The King and the Rain does not offer easy salvation. And yet, within it, hopelessness is not a dead end. In few words, it tells what it means not to forget who you are and what your guiding principles are in the face of the storm.
– Kameliya Velichkova, Vij Magazine
Children’s books, 36 pages, 2020
THE KING AND THE RAIN
The King and the Rain by the award-winning illustrator Kiril Zlatkov uses the picture book format to speak to people of any age. It is a story about human warmth and solidarity in times of hopelessness. Done in grisaille and reminiscent of Tarkovsky, it uses the language of myth to confront modern feelings of anxiety.
The King and the Rain is a book about difficult times. These times are not specified, because everyone experiences the looming crisis differently. The book simply speaks of a flood—the archetypal symbol of despair found in nearly every world religion. What you see in it is a matter of personal interpretation.