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Something Rich and Strange: Selected Stories
From the critically acclaimed, award-winning author of Serena and The Cove, thirty-four of his finest short stories, collected in one volume
No one captures the complexities of Appalachia—a rugged, brutal landscape of exquisite beauty—as evocatively and indelibly as author and poet Ron Rash. Winner of the Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award, two O. Henry prizes, and a finalist for the PEN/Faulkner Award, Rash brilliantly illuminates the tensions between the traditional and the modern, the old and the new south, tenderness and violence, man and nature. Though his focus is regional, the themes of Rash's work are universal, striking an emotional chord that resonates deep within each of our lives.
Something Rich and Strange showcases this acclaimed master's artistry and craftsmanship in thirty-two stories culled from previously published collections and two available for the first time in book form: "Outlaws" and "Shiloh." Each work of short fiction demonstrates Rash's dazzling ability to evoke the heart and soul of this land and its people—men and women inexorably tethered to the geography that defines and shapes them. Filled with suspense and myth, hope and heartbreak, and told in language that flows like "shimmering, liquid poetry" (Atlanta Journal-Constitution), Something Rich and Strange is an iconic work from an American literary virtuoso.
No one captures the complexities of Appalachia—a rugged, brutal landscape of exquisite beauty—as evocatively and indelibly as author and poet Ron Rash. Winner of the Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award, two O. Henry prizes, and a finalist for the PEN/Faulkner Award, Rash brilliantly illuminates the tensions between the traditional and the modern, the old and the new south, tenderness and violence, man and nature. Though his focus is regional, the themes of Rash's work are universal, striking an emotional chord that resonates deep within each of our lives.
Something Rich and Strange showcases this acclaimed master's artistry and craftsmanship in thirty-two stories culled from previously published collections and two available for the first time in book form: "Outlaws" and "Shiloh." Each work of short fiction demonstrates Rash's dazzling ability to evoke the heart and soul of this land and its people—men and women inexorably tethered to the geography that defines and shapes them. Filled with suspense and myth, hope and heartbreak, and told in language that flows like "shimmering, liquid poetry" (Atlanta Journal-Constitution), Something Rich and Strange is an iconic work from an American literary virtuoso.
288 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 4, 2014
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3383 people want to read
About the author
Ron Rash
67 books2,138 followersRon Rash is the author of the 2009 PEN/Faulkner Finalist and New York Times bestselling novel, Serena, in addition to three other prizewinning novels, One Foot in Eden, Saints at the River, and The World Made Straight; three collections of poems; and four collections of stories, among them Burning Bright, which won the 2010 Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award, and Chemistry and Other Stories, which was a finalist for the 2007 PEN/Faulkner Award. Twice the recipient of the O.Henry Prize, he teaches at Western Carolina University.
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February 22, 2015
“Sense of place is the sixth sense, an internal compass and map made by memory and spatial perception together.”
― Rebecca Solnit, Savage Dreams: A Journey into the Landscape Wars of the American West
In Something Rich and Strange, a collection of thirty-two previously published and two new short stories, Ron Rash demonstrates this sixth sense, this sense of place, to shiveringly acute degree. His place is the mountains and valleys of southwestern North Carolina, the heart of Appalachia.
Rash's stories span generations, from the Civil War through the Depression, the Vietnam War to the war in Iraq. Each story is sloped and slanted and ridged by the land, dense with fog, wet with rain, seeping with humidity. Caution must be taken when entering the sheltering cool of the North Carolina woods, where menacing creatures lurk: snakes and bears and men with shotguns; just as caution must be taken when entering a Rash story: sorrow, violence and madness wait in the shadows.
In this Appalachian Garden of Eden, good battles with evil. A pawn-shop owner finds his brother and sister-in-law huddled beneath blankets in an unheated trailer in “Back of Beyond.” Their son and his meth-addicted friends have taken over their farmhouse, selling off bits and pieces of the parents’ lives to support their habit. In “Those Who Are Dead Are Only Now Forgiven”Jody and Lauren have planned their escape from their childhood home for years: college, jobs, marriage will save them. But Jody, home from his first year of university, finds Lauren has succumbed to the siren song of meth. Can he save her? An arsonist in “Burning Bright” is a thoughtful and considerate lover, offering a widow in her sixties a chance at new love. In the collection's opening story, “Hard Times,” hunger during the Depression is outsized by a man’s pride and compassion has an expiration date.
Madness lingers, driving characters to moments of inexplicable violence, as in “Night Hawks,” where a former sixth-grade teacher finds shelter in the midnight to six a.m. shift at the radio station. “Into the Gorge,” old-timer Jesse, out harvesting ginseng on federal land—land that used to belong to his family—encounters a forest ranger and in a heartbeat, things take a disastrous turn.
Women are often vulnerable in Rash's wild mountains, but the Confederate soldier in “Lincolnites” is no match against a knitting needle, and a runaway trusty doesn’t get very far once he meets a young, angelic farmwife in “The Trusty.”
Yes, it’s true. There are few moments of redemption in Something Rich and Strange. In “Three A.M. and the Stars Were Out,” one of the most tender of the collection, a vet and a farmer, both in their eighties, help a cow birth a breached calf. It is a poignant moment in a long-standing friendship, recalling the deep bonds author Kent Haruf—another who wrote with such a profound sense of place—created between his characters. But this tenderness is rare. If you’ve read any Ron Rash, you have some idea of what to expect. His eye is unflinching, he bores down to his characters’ tender cores and splits them open, exposing pink flesh and pumping blood or putrid decay to the warm, humid, North Carolina night.
Rash’s writing is marvelous and his mastery of the short story breathtaking. He wrings full stories with astonishing economy of plot—many are mere pages long—yet each is rendered in vivid detail. You have the sense that you are eavesdropping into these lives, seeing, hearing, smelling Rash’s world before the characters walk away, leaving you wondering what might become of their Shakespearean-tragic lives.
― Rebecca Solnit, Savage Dreams: A Journey into the Landscape Wars of the American West
In Something Rich and Strange, a collection of thirty-two previously published and two new short stories, Ron Rash demonstrates this sixth sense, this sense of place, to shiveringly acute degree. His place is the mountains and valleys of southwestern North Carolina, the heart of Appalachia.
Rash's stories span generations, from the Civil War through the Depression, the Vietnam War to the war in Iraq. Each story is sloped and slanted and ridged by the land, dense with fog, wet with rain, seeping with humidity. Caution must be taken when entering the sheltering cool of the North Carolina woods, where menacing creatures lurk: snakes and bears and men with shotguns; just as caution must be taken when entering a Rash story: sorrow, violence and madness wait in the shadows.
In this Appalachian Garden of Eden, good battles with evil. A pawn-shop owner finds his brother and sister-in-law huddled beneath blankets in an unheated trailer in “Back of Beyond.” Their son and his meth-addicted friends have taken over their farmhouse, selling off bits and pieces of the parents’ lives to support their habit. In “Those Who Are Dead Are Only Now Forgiven”Jody and Lauren have planned their escape from their childhood home for years: college, jobs, marriage will save them. But Jody, home from his first year of university, finds Lauren has succumbed to the siren song of meth. Can he save her? An arsonist in “Burning Bright” is a thoughtful and considerate lover, offering a widow in her sixties a chance at new love. In the collection's opening story, “Hard Times,” hunger during the Depression is outsized by a man’s pride and compassion has an expiration date.
