I don't remember if it was Rod or Todd Flanders that said, "lies make baby Jesus cry," but whoever it was came close to explaining the premise behind John Chu's "The Water That Falls on You from Nowhere:" whenever someone lies, they get unexpectedly rained upon (even indoors, it seems). The bigger the lie, the more it rains.
It's an interesting premise, to say the least. How would we live in such a world? How would we curb our behaviour and our speech? And is it a metaphor for guilt or something?
Unfortunately, I don't think Chu adequately explores his own premise. Instead it becomes a tale about a man named Matt who is coming out to his parents. It's not entirely removed from the premise, I suppose, as Matt hasn't exactly lied to them about his sexual orientation, but has not been forthcoming with the truth either. Perhaps his realistic adaptation is the way we'd all adapt in Chu's unrealistic world. Still, the premise seems unnecessary (was it merely a way to get it published by Tor.com who typically only publish sci-fi and fantasy?) when the coming out story, complicated by intercultural and inter-generational gaps, is compelling and well-written enough without it. The premise becomes more of a distraction as the story goes on.
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