This is an entry for @didic's Book Review Contest.

This contest is for book or story reviews of works by authors who are Desi or South East Asians.

Per their recommendation, I have read the short story The Water That Falls on You from Nowhere by John Chu, which won the Hugo Award for Best Short Story.

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I asked @didic to recommend a story that pairs magical realism with generational storylines. I am a huge fan of Isabel Allende & Amy Tan who both seamlessly blend fictional (but believable) accounts of multigenerational allure, wonder and tragedy.

First off

I must say that I absolutely loved this story. At parts I found myself getting emotional. This story completely fulfilled my desire for the blending of magical realism & generational storylines, so thank you @didic for the recommendation!

Does it Rain When You Lie?

If so, are you all wet?

The story starts off as the author posits the idea that when we lie, it rains and, depending on the severity of the lie, the rain can come down in "either a mist or a torrential flood." Part of why I love magical realism is that it takes these seemingly impossible happenings, like mist, humidity, or thunderstorms when we lie, with completely "normal" circumstances. I am a human who likes to open my mind to different possibilities and states of being so it feels great to stretch my brain in this way.

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Matt, the main character, is in an intimate moment with his partner, Gus. Gus is relaying to Matt how much he loves him and no rain falls from the sky, in fact

Not only does no water fall on him, but all the sweat evaporates from his body. His shirt is warm and dry. A light, spring breeze from nowhere covers us. He smells of flowers and ozone.

This bright description gives the reader an incredible parallel with which to palpably feel the way Gus loves Matt. For me, it begged the question of how my relations and indeed my life would stand up against this magical phenomenon. What would happen in my encounters if my lies were judged by rain and not even lack of rain, but signs of spring?

Oftentimes, in our lives we are able to carry our emotions inside of us where they don't necessarily affect the outside world. It allows us to hide the harder realties from ourselves and each other, as we see Matt doing throughout this story.

Imagine for a moment if we lived in a world where the outer weather gauged the veracity of our statements.

The story goes on and we see immediately that Matt is not as comfortable expressing his love for Gus. In fact, he hasn't "come out" to his family yet and this clogs up his whole experience. He skirts by with an awkward rendition of his feelings,

“That’s some display you just did there, Gus.” I’m stalling. Stop that. “I don’t love you, not as much as you obviously love me.”

The cold torrent of rain that falls down when he utters this lie is a backwards declaration of how he truly feels. Instead of positively stating his love for Gus, he is sadly only able to utter a sheltered lie. Gus sees right through it and isn't upset, but instead responds with joyful laughter.

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At this point, the effortless weaving and nuance we get from the effect truth-telling has on the climate in the room has hooked me into the storyline. We've also seen an obvious need for Matt to come to terms with his relationship with Matt & come out to his family. Christmas is the perfect holiday to do so and, in order to not let Gus know that he hasn't told his family yet, he tells even more half-truths that cause even further effects on the atmosphere.

The air gets distinctly humid. My arm hairs stand on end, as if thunder were about to strike. I’m still shivering from my last lie. My mind is in tatters, torn between the cruel truth that will make him lose all respect for me and the blatant lie that will plunge me into fatal hypothermia.

Chu does a fantastic job of describing the pain of coming out to ones family, especially when a family so steeped in tradition as his Chinese family is. The story unfolds as Matt & Gus visit his family and we encounter Matt's sister, Michele, who has a domineering presence and has sought to control Matt since they were young. This short story is such an enjoyable read and I wont spoil how it unfolds by sharing further details, but I will encourage you to read it!

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As mentioned earlier, magical realism is one of my favorite types of stories to read. In this short story, we are taken on such a wonderful journey, filled with a wide range of emotions. John Chu writes clearly, succinctly and imaginatively, sharing a story that opens our hearts and minds.

Thank you to @didic for hosting this contest! I really enjoyed it.