Madness lingers, driving characters to moments of inexplicable violence, as in “Night Hawks,” where a former sixth-grade teacher finds shelter in the midnight to six a.m. shift at the radio station. “Into the Gorge,” old-timer Jesse, out harvesting ginseng on federal land—land that used to belong to his family—encounters a forest ranger and in a heartbeat, things take a disastrous turn.
Women are often vulnerable in Rash's wild mountains, but the Confederate soldier in “Lincolnites” is no match against a knitting needle, and a runaway trusty doesn’t get very far once he meets a young, angelic farmwife in “The Trusty.”
Yes, it’s true. There are few moments of redemption in Something Rich and Strange. In “Three A.M. and the Stars Were Out,” one of the most tender of the collection, a vet and a farmer, both in their eighties, help a cow birth a breached calf. It is a poignant moment in a long-standing friendship, recalling the deep bonds author Kent Haruf—another who wrote with such a profound sense of place—created between his characters. But this tenderness is rare. If you’ve read any Ron Rash, you have some idea of what to expect. His eye is unflinching, he bores down to his characters’ tender cores and splits them open, exposing pink flesh and pumping blood or putrid decay to the warm, humid, North Carolina night.
Rash’s writing is marvelous and his mastery of the short story breathtaking. He wrings full stories with astonishing economy of plot—many are mere pages long—yet each is rendered in vivid detail. You have the sense that you are eavesdropping into these lives, seeing, hearing, smelling Rash’s world before the characters walk away, leaving you wondering what might become of their Shakespearean-tragic lives.
Want to read
November 15, 2014a true story of what just happened:
this book landed on my desk.
OH MY GOD A NEW RON RASH AND IT'S HUUUUUGE BEST DAY EVER I AM GOING TO GO HOME RIGHT NOW TO READ IT AND NO ONE CAN STOP ME!!!
then:
HEY, WAIT A MINUTE!!!
dawning realization.
these are..... OLD STORIES!!!!!
sigh.
still happy, but quite deflated.
not going home right now to read it.
this book landed on my desk.
OH MY GOD A NEW RON RASH AND IT'S HUUUUUGE BEST DAY EVER I AM GOING TO GO HOME RIGHT NOW TO READ IT AND NO ONE CAN STOP ME!!!
then:
HEY, WAIT A MINUTE!!!
dawning realization.
these are..... OLD STORIES!!!!!
sigh.
still happy, but quite deflated.
not going home right now to read it.
April 19, 2015
A collection of the best Ron Rash short stories - I had read quite a few of these before, but enjoyed reading them again. If you haven't read Ron Rash yet, this collection or Serena are great places to start.
Sheer perfection.
Sheer perfection.
February 15, 2026
Are short stories really my thing?
No!
Did I enjoy these anyway?
Yes!
Was I maybe wrong about short stories?
Maybe!
Ron Rash is a brilliant writer! About half of these stories are amazing, a quarter are really good, and the remaining quarter are good. Nothing in this collection came even remotely close to approaching bad. Centered around the Appalachian Mountains and focusing on its wide array of inhabitants and their even wider array of problems. These hese stories make you feel part of them. Part art of the culture. Part of the community. Like you're a character in a very well written and, although short, deep story.
Well done, Ron! Every book of yours has been a pleasure to read, and I look forward to enjoying more.
No!
Did I enjoy these anyway?
Yes!
Was I maybe wrong about short stories?
Maybe!
Ron Rash is a brilliant writer! About half of these stories are amazing, a quarter are really good, and the remaining quarter are good. Nothing in this collection came even remotely close to approaching bad. Centered around the Appalachian Mountains and focusing on its wide array of inhabitants and their even wider array of problems. These hese stories make you feel part of them. Part art of the culture. Part of the community. Like you're a character in a very well written and, although short, deep story.
Well done, Ron! Every book of yours has been a pleasure to read, and I look forward to enjoying more.
January 14, 2015
Ron Rash is too good to miss. If you aren’t familiar with his name, you must read a story or two, just so that you know his style, his subject. He writes about the Carolina Blue Ridge Mountain section of the Appalachians and his subjects are the wide range of mostly forgotten folks who live there, out of common view. We recognize them—their needs, resentments, their motivations—instantly though we wouldn’t claim to be them.
This is a collection of thirty-two stories culled from earlier works plus two new ones at the very end, “Outlaws” and “Shiloh,” that have not been previously collected.
One of my favorite stories, “Three A.M. and the Stars are Out,” is reprinted here from an earlier collection, Nothing Gold Can Stay. It tells of a retired veterinarian who still gets calls from his old customers and he still goes to help out. His wife is dead four months and he sometimes forgets she’s not there to answer back when a newspaper article prompts his comment.
The time frame in Rash’s stories stretch from the Civil War to today. Another favorite story is the first in this collection, called “Hard Times,” about depression-era Appalachian life. A farmer with a bitter and disagreeable wife discovers eggs are missing from his Bantam’s nest and resolves to catch the culprit.
Back-country superstitions and ways brought down from olden times play a part in the lives of people. “The Corpse Bird” features an owl who brings bad tidings, and a college-educated man visits a Pentacostal church to be cured in “Chemistry.” The scourge of drug abuse features in several stories, as naturally told as though it were endemic.
Rash polishes his stories until there is not a word too many nor out of place. He has also written novels, one of which is due out as a feature film in February 2015, starring Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence, called Serena. It looks as though it is shot on location in the Appalachian range, but in fact it was shot in Prague, Czech Republic and Denmark. Though the film does not garner high marks yet, I think we’d agree it probably isn’t the actors' fault. Probably read the book first so you won’t be disappointed.
This is a collection of thirty-two stories culled from earlier works plus two new ones at the very end, “Outlaws” and “Shiloh,” that have not been previously collected.
One of my favorite stories, “Three A.M. and the Stars are Out,” is reprinted here from an earlier collection, Nothing Gold Can Stay. It tells of a retired veterinarian who still gets calls from his old customers and he still goes to help out. His wife is dead four months and he sometimes forgets she’s not there to answer back when a newspaper article prompts his comment.
The time frame in Rash’s stories stretch from the Civil War to today. Another favorite story is the first in this collection, called “Hard Times,” about depression-era Appalachian life. A farmer with a bitter and disagreeable wife discovers eggs are missing from his Bantam’s nest and resolves to catch the culprit.
Back-country superstitions and ways brought down from olden times play a part in the lives of people. “The Corpse Bird” features an owl who brings bad tidings, and a college-educated man visits a Pentacostal church to be cured in “Chemistry.” The scourge of drug abuse features in several stories, as naturally told as though it were endemic.
Rash polishes his stories until there is not a word too many nor out of place. He has also written novels, one of which is due out as a feature film in February 2015, starring Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence, called Serena. It looks as though it is shot on location in the Appalachian range, but in fact it was shot in Prague, Czech Republic and Denmark. Though the film does not garner high marks yet, I think we’d agree it probably isn’t the actors' fault. Probably read the book first so you won’t be disappointed.
