushed, RAIN VILLAGE has a Brigadoon like feel to the wonderful historical tale. Tessa may be short, but she holds the coming of age tale together, as she is a fully developed character whether she is preadolescent, teenager or adult. Mary is more mystical in nature (like her village and the circus) adding to the overall enchantment. Carolyn Turgeon provides a fine early twentieth century character study that brings out a more isolated era.