Nothing but the Rain

Salman presents her strange, disquieting debut as the diaries of retired doctor Laverne Gordon, written to be her “backup brain” as her memories are literally washed away by the rain. It rains ceaselessly in Aloisville, and contact with a single drop can erase one’s short-term memory. The more drenched one gets, the farther back the amnesia goes. The narrative leaves the “why” behind this phenomenon ambiguous, more interested in exploring its ramifications. “Little sugar dolls left in the rain, that’s what we are now. If you’re not careful, you’ll melt all the way down to the infant inside. And if she melts away, you’re done.” This is what happened to an affluent neighborhood before the start of the book, and Laverne is traumatized by having been called upon to euthanize the empty shells of humans left behind. Now Aloisville has implemented a buddy system, pairing “old harpy” Laverne with irritatingly optimistic Katie Rathbone and her toddling daughter, Zoe. When Katie concocts a suicide mission to get through the rain and past the unidentified soldiers keeping the town under quarantine, Laverne refuses to join her—but Katie’s not about to take no for an answer. What follows is a devastating story of people forced to choose between survival and freedom. Salman shows real promise. (Mar.)