November 30, 2014
All I want to do is find Mr Rash, have coffee, and make him tell me stories all damn day long.
April 26, 2017
3.5 stars
Thirty-five or so selected short stories by the most eloquent writer, Ron Rash, spanning a century or more of life in Appalachia. But it's about so much more, as it tackles love and marriage, hate and pride, meth and other drugs du jour, the Civil War and Vietnam Nam, and I could go on and on. In the first 10 minutes alone, it had me cringing, not once, but twice. And then it had me laughing as well, or at times putting me nearly to sleep, and even scratching my head at some of the endings left open and flapping in the breeze. All in all, some delicious stories and not as dark as I had expected after the first story.
Thirty-five or so selected short stories by the most eloquent writer, Ron Rash, spanning a century or more of life in Appalachia. But it's about so much more, as it tackles love and marriage, hate and pride, meth and other drugs du jour, the Civil War and Vietnam Nam, and I could go on and on. In the first 10 minutes alone, it had me cringing, not once, but twice. And then it had me laughing as well, or at times putting me nearly to sleep, and even scratching my head at some of the endings left open and flapping in the breeze. All in all, some delicious stories and not as dark as I had expected after the first story.
January 2, 2015
I'm glad I'm not a writer. Reading Ron Rash would make me give up. Not since Flannery O'Connor has someone been able to invoke a sense of place with such deceptively simple prose. Amazing.
March 18, 2015
I first discovered Ron Rash’s writing when I read his novels, and then followed with Burning Bright, a selection of his short stories. Not a fan of shorts, I was completely captivated by each tale set throughout the region of Appalachia. The haunting stories and Mr. Rash's exceptional talents as a writer have stayed with me. I was excited to begin this new compilation, only to discover that there are only two new stories in this book, as the rest were previously published, including selections from Burning Bright. No matter, I loved revisiting the ones I was familiar with and having the opportunity to read his earlier works culled from different resources. If you want to experience and savor short stories at their finest, look no further.
January 16, 2018
This is my first ever encounter with Ron Rash and that's only because karen made me do it.
I mean, I've known who the guy is for years. I work in a library, after all; I just never felt the need to read any of his stuff. But karen's always, "i love this dude!" (paraphrasing) so I figured, I'm always up for knowing how karen ticks a little better. I should read this anthology of short stories and that will get me up to speed!
And now I realize I've really been robbing myself of some good literature while not reading this author. He may be a writer of southern lit and grit and Hobbesian morality but I have some poor midwest in me and I live in mountains so there's overlap with his characters' lives and mine plus he says what he says so well, sometimes in spare prose and sometimes in ridiculous scenarios. I liked it.
In the case of these stories, I was impressed how one would link to the next and themes and ideas were repeated throughout, sometimes in the form of a character or characteristic, sometimes in a title hearkening back to a situation that had happened in an earlier story. It's all quite pleasing.
Here's what I thought of each story. Please note - they're all well-written and completely evocative of the theme/feel/whatever being presented. Some I just enjoyed hearing more than others and my ratings reflect only how entertained I felt with each tale, not how well the story is written:
Hard Times - 4 stars
Only the bantam eggs go missing from a henhouse during the Depression era and a farmer who used to love his wife has a hard time reconciling with how hard she's become.
While I knew what was happening as soon as the missing eggs were mentioned, I'm pleased with how it all turned out. Also, I have never heard of catching snakes like that! It's horrific but also fascinating but awfully cruel.
3 AM and the Stars Were Out - 4 stars
Retired vet and recent widower gets a call at 2am from his BFF whose cow won’t birth her calf. He goes over and they get the calf out and talk in the dark of the early morning.
It's such a quiet story about love and grief and friendship and looking back at a whole life lived and it's beautiful.
The Ascent - 3 stars
Christmas break: 11-year-old Jared finds a downed plane in the Great Smoky Mountains. It offers him treasure, hope, and salvation.
This one's a bit heartbreaking, mostly in how much Jared's parents love him but can't get their shit together so it doesn't matter at all what they feel for him.
Night Hawks - 4 stars
Jenny is a radio DJ from 12am-6am. Her boss, Barry, warns her the solitude of that time is going to get to her, she’s the 3rd DJ in 18 months, but solitude is exactly what she needs.
I liked this one specifically because of the aloneness. Aloneness can be a wonderful balm for the soul, sometimes.
The Trusted - 4 stars
Sinkler, a grifter, a con man, a prisoner on a chain gang, is sent to a farmhouse for water where he meets a girl, Lucy.
He should probably be careful.
Mwahahahaha
Back of Beyond - 4 stars
One winter, in the early days of meth, Parson, the town's pawn shop owner, has to get his methy nephew in line before the kid brings down the entire family.
I pictured my own family in these roles.
Lincolnites - 3 stars
This is during the Civil War.
Lily is left behind to take care of the farm.
She takes care of it just fine.
Once, I had thought I loved Civil War stories after first ever reading The Red Badge of Courage but as I tried to find another story like that one, I realized I just liked that book, not Civil War stories. This was was pretty good, though.
Into the Gorge - 2 stars
Jesse’s great aunt is out working when she’s old, not listening to others when they say she can’t. And then she goes missing and her body is found in the gorge, down where the old homestead was.
When it's Jesse's turn to be old, he realizes he needs some savings so he goes to harvest the ginseng his father planted around the old homestead decades before, ginseng that now belongs to the forest service. He doesn't quite measure up to his great aunt's old agedness.
I wasn't really interested in this one and wanted Jesse to just hurry up so I could get to the next story.
Return - 3 stars
Someone’s coming home, walking through the snow, back from the military and probably a war. He remembers the death of his brother, Joel. It’s snowing and he’s just back from the Philippines, where it was always hot and muggy.
This is a super short story, but reflective and equal parts heavy and hopeful.
Waiting For the End of the World - 4.5 stars
Musings from a guy, Devon, playing music - usually Freebird (I hate that song) - in a cinderbox roadhouse sometime after midnight.
It's a bit funny, a bit resigned, and a bit horrible, what with the constant repetition of "Freebird" I really liked this one.
Burning Bright - 4 stars
Marcy’s county in the middle of a drought and she thinks her young new husband, Carl, is out lighting fires in the park.
I don't know that I'd have been as Tammy Wynettey as Marcy but I enjoyed the layered unfolding of this story nonetheless.
The Woman Who Believed in Jaguars - 2.5 stars
Ruth saw a jaguar at the zoo as a kid and was impressed with how fluid it was. She forgets about them for half a century then she’s thinking of them again. With no sense of belonging, she sets out to find if jaguars once inhabited the Carolinas.
This was the only story that didn't feel solid to me. Maybe that was intentional since Ruth's life isn't solid, she's not solid. She may as well be some vaporous being, as far as everyone else is concerned, according to her.
Where the Map Ends - 2 stars
2 fugitive slaves hide at a farm and talk to the farmer.
While I know this was a good story and I liked the possibly sinister denouement, I just didn't get caught up in this one like I had some of the others.
