ENVY THE RAIN by Jamie Boud (CafePress)

Hey, folks. Want a dark, haunting, melancholy read?

What do you mean you don't? Well, off you go, then--and take this crap with you.

For those of you that stayed, let me introduce you to Jamie Boud's ENVY THE RAIN. (It is also showing up at BN but not at Amazon yet; this baby is fresh!)

Here we read the story of Drew, an artist who is trying to recover from the breakup of his one and only love (an 18-year relationship and he's in his 30's, so there you go.) Things don't just end in Drew's relationship--he watches his lover's life unravel into a world of inebriety and licentiousness (see why editors tell you to use adjectives sparingly? Revised: She drinks a lot and has a lot of sex.)

So it's a love story. Or a lack of love story. It doesn't really matter. It's the naive and sensitive nature with which we are guided through the story that makes it so appealing, like we are witnessing Drew's world being involuntarily opened--a twenty-year-old at thirty-eight--and he's taking us on the journey with him. And he tells us everything with such honesty.

How about this tasty treat:

"Gabby and Erin appeared together, laughing. They were like pebbles in a lake making ripples that spread throughout the crowd. Erin took off her overcoat and shook out her beauty. It kicked up, floated through the air, and dusted everyone."

Imagine you (thought you) knew someone for almost two decades to find you didn't know (or understand) them at all, to learn of infidelities--and then to watch this person's life collapse inwardly. That is this story. And it's a good one.

ENVY THE RAIN is a wonderful and ultimately fulfilling trip down the road of misunderstood, unrequited love, like a print version of a Coldplay CD. Buy the book--and check out Jamie's website, which happens to be a literary experience of its own. He does something most of us cannot do: write well on a daily basis.