Two Years, No Rain

By Shawn Klomparens

An earnest journey from heartache to heartthrob and all the emotions along the way; at once an old-fashioned love story and a cautionary tale of self-reinvention. In San Diego County, it hasn't rained... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0385342012
• ISBN13: 9780385342018
• Release Date: June 2009
• Publisher: Delta
• Length: 370 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.3" x 0.8" x 5.2"

Customer Reviews

So how's the weather in your life?

With a thoroughly likable protagonist and a story that is funny, touching, and well written, author Shawn Klomparens kept me turning pages late into the night. The voice of weatherman Andy Dunne is wonderful and filled with a rare kind of self-effacing honesty that I really enjoyed. A man's perspective on divorce, love, hope, and despair -- all sprinkled with lots of good humor -- made this book a treat to read.

Light, funny, touching and atypical - Two Years, No Rain is a great read!

Synopsis: At the start of the novel, Andy Dunn is working as a radio weatherman in sunny Southern California and the weather hasn't changed much - it's close to two years with no rain. But in Andy's life, things are changing fast. Andy's faced with the tail end of a divorce and his wife has just moved out of their house, with much of their furniture. Andy applies for a voice over position with a childrens production company a few days before he downsized from his weatherman job. When his new job comes through, Andy finds himself in a different place: good job, getting fit, and finally about to start a romance with the beautiful and married Hillary Hsing, who he's admired and been daily textmates for almost two years. Soon enough Andy's job with Bing! the Children's Production group starts to flourish, just as his weight drops. Andy may finally have a chance with love interest Hillary Hsing. With his intervention and diplomatic skills, Andy's helped his niece Hannah and his sister come to a truce of sorts. Andy's luck and life is starting to change. Review: I thoroughly enjoyed Two Years, No Rain. Even during his most difficult moments and in the embarrassing situations, Andy is funny and likable. That the novel has a male protagonist with such a clear sympathetic voice might be unusual - Andy gets into emergencies and situations that I've never read in other novels. This adds to the freshness and fun of the book. The main characters are carefully, well developed and very likable. I felt that the depiction of Andy's friendship with his niece Hillary was an unexpected treat in the book. I loved the scenes where Andy and Hannah would chat while logging in Hannah's driving hours and the many times that Andy would smooth things over between Hannah and her mother. I thoroughly enjoyed Two Years, No Rain and highly recommend it as a heartwarming, hilarous, and atypical read!

A Contemporary California Novel

"My neighbors liked to ask me when the rain would come. I should know, right? Here I was, Mr. Meteorologist, a professional, with a master's degree in atmospheric sciences and an AMS seal of approval. I had been a TV weatherman. I was on satellite radio. But I still could not just make it happen. I did not have that power. I do not have it now." ~Two Years, No Rain by Shawn Klomparens California, along with other western states, may be at the beginning of the worst drought in modern history. In San Diego County, there's a serious scarcity of water and rain. Things are so bad that this summer, we have Level 2 mandatory restrictions on the amount of water we can use. We're allowed to water our lawns only three times a week on assigned days, depending on the type of dwelling we live in and our address. We're told to take showers that last for five minutes or less, and shallow baths--no deeper than three inches of water (why even bother?). These are just a few of the restrictions. Lack of rain and water shortages are not fun and require planning and sacrifice. So while I don't judge books by their covers--although I must admit I'm drawn to books by their covers on occasion--I did think I'd be able to relate to Two Years, No Rain on the basis of the title, and the fact that the book takes place in San Diego, where I live. This is a brand new book, the second novel by author Shawn Klomparens, who lives in Jackson, Wyoming. Published in 2009, Two Years, No Rain is the story of Andy Dunne, who is going through some major changes in his life. First, he loses his wife, Elise, who has moved out. Next he'll lose his job as lead forecaster at a radio station. Coaxed by his love interest, Hillary Hsing, Andy takes a leap of faith and auditions for a part as the host of a children's TV show. As Andy tries to move past his failed marriage, he helps his sister and her family, and things begin to heat up between Andy and Hillary, who's unfortunately married. In fact, the only thing that doesn't seem to change in his life is the weather in San Diego--it hasn't rained in nearly two years. Within a couple of days, I'd finished reading Two Years, No Rain. Once I settled into my favorite reading couch with this book, I was drawn quickly into the life of Andy Dunne, the main character, wanted to continue reading, and did! Written in the first-person narrative, I liked hearing things from a male perspective for a change. I cared about Andy because he's basically a decent guy with a conscience who's struggling to do the best he can after his life falls apart. Things may look bleak for him, but the tone of the book's hopeful and funny rather than somber. At times, this novel is darkly humorous. (Yellow sticky notes take on a very funny significance in this novel. I won't spoil it by saying more.) I wanted Andy to get the job and the girl, and a chance at a new life. In this contemporary novel, Klomparens uses modern technology to capture some of the highs and lows

Great Read!

Two Years, No Rain by Shawn Klomparens is a great novel that I thoroughly enjoyed. I tried to remember the last time I read a novel about a man and his issues with trying to find himself in this crazy world and I couldn't think of one. I think that is what I liked most about this book. It was refreshing to read a book about a man struggling to find himself and I have to say that I found it hard to put this one down. It was one of those books that I picked up every second I could because I just had to know what would happen with Andy next. Andy is a thirty-something man who has been going through a rough spot in his life for a long time. He works for a satellite radio station reporting the weather and even there hasn't had much to report since they were getting no rain. He felt he was becoming redundant everywhere in his life including his marriage. Turns out his wife was happily having affairs while he thought they were ok, not great - but ok. She ends up leaving him and moving practically everything out of their house. Yet another blow to the already bruised ego. He hears about a job though doing voice for a kid's television show. He auditions for it and to his surprise gets the job and not only doing voice, but actually hosting the show. He had pulled a stunt of sorts with some kids and a magic carpet and that had managed to win him his new job. Andy has a knack with kids and a knack in front of the camera. His personality shines through and kids love him. Thing is, it seems women all over are loving him too! All of a sudden Andy can't go out to the bar or the grocery store without being accosted by women. Now while Andy has been struggling with trying to rebuild his life after his wife has left we find out that he has had a long standing crush on a woman who worked in the same building as he did. Hillary is married and a very interesting character and she and Andy have been carrying on a texting and phoning relationship for almost two years and of course they see each other at work. Theirs is a confusing and stormy relationship as Hillary doesn't have a good marriage and Andy's marriage had been on the rocks for a while. I think that while they were attracted to each other, this just added to the bond they had. Their love seems sweet, but troubled. Where will it end up leading them - to each other, or away from each other? Andy is just a great character. He's funny, caring, a family man and just completely likeable. The author has a way of just pulling you completely into Andy's life. He's had things happen in his past that have worn him down and things going on in the present and you find yourself really caring about this man and what will happen to him. He has a niece Hannah who I just took to right away. She's delightfully funny in that teenage way and she had me laughing a few times with the things that would come out of her mouth. As a matter of fact, there were many instances in this book that had me laughing that had to do with Andy

Klomparens has done it again!

I really enjoyed this book. The lead character Andy is real enough that I wonder what he is doing now. You should buy TYNR, you won't regret it! Side note, it has not stopped raining here for a month.