Those Who Are Dead Are Only Now Forgiven - 3 stars
The Shackleford house was haunted. It’s out there rotting away on 30 acres and makes for the perfect meth house. Jody has to choose between his bright future and his former love.
This is one of the sad ones. I guess I should have guessed by the title.
Their Ancient, Glittering Eyes - 5 stars
Three old men, one of them a Rudicel (sp?), sit at the store, yammering about all the problems in the world, while people come tell them about a huge fish in a pool. They have to check it out for themselves and everyone’s got an opinion.
This one took me by surprise because it's pretty funny. Of particular glee to me: one of the kids fish with a Panther Martin, my old favorite. This was my go-to back in the day:
And there's a fish whose mouth is full of hooks and lures, which is a terrifying image.
Bonus: I love all the voices the narrator uses.
Pretty much, I loved everything about this story.
Falling Star - I can’t decide. I like and dislike it equally.
Bobby is beginning to get old and everything is leaving him behind - his wife is going to college, his daughter is in second grade and is gaining independence, his co-workers call him the old man and he knows he’s got to keep up or he’ll be fired. He just wants to feel relevant again.
I hated Bobby's thought process and so I hated Bobby but it was so realistic. Toxic masculinity is a hot topic right now and this touches on why some men can't get what they need out of life because the roles they thought they fit in don't exist anymore.
The Magic Bus - 3 stars
Sabre is nearly 16. The VietNam war is going on. She meets Wendy and Thomas, the hippies. Everyone in NC hates the hippies.
She feeds them in the barn, bringing them leftovers and talking to them or, rather, listening.
That ending. The cow had left the spring trough and stood by the barn’s ashes, waiting to be milked, not knowing where else to go. It's pretty much perfect.
Something Rich and Strange - 4 stars
A Nebraskan family (probably some of my cousins) are in the Appalachians for Spring Break.
The girl wants to stand in the river so she can stand straddle a state line. The river takes her and she drowns in the undercut of a waterfall. The diver sent to retrieve her is haunted by the dead girl with her flesh freed from the chandelier of bone.
This one is full of emotions but not necessarily through a main character nor the ones you'd expect to find in a story about a guy trying to get to a dead child.
The Dowry - 3 stars
Pastor Boone goes off to see Ethan Burke (not this Ethan Burke), who fought for the Union and who wants to marry Confederate Col. Davidson’s daughter . Poor old Col. (said sarcastically) won’t let that damn Yank marry his daughter nor will he forgive the rest of the world unless he can have his hand back.
Ugh. This guy.
Another Civil War story and also one that is pretty good. Pastor Boone is a bit too literal in his religious beliefs, though.
A Sort of Miracle - 2 stars
Baroque and Marlboro? Are those their names? Anyhow, they're adult brothers living with their older sister and her husband, Denton, who hates the boys because they're fat, lazy, stupid slobs.
This story could be called Crazy Guy with Dumb & Dumber. I think it's supposed to be one of the fun and lighthearted ones, but it gave me an irritation ache.
The Corpse Bird - 3 stars
Boyd, an educated engineer, is worried someone is going to die because an owl has been sitting on the same branch in the same tree, hooting dolorously for a couple of nights. A third night of this behavior means someone is going to die.
We don’t get to find out if that happens or not.
You can take the boy out of the mountains but you can't take the mountains out of the boy.
Dead Confederates - 3 stars
Wesley’s a fat, lazy, alt-right loser who wants to go graverobbing for Civil War belt buckles, buttons, and the like.
It doesn’t work.
This is light-hearted and humorous, like the dumb and dumber one only with that excellent sense of comeuppance at the end.
The Woman at the Pond - 3 stars
A guy asks Wallace Rudicel (sp?) to help him drain a pond. This Rudicel is also concerned about fishing lures.
The guy remembers back in his high school days, he was out on the pond fishing one evening when he saw a domestic dispute and a truck sped off, leaving a woman in a leather jacket behind.
I wanted my question answered for this one. I wasn't happy to have an up-for-discussion ending. I often like those just fine but not this time.
A Servant of History - 2 stars
Ha! The narrator is using an Englishy accent for the main character (because he's British) and it is so weird.
In 1922, James Wilson, a British guy has been sent on a ballad-finding quest, trying to find old English songs that made it across the pond.
Wilson, in his arrogance, makes all the worst decisions and has a run-in with an old grudge.
Another humorous one but it did not tickle my funny bone nor did it delight my sense of schadenfreude like I had hoped it would.
26 Days - 3 stars
Some guy works at the college and his wife, Ellen, works at the diner. They have a daughter who is in Afghanistan. The couple is working so hard to get their daughter into college when she comes home, they’re so supportive. They’re also terrified she won’t make it home now that she’s due back soon and that's how superstition works.
Another short, quiet, reflective story, this one full of parental love and fear. I liked it.
Last Rite - 2 stars
Segues from the last story with the sheriff with his hat in his hand come to tell Sarah Hampton that her son, Elijah, is dead. He’d been shot on a trail and robbed.
She’s a little upset that Elijah’s wife, Laura, 17-years-old and who had only been married to Elijah a year before he had been killed, is already planning to remarry.
Sarah and Laura go with a surveyor to see where Elijah had died so she can record it in the family bible.
I’m had hard time concentrating on this one, I'm not sure why.
Blackberries in June - 5 stars
This one was my favorite and it made me so angry.
Jamie and Matt. They’ve been married about a year and have already bought a little lake house, which they’re fixing up together. Matt is a logger and Jamie is worried about him because it’s a dangerous job. They plan to take night classes to get degrees and better jobs. They’re doing everything they can to get ahead and be comfortable.
Matt works for Jamie’s brother, Charlton, who is married to Linda, an annoying twit. For some reason, Linda and Jamie’s/Charlton’s mom think Matt and Jamie should be thankful for Charlton’s kindness, as if Matt isn’t a good worker, as if Jamie and Matt don't deserve what they have but, rather, owe their good fortune to Jamie's brother. They’re also snipey about all the work Matt and Jamie are doing on the house and how they need to go to church, instead. You know, to express their gratitude for all the good stuff they have.
Jamie sees in Linda and in her mother that thing that runs through women in this family, how everything is always bad, how they sour so young and turn into human-shaped bitterness and resentment.
Jamie’s mom agrees that Jamie and Matt owe the family their help and money because the mom feels this is what just has to be done. They’ll have to sell the house because they have no right to it anyway and they should thank their lucky stars they had such success so early in life.
It ends
My review:
Fuck you, Linda. And fuck you, too, Jamie’s mom. And you can just step off, while we’re at it, grammaw. Stop perpetuating the cycle, you miserable little goblins.
Chemistry - 4 stars
Paul, Joel’s dad, has returned from the hospital and won’t take his pills. He’d been on shock therapy. He is a chemistry teacher and feels the pills will make him incapable but, as a result, he was found sobbing in a closet at work and then decided he wasn’t Presbyterian anymore but was going to attend a Pentecostal church, instead. He also engages in a new/old hobby at the uncle's lake house.
Poor Joel. There was nothing he could have done differently. Again, you can take the man out of the mountains but you can not take the mountains out of the man.
