Rain Dragon

Screenwriter and author Raymond (Livability) puts a fresh spin on an old notion in his new novel. Damon and Amy are L.A. professionals who pull up stakes and begin anew at an organic farm located near—where else?—Portland, Ore. Although it takes time for them to fit into the new community, Amy eventually becomes assistant to a beekeeper, and Damon a “marketing guerrilla” for the farm’s products. But their relationship founders, and Amy separates from Damon. Peter Hawk, the farm’s charismatic founder, asks Damon to join him in a new venture—using Peter’s New Age philosophies to start a management consultancy for companies. Damon sets himself to the task vigorously as he cautiously tries to win back Amy, discovering that success in one may lead to failure in the other. Although the low-key story lacks drama, the author holds the reader’s attention with the crystalline purity of his prose. There’s pleasure to be derived from his meticulous observations of how systems work and people think. In the end, fans of the author’s idiosyncratic screenplays for Wendy and Lucy, Meek’s Cutoff, and Mildred Pierce (co-written with Todd Haynes) will find the same qualities in this intelligent novel. Agent: Jennifer Carlson, Dunow, Carlson & Lerner. (May)