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Shop nowRainbirds
Narrator
David Shih
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Length
10 hours 10 minutes
Language
English
Ren Ishida is nearly finished with graduate school when he receives news of his sister, Keiko's, sudden death. She was viciously stabbed one rainy night on her way home, and there are no leads. Ren heads to Akakawa to conclude his sister's affairs, still failing to understand why she chose to abandon the family and Tokyo for this desolate town years ago.
But Ren soon finds himself picking up where Keiko left off, accepting both her teaching position at a local cram school and the bizarre arrangement of free lodging at a wealthy politician's mansion in exchange for reading to the man's catatonic wife.
As he comes to know the figures in Akakawa, from the enigmatic politician to his fellow teachers and a rebellious, alluring student named Rio, Ren delves into his shared childhood with Keiko and what followed, trying to piece together what happened the night of her death. Haunted in his dreams by a young girl who is desperately trying to tell him something, Ren struggles to find solace in the void his sister has left behind.
Clarissa Goenawan is an Indonesian-born Singaporean writer. She studied novel-writing with the Curtis Brown Creative and was formerly a mentee on the WoMentoring Project. Her first novel, Rainbirds, is the winner of the 2015 Bath Novel Award. Her short stories have won several awards and been published in various literary magazines and anthologies. She loves rainy days, pretty books, and hot green tea.
An AudioFile Earphones Award winner for 47 Ronin by John Allyn, David Shih narrated the History Channel documentary China's First Emperor and the Discovery Networks series Royal Inquest. He is the voice of Eddie Toh in the hit video game Grand Theft Auto V. In addition to his role as Isiah on the Hulu original series The Path, he has appeared in the TV shows The Blacklist, Mozart in the Jungle, Unforgettable, Golden Boy, Blue Bloods, Are We There Yet?, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, All My Children, and As the World Turns, as well as the feature films The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Respect the Jux, Old 37, Fan Girl, and Saving Face. His theater credits include the National Asian American Theater Company's acclaimed production of Awake and Sing! at the Public Theater, The World of Extreme Happiness (Manhattan Theatre Club), Bike America (Ma-Yi Theater Company), and Crane Story (The Playwrights Realm). Dave also works with Only Make Believe performing interactive theater for children in hospitals and care facilities.