The Night the New Jesus Fell to Earth - 4 stars
Larry Rudicel (sp?) is a used car huckster and this is told by Larry’s ex-wife. Larry, comes up with the great idea to do an Easter display in front of the church. He and Terry are going to be on the crosses. Harry might be Jesus. Larry, Terry, and Harry.
The narrator is a carpenter, and a good one. She was supposed to build the 3 crosses for the Easter display but because Larry was being an ass, she left and they had to do it themselves. They half-assed it, of course.
This reads as an op-ed piece in the paper.
While the light, humorous ones have not been my favorite, this story definitely appealed to my smirky big sister personality. All the comeuppances!
The Harvest - 3 stars
A 10-year-old helps his father and uncle harvest the rest of a neighbor’s cabbages after the neighbor died tipping his tractor.
Super short, sad, and a good lesson for a growing boy.
Badeye - 5 stars
Badeye is the local creepy Sno-Cone seller. He used to be a bootlegger and the religious women in the neighborhood find him and his sinning ways distasteful. The men of town are more sympathetic but the kids follow him around like he’s the Pied Piper.
So this kid’s mom made up a story about a horrible, paralyzing disease spread by flies via Sno-Cones to scare her kid into not chasing after Badeye.
It didn’t work.
The mothers got together and came up with a new strategy: Bring in the law.
It didn’t work.
They tried homemade SnoCones. No dice.
This is a little like "A Christmas Story" in tone.
Anyway, the kid and his father bond over snakes - Chris (my brother) would like this story - so his mother is distraught no matter what due to all the dangerous things in the forms snakes or Badeye.
But then all the problems solve themselves and the mother can finally get a good night's rest.
Seriously, this was like a story my brother would tell. Or, rather, a story I would tell about my brother and that made me love it even more than I'd already loved it. It has a sad ending, though.
Love and Pain in the New South - 2 stars
Darlene is back after 2 months with divorce papers. The soon-to-be-ex-husband is sorry for what has happened because he loves her and he’s sorry he killed the monkey and, as a result of that deed, Darlene is with a moron named Stanley who is both a veterinarian and psychologist.
This one also doesn't have the answers I was looking for. What really happened at the end? Also, these loser dudes who expect their wives to put up with their shit and be happy about it are not good at figuring stuff out.
Shiloh - 2 stars
In another Civil War story, Benjamin has been injured in a big battle (see title). He’s walking home to his wife, Emma, who can grow anything. He wishes he'd brought her some peach pits to plant.
This one threw me because I didn’t know this author did ghosts stories.
Outlaws - 4 stars
The narrator used to rob trains for tourists as a teen. In between robbings, he'd listen to the college kids talk about keeping out of the VietNam war.
This one seems autobiographical. I imagined he was in the LoDo Tattered Cover during the Denver part.
Whatever the case, this was the perfect story to end the collection.
I mean, I've known who the guy is for years. I work in a library, after all; I just never felt the need to read any of his stuff. But karen's always, "i love this dude!" (paraphrasing) so I figured, I'm always up for knowing how karen ticks a little better. I should read this anthology of short stories and that will get me up to speed!
And now I realize I've really been robbing myself of some good literature while not reading this author. He may be a writer of southern lit and grit and Hobbesian morality but I have some poor midwest in me and I live in mountains so there's overlap with his characters' lives and mine plus he says what he says so well, sometimes in spare prose and sometimes in ridiculous scenarios. I liked it.
In the case of these stories, I was impressed how one would link to the next and themes and ideas were repeated throughout, sometimes in the form of a character or characteristic, sometimes in a title hearkening back to a situation that had happened in an earlier story. It's all quite pleasing.
Here's what I thought of each story. Please note - they're all well-written and completely evocative of the theme/feel/whatever being presented. Some I just enjoyed hearing more than others and my ratings reflect only how entertained I felt with each tale, not how well the story is written:
Hard Times - 4 stars
Only the bantam eggs go missing from a henhouse during the Depression era and a farmer who used to love his wife has a hard time reconciling with how hard she's become.
While I knew what was happening as soon as the missing eggs were mentioned, I'm pleased with how it all turned out. Also, I have never heard of catching snakes like that! It's horrific but also fascinating but awfully cruel.
3 AM and the Stars Were Out - 4 stars
Retired vet and recent widower gets a call at 2am from his BFF whose cow won’t birth her calf. He goes over and they get the calf out and talk in the dark of the early morning.
It's such a quiet story about love and grief and friendship and looking back at a whole life lived and it's beautiful.
The Ascent - 3 stars
Christmas break: 11-year-old Jared finds a downed plane in the Great Smoky Mountains. It offers him treasure, hope, and salvation.
This one's a bit heartbreaking, mostly in how much Jared's parents love him but can't get their shit together so it doesn't matter at all what they feel for him.
Night Hawks - 4 stars
Jenny is a radio DJ from 12am-6am. Her boss, Barry, warns her the solitude of that time is going to get to her, she’s the 3rd DJ in 18 months, but solitude is exactly what she needs.
I liked this one specifically because of the aloneness. Aloneness can be a wonderful balm for the soul, sometimes.
The Trusted - 4 stars
Sinkler, a grifter, a con man, a prisoner on a chain gang, is sent to a farmhouse for water where he meets a girl, Lucy.
He should probably be careful.
Mwahahahaha
Back of Beyond - 4 stars
One winter, in the early days of meth, Parson, the town's pawn shop owner, has to get his methy nephew in line before the kid brings down the entire family.
I pictured my own family in these roles.
Lincolnites - 3 stars
This is during the Civil War.
Lily is left behind to take care of the farm.
She takes care of it just fine.
Once, I had thought I loved Civil War stories after first ever reading The Red Badge of Courage but as I tried to find another story like that one, I realized I just liked that book, not Civil War stories. This was was pretty good, though.
Into the Gorge - 2 stars
Jesse’s great aunt is out working when she’s old, not listening to others when they say she can’t. And then she goes missing and her body is found in the gorge, down where the old homestead was.
When it's Jesse's turn to be old, he realizes he needs some savings so he goes to harvest the ginseng his father planted around the old homestead decades before, ginseng that now belongs to the forest service. He doesn't quite measure up to his great aunt's old agedness.
I wasn't really interested in this one and wanted Jesse to just hurry up so I could get to the next story.
Return - 3 stars
Someone’s coming home, walking through the snow, back from the military and probably a war. He remembers the death of his brother, Joel. It’s snowing and he’s just back from the Philippines, where it was always hot and muggy.
This is a super short story, but reflective and equal parts heavy and hopeful.
Waiting For the End of the World - 4.5 stars
Musings from a guy, Devon, playing music - usually Freebird (I hate that song) - in a cinderbox roadhouse sometime after midnight.
It's a bit funny, a bit resigned, and a bit horrible, what with the constant repetition of "Freebird" I really liked this one.
Burning Bright - 4 stars
Marcy’s county in the middle of a drought and she thinks her young new husband, Carl, is out lighting fires in the park.
I don't know that I'd have been as Tammy Wynettey as Marcy but I enjoyed the layered unfolding of this story nonetheless.
The Woman Who Believed in Jaguars - 2.5 stars
Ruth saw a jaguar at the zoo as a kid and was impressed with how fluid it was. She forgets about them for half a century then she’s thinking of them again. With no sense of belonging, she sets out to find if jaguars once inhabited the Carolinas.
