After the Rain treats unsensational themes and common experiences, and Mazer's style reflects this. Carefully controlled diction encourages the reader to draw upon personal experiences to understand each character, and convincing internal dialogue offers a sympathetic portrait of Rachel's feelings. The third-person, limited omniscient point of view reinforces the empathy readers feel for the main character, inspiring them to rejoice in her accomplishments and to share in her losses. Mazer captures the real language of intelligent, thoughtful people as she appears to eavesdrop on the conversations and thoughts of a thoroughly believable family as they deal with universal, if commonplace, conflicts.

The themes of alienation and death give the novel a poignant tone. Even though Rachel learns to communicate better with others in the course of the novel, her deepest sharing will continue to be long letters to her brother Jeremy, who may not even read...