Life in the Rainbow

By Richard Horan

Life at once hilarious and horrifying is what our young hero discovers working as a nurse's aide in the Rainbow Home for the mentally ill. He ends up there by accident. In the middle of a walk across North America to Alaska in homage to his patron philosopher Henry David Thoreau, Richard stops for a haircut in Chicago where he meets Nick the Barber. Nick suggests it's not more of the road that Richard needs, but work, people, practical experience. He knows just the place. As the newest member of the Rainbow's staff, Richard is soon changing diapers on middle-aged men, weathering the devastation of Mount Shirley's truth-telling eruptions, dodging the punches thrown by octogenarian Megs, and somehow dealing with all the other variations of the human type living in the Rainbow. One by one he tells us of his charges through short, funny, touching portraits. But tending to patients' daily needs is not the only challenge that Richard and his sympathetic co-workers, Dorothy and Kelvin, face. The Rainbow's new owners are angling to dump residents who are wards of the state and bring in private patients who can pay big bucks. Richard, Dorothy, Kelvin, and those few patients with the wherewithal to act strategically conspire to keep the unwanted souls where they rightfully belong.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1883642027
• ISBN13: 9781883642020
• Release Date: January 1996
• Publisher: Steerforth Press
• Length: 164 Pages
• Weight: 0.81 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.8" x 8.8"

Customer Reviews

Stories that remain..

I think one of the greatest detriments to an author, is the reader that sets his expectations before even turning a page. Literature is art, not cinema. I think some of the other 'critcs' have missed the point of this book and have in fact, taken some of it quite personally. I would even be willing to wager a substantial sum that they might harbor some slight resentments on a personal level to Mr. Horan. Fair enough, you're entitled to your opinions. I would prefer to read an educated analysis or opinion rather than a bitter rant. So here is my opinion of this book: I read this book back in 1996. I loved it then and I love it now. In fact, this evening I was pondering over a character in the book which has stayed in my memory for almost 10 years and how although very different in lifestyle, age, mental capacity, I feel as if I can relate to him. In some ways, I feel that I can relate to all of these characters- and that is what makes it a great book. It carries with it such a deep sense of what the author thinks and how he perceived his environment at the time. Just as you meet some people and don't care for them based on the premise that some personalities conflict with others, so will people read this book and either really like it or not. In its brief chapters and few pages, it relays a deeper, more subtle and yes, at times, sarcastic undertone.. but would not a young man out of college who chooses to walk across the country have to be an interesting character? If he weaved within its framework, true stories and real people, so much so that it was insulting to some... I'd defend it still and state that these characters reflect not only what the author perceived in them, but in himself as well. The idea is that we all know someone who on some level reflects the characteristics and personalities of the people. That is what authors do. They write about what they know. People they know-Experiences they've had or would like to have. Their characters start off based on an idea and develop into a culmination of people in their lives. It doesn't suprise me that some people don't "get" the book. There are people who prefer mindless entertainment which requires no deep thought or personal analysis and then there are those who prefer to look on each work as its own individual work of art... not an item to be compared with all around it. If the best you can do is draw conclusions and comparisons then you obviously lack the ability to appreciate a work based on its own content. You are nothing more than a simpleton, easily impressed by flash and sparkle and your opinion itself then lacks merit. This book isn't about flash and sparkle and it's certainly not to be compared to "Rainman" or other aforementioned works. Ironically, your review was far more sarcastic than the main character of the book.. perhaps the pot calling..

Horan decidedly insightful

Many have expressed distaste at having been "offended" by this novel. In reality, "Life in the Rainbow" is anything but, and the harsh realism Horan brings across is, in fact, the squishy center of the novel. Filled with poignant wit and biting sarcasm, "Life in the Rainbow" excells beyond others in its genre, told from not only a personal point of view, but a real one. It may not always be pretty (as shown in the testimonial about the man with one testical), but it is prose at its best: moving and unforgiving. Horan seems to have found himself in the Rainbow, and while no one else is expected to, you may just find he can teach a little something.

Best I've ever read

Cpt. Horan (of St. Johns Military Academy in Delafield Wisconsin) was a former English teacher of mine. His use of emotional moving words create esqusit paragraphs of feeling. His style of writting should be more commonally used. This novel is rich in feeling, one quality that many other novels do not posesse.