This was the only story that didn't feel solid to me. Maybe that was intentional since Ruth's life isn't solid, she's not solid. She may as well be some vaporous being, as far as everyone else is concerned, according to her.
Where the Map Ends - 2 stars
2 fugitive slaves hide at a farm and talk to the farmer.
While I know this was a good story and I liked the possibly sinister denouement, I just didn't get caught up in this one like I had some of the others.
Those Who Are Dead Are Only Now Forgiven - 3 stars
The Shackleford house was haunted. It’s out there rotting away on 30 acres and makes for the perfect meth house. Jody has to choose between his bright future and his former love.
This is one of the sad ones. I guess I should have guessed by the title.
Their Ancient, Glittering Eyes - 5 stars
Three old men, one of them a Rudicel (sp?), sit at the store, yammering about all the problems in the world, while people come tell them about a huge fish in a pool. They have to check it out for themselves and everyone’s got an opinion.
This one took me by surprise because it's pretty funny. Of particular glee to me: one of the kids fish with a Panther Martin, my old favorite. This was my go-to back in the day:
And there's a fish whose mouth is full of hooks and lures, which is a terrifying image.
Bonus: I love all the voices the narrator uses.
Pretty much, I loved everything about this story.
Falling Star - I can’t decide. I like and dislike it equally.
Bobby is beginning to get old and everything is leaving him behind - his wife is going to college, his daughter is in second grade and is gaining independence, his co-workers call him the old man and he knows he’s got to keep up or he’ll be fired. He just wants to feel relevant again.
I hated Bobby's thought process and so I hated Bobby but it was so realistic. Toxic masculinity is a hot topic right now and this touches on why some men can't get what they need out of life because the roles they thought they fit in don't exist anymore.
The Magic Bus - 3 stars
Sabre is nearly 16. The VietNam war is going on. She meets Wendy and Thomas, the hippies. Everyone in NC hates the hippies.
She feeds them in the barn, bringing them leftovers and talking to them or, rather, listening.
That ending. The cow had left the spring trough and stood by the barn’s ashes, waiting to be milked, not knowing where else to go. It's pretty much perfect.
Something Rich and Strange - 4 stars
A Nebraskan family (probably some of my cousins) are in the Appalachians for Spring Break.
The girl wants to stand in the river so she can stand straddle a state line. The river takes her and she drowns in the undercut of a waterfall. The diver sent to retrieve her is haunted by the dead girl with her flesh freed from the chandelier of bone.
This one is full of emotions but not necessarily through a main character nor the ones you'd expect to find in a story about a guy trying to get to a dead child.
The Dowry - 3 stars
Pastor Boone goes off to see Ethan Burke (not this Ethan Burke), who fought for the Union and who wants to marry Confederate Col. Davidson’s daughter . Poor old Col. (said sarcastically) won’t let that damn Yank marry his daughter nor will he forgive the rest of the world unless he can have his hand back.
Ugh. This guy.
Another Civil War story and also one that is pretty good. Pastor Boone is a bit too literal in his religious beliefs, though.
A Sort of Miracle - 2 stars
Baroque and Marlboro? Are those their names? Anyhow, they're adult brothers living with their older sister and her husband, Denton, who hates the boys because they're fat, lazy, stupid slobs.
This story could be called Crazy Guy with Dumb & Dumber. I think it's supposed to be one of the fun and lighthearted ones, but it gave me an irritation ache.
The Corpse Bird - 3 stars
Boyd, an educated engineer, is worried someone is going to die because an owl has been sitting on the same branch in the same tree, hooting dolorously for a couple of nights. A third night of this behavior means someone is going to die.
We don’t get to find out if that happens or not.
You can take the boy out of the mountains but you can't take the mountains out of the boy.
Dead Confederates - 3 stars
Wesley’s a fat, lazy, alt-right loser who wants to go graverobbing for Civil War belt buckles, buttons, and the like.
It doesn’t work.
This is light-hearted and humorous, like the dumb and dumber one only with that excellent sense of comeuppance at the end.
The Woman at the Pond - 3 stars
A guy asks Wallace Rudicel (sp?) to help him drain a pond. This Rudicel is also concerned about fishing lures.
The guy remembers back in his high school days, he was out on the pond fishing one evening when he saw a domestic dispute and a truck sped off, leaving a woman in a leather jacket behind.
I wanted my question answered for this one. I wasn't happy to have an up-for-discussion ending. I often like those just fine but not this time.
A Servant of History - 2 stars
Ha! The narrator is using an Englishy accent for the main character (because he's British) and it is so weird.
In 1922, James Wilson, a British guy has been sent on a ballad-finding quest, trying to find old English songs that made it across the pond.
Wilson, in his arrogance, makes all the worst decisions and has a run-in with an old grudge.
Another humorous one but it did not tickle my funny bone nor did it delight my sense of schadenfreude like I had hoped it would.
26 Days - 3 stars
Some guy works at the college and his wife, Ellen, works at the diner. They have a daughter who is in Afghanistan. The couple is working so hard to get their daughter into college when she comes home, they’re so supportive. They’re also terrified she won’t make it home now that she’s due back soon and that's how superstition works.
Another short, quiet, reflective story, this one full of parental love and fear. I liked it.
Last Rite - 2 stars
Segues from the last story with the sheriff with his hat in his hand come to tell Sarah Hampton that her son, Elijah, is dead. He’d been shot on a trail and robbed.
She’s a little upset that Elijah’s wife, Laura, 17-years-old and who had only been married to Elijah a year before he had been killed, is already planning to remarry.
Sarah and Laura go with a surveyor to see where Elijah had died so she can record it in the family bible.
I’m had hard time concentrating on this one, I'm not sure why.
Blackberries in June - 5 stars
This one was my favorite and it made me so angry.
Jamie and Matt. They’ve been married about a year and have already bought a little lake house, which they’re fixing up together. Matt is a logger and Jamie is worried about him because it’s a dangerous job. They plan to take night classes to get degrees and better jobs. They’re doing everything they can to get ahead and be comfortable.
Matt works for Jamie’s brother, Charlton, who is married to Linda, an annoying twit. For some reason, Linda and Jamie’s/Charlton’s mom think Matt and Jamie should be thankful for Charlton’s kindness, as if Matt isn’t a good worker, as if Jamie and Matt don't deserve what they have but, rather, owe their good fortune to Jamie's brother. They’re also snipey about all the work Matt and Jamie are doing on the house and how they need to go to church, instead. You know, to express their gratitude for all the good stuff they have.
Jamie sees in Linda and in her mother that thing that runs through women in this family, how everything is always bad, how they sour so young and turn into human-shaped bitterness and resentment.
Jamie’s mom agrees that Jamie and Matt owe the family their help and money because the mom feels this is what just has to be done. They’ll have to sell the house because they have no right to it anyway and they should thank their lucky stars they had such success so early in life.
It ends
My review:
Fuck you, Linda. And fuck you, too, Jamie’s mom. And you can just step off, while we’re at it, grammaw. Stop perpetuating the cycle, you miserable little goblins.
Chemistry - 4 stars
Paul, Joel’s dad, has returned from the hospital and won’t take his pills. He’d been on shock therapy. He is a chemistry teacher and feels the pills will make him incapable but, as a result, he was found sobbing in a closet at work and then decided he wasn’t Presbyterian anymore but was going to attend a Pentecostal church, instead. He also engages in a new/old hobby at the uncle's lake house.
Poor Joel. There was nothing he could have done differently. Again, you can take the man out of the mountains but you can not take the mountains out of the man.
The Night the New Jesus Fell to Earth - 4 stars
Larry Rudicel (sp?) is a used car huckster and this is told by Larry’s ex-wife. Larry, comes up with the great idea to do an Easter display in front of the church. He and Terry are going to be on the crosses. Harry might be Jesus. Larry, Terry, and Harry.
The narrator is a carpenter, and a good one. She was supposed to build the 3 crosses for the Easter display but because Larry was being an ass, she left and they had to do it themselves. They half-assed it, of course.
This reads as an op-ed piece in the paper.
While the light, humorous ones have not been my favorite, this story definitely appealed to my smirky big sister personality. All the comeuppances!
The Harvest - 3 stars
A 10-year-old helps his father and uncle harvest the rest of a neighbor’s cabbages after the neighbor died tipping his tractor.
Super short, sad, and a good lesson for a growing boy.
Badeye - 5 stars
Badeye is the local creepy Sno-Cone seller. He used to be a bootlegger and the religious women in the neighborhood find him and his sinning ways distasteful. The men of town are more sympathetic but the kids follow him around like he’s the Pied Piper.
So this kid’s mom made up a story about a horrible, paralyzing disease spread by flies via Sno-Cones to scare her kid into not chasing after Badeye.
It didn’t work.
The mothers got together and came up with a new strategy: Bring in the law.
It didn’t work.
They tried homemade SnoCones. No dice.
This is a little like "A Christmas Story" in tone.
Anyway, the kid and his father bond over snakes - Chris (my brother) would like this story - so his mother is distraught no matter what due to all the dangerous things in the forms snakes or Badeye.
But then all the problems solve themselves and the mother can finally get a good night's rest.
Seriously, this was like a story my brother would tell. Or, rather, a story I would tell about my brother and that made me love it even more than I'd already loved it. It has a sad ending, though.
Love and Pain in the New South - 2 stars
Darlene is back after 2 months with divorce papers. The soon-to-be-ex-husband is sorry for what has happened because he loves her and he’s sorry he killed the monkey and, as a result of that deed, Darlene is with a moron named Stanley who is both a veterinarian and psychologist.
This one also doesn't have the answers I was looking for. What really happened at the end? Also, these loser dudes who expect their wives to put up with their shit and be happy about it are not good at figuring stuff out.
Shiloh - 2 stars
In another Civil War story, Benjamin has been injured in a big battle (see title). He’s walking home to his wife, Emma, who can grow anything. He wishes he'd brought her some peach pits to plant.
This one threw me because I didn’t know this author did ghosts stories.
Outlaws - 4 stars
The narrator used to rob trains for tourists as a teen. In between robbings, he'd listen to the college kids talk about keeping out of the VietNam war.
This one seems autobiographical. I imagined he was in the LoDo Tattered Cover during the Denver part.
Whatever the case, this was the perfect story to end the collection.
November 17, 2014
Ron Rash is often billed as a “Southern” or an “Appalachian” writer, and it’s true that he writes from the heart of a place and its people, but this should not confine him, any more than Faulkner is confined by Mississippi or Hemingway by Upper Michigan. It’s not a box, then, but an open window into his work and world. True, he chooses to live in Western North Carolina where he grew up and now works, teaching at Western Carolina University, but his is very much a contemporary American writer.
He is a the author of five prizewinning novels, including Serena and One Foot in Eden, and four collections of poetry as well as five collections of stories, among them Burning Bright, Nothing Gold Can Stay, and Chemistry and Other Stories. This opus collection of his short fiction (his favorite form) is drawn from all of the short fiction.
He brings his poet’s eyes to the images of his people and place and his native ears to the language of that locale. One of the best tales, “Into the Gorge” opens with his description: “His great-aunt had been born on this land, lived on it eight decades, and knew it as well as she knew her husband and children. That was what she’d always claimed, and could tell you to the week when the first dogwood blossom would brighten the ridge, the first blackberry darken and swell enough to harvest.” This story moves from the aunt’s demise in the woods to a simple yet wild story of Jesse’s misfortune when hunting ginseng. It is one of the most plotted of his stories and one of the most troubling.
Typically, Ron Rash writes what we might term slice-of-life fiction, where the story seems to happen with the same absence of form that life itself. He has declared that he locates character and place and then tries to stay out of the way of the story. And so they often end as they start in the middle of circumstance. But the characters, the dialogue, and the images are so vivid they hold you close. It’s like stopping in a local dinner, sipping your coffee, and overhearing the talk and watching the faces of those sitting in the next booth.
The time frame ranges from depression times up to the most modern. “Hard Times” opens with Jacob and Edna on their farm surrounded by the poverty of neighbors. It’s a beautiful story and one of the most tender. Ron Rash’s writing resonates with our lives.
- See more at: http://www.nyjournalofbooks.com/book-...
He is a the author of five prizewinning novels, including Serena and One Foot in Eden, and four collections of poetry as well as five collections of stories, among them Burning Bright, Nothing Gold Can Stay, and Chemistry and Other Stories. This opus collection of his short fiction (his favorite form) is drawn from all of the short fiction.
He brings his poet’s eyes to the images of his people and place and his native ears to the language of that locale. One of the best tales, “Into the Gorge” opens with his description: “His great-aunt had been born on this land, lived on it eight decades, and knew it as well as she knew her husband and children. That was what she’d always claimed, and could tell you to the week when the first dogwood blossom would brighten the ridge, the first blackberry darken and swell enough to harvest.” This story moves from the aunt’s demise in the woods to a simple yet wild story of Jesse’s misfortune when hunting ginseng. It is one of the most plotted of his stories and one of the most troubling.
Typically, Ron Rash writes what we might term slice-of-life fiction, where the story seems to happen with the same absence of form that life itself. He has declared that he locates character and place and then tries to stay out of the way of the story. And so they often end as they start in the middle of circumstance. But the characters, the dialogue, and the images are so vivid they hold you close. It’s like stopping in a local dinner, sipping your coffee, and overhearing the talk and watching the faces of those sitting in the next booth.
The time frame ranges from depression times up to the most modern. “Hard Times” opens with Jacob and Edna on their farm surrounded by the poverty of neighbors. It’s a beautiful story and one of the most tender. Ron Rash’s writing resonates with our lives.
- See more at: http://www.nyjournalofbooks.com/book-...
March 19, 2018
This is my first exposure to Ron Rash's writing. He may end up being one of my favorite authors. I am a fan of well done short stories and he certainly has the gift. I can relate to the time lines of many of these stories and the ambiance of the small town South. My Dad's family is from rural Tennessee. I found this collection of Ron Rash's work engaging. I have his novel "One Foot In Eden" up as my next read.
December 7, 2015
I'd read quite a few of these in other collections but they were even better the second time around. I wanted to savor these and read them as in-between treats, but I couldn't leave them alone. Oh well, maybe I'll gain self-control in my next reread.
April 2, 2015
Ron Rash is a national treasure.
READ HIM.
READ HIM.
August 16, 2017
This book contains a large number of already published material, so the reader who is already familiar with Rash’s works and has read his previous story collections Burning Bright and Nothing Gold Can Stay: Stories will find many favourites here. For a newbie it would be an excellent introduction to a master storyteller.
Rating of the ones new to me:
Where the maps end 3.5 stars
Those who are dead are only now forgiven 3 stars
Their ancient glittering eyes 3.5 stars
The magic bus 3.5 star
Something rich and strange 2 stars
A sort of miracle 3 stars
The woman at the pond 2.5 stars
A servant of history 4 stars
Twenty-six days 3.5 stars
Last rite 5 stars
Blackberries in June 4.5 stars
Chemistry 3 stars
The night the new Jesus fell to Earth 3.5 stars
The harvest 2.5 stars
Badeye 3 stars
Love and pain in the new south 3 stars
Shiloh 3.5 stars
Outlaws 2.5 stars
Rating of the ones new to me:
Where the maps end 3.5 stars
Those who are dead are only now forgiven 3 stars
Their ancient glittering eyes 3.5 stars
The magic bus 3.5 star
Something rich and strange 2 stars
A sort of miracle 3 stars
The woman at the pond 2.5 stars
A servant of history 4 stars
Twenty-six days 3.5 stars
Last rite 5 stars
Blackberries in June 4.5 stars
Chemistry 3 stars
The night the new Jesus fell to Earth 3.5 stars
The harvest 2.5 stars
Badeye 3 stars
Love and pain in the new south 3 stars
Shiloh 3.5 stars
Outlaws 2.5 stars
December 21, 2022
I'd not read this author before but I was on one of my periodical searches for... well, 'new blood', I guess... and gravitated toward this short story collection on a hunch. I do have my go-to preferences when it comes to genres and fields of study - but I'm always reminding myself to branch out, esp. when I'm already feeling a sort of pull toward a different avenue.
So I read this volume, even though, on a certain level, it wouldn't be the kind of thing that would normally attract me: stories of the Appalachian area. Wikipedia tells us that this area "stretches from the Southern Tier of New York State to northern Alabama and Georgia" but, from what I'm remembering now, these tales appear to focus on centrally connected Kentucky, Virginia, Tennessee, and North Carolina... and the various types of people in these states.
These are very much stories of garden variety people; those leading ordinary lives... people below the middle-class. In an often-lyrical manner, Ron Rash writes invitingly about these folk; he has a succinct, immediately engaging (not particularly showy or intellectually layered) writing style and an almost unerring ability in his focus on the minutiae of unnoticed lives. His range of characters and their particular worlds is impressive.
We're more or less in the present day here but peppered throughout are long-ago stories (such as 'Lincolnites', 'Return', 'Dead Confederates' and 'Shiloh') with a Civil War (or other war) backdrop; maybe five or six of these among the 34 total. Published in 2014, this collection seems aimed at stirring up a new audience for the author. It pulls from a few previous collections, adding a few pieces not included in book form before.
Though short story collections (as we all know) can be a mixed bag, I don't really think there's a clunker in this bunch - even if I felt a few of the stories had less-than-satisfying conclusions or seemed wanting when it came to overall purpose. What's even nicer is that many of the stories - almost all of which are on the very-short side - come with a feeling of fullness, the kind often found in novels. For the most part, in brief periods of time, we pretty much learn all we need to know about these situations, in the way we would if we were reading much longer works.
Rash has been compared to Flannery O'Connor - but that's a stretch, and the two probably shouldn't be side to side just because they're both Southern writers. FO'C has a kind of fiery passion that's not on display here; Rash is more of a dispassionate observer. He's interested more in the mechanics of average survivors and underdogs, not the depth of the deeply flawed or grotesque. Avoiding the stereotypical, Rash (or so I sense) is more Harper Lee than Harry Crews or even Faulkner.
Certain standouts here (like the stunning opener, 'Hard Times') are genuinely gripping. Surprisingly, a few pieces (like 'A Sort of Miracle' and 'Love and Pain in the New South') are rather hilarious - but he's generally not that comic; those are just welcome surprises. Rash can also successfully work his way through certain tension and suspense (as found in 'Where the Map Ends', 'Those Who Are Dead Are Only Now Forgiven', 'The Corpse Bird' and 'The Woman at the Pond').
If you're looking for incisive stories of the human condition, there's a whole big batch of them right here.
So I read this volume, even though, on a certain level, it wouldn't be the kind of thing that would normally attract me: stories of the Appalachian area. Wikipedia tells us that this area "stretches from the Southern Tier of New York State to northern Alabama and Georgia" but, from what I'm remembering now, these tales appear to focus on centrally connected Kentucky, Virginia, Tennessee, and North Carolina... and the various types of people in these states.
These are very much stories of garden variety people; those leading ordinary lives... people below the middle-class. In an often-lyrical manner, Ron Rash writes invitingly about these folk; he has a succinct, immediately engaging (not particularly showy or intellectually layered) writing style and an almost unerring ability in his focus on the minutiae of unnoticed lives. His range of characters and their particular worlds is impressive.
We're more or less in the present day here but peppered throughout are long-ago stories (such as 'Lincolnites', 'Return', 'Dead Confederates' and 'Shiloh') with a Civil War (or other war) backdrop; maybe five or six of these among the 34 total. Published in 2014, this collection seems aimed at stirring up a new audience for the author. It pulls from a few previous collections, adding a few pieces not included in book form before.
Though short story collections (as we all know) can be a mixed bag, I don't really think there's a clunker in this bunch - even if I felt a few of the stories had less-than-satisfying conclusions or seemed wanting when it came to overall purpose. What's even nicer is that many of the stories - almost all of which are on the very-short side - come with a feeling of fullness, the kind often found in novels. For the most part, in brief periods of time, we pretty much learn all we need to know about these situations, in the way we would if we were reading much longer works.
Rash has been compared to Flannery O'Connor - but that's a stretch, and the two probably shouldn't be side to side just because they're both Southern writers. FO'C has a kind of fiery passion that's not on display here; Rash is more of a dispassionate observer. He's interested more in the mechanics of average survivors and underdogs, not the depth of the deeply flawed or grotesque. Avoiding the stereotypical, Rash (or so I sense) is more Harper Lee than Harry Crews or even Faulkner.
Certain standouts here (like the stunning opener, 'Hard Times') are genuinely gripping. Surprisingly, a few pieces (like 'A Sort of Miracle' and 'Love and Pain in the New South') are rather hilarious - but he's generally not that comic; those are just welcome surprises. Rash can also successfully work his way through certain tension and suspense (as found in 'Where the Map Ends', 'Those Who Are Dead Are Only Now Forgiven', 'The Corpse Bird' and 'The Woman at the Pond').
If you're looking for incisive stories of the human condition, there's a whole big batch of them right here.
December 19, 2021
Only reason I didn't give this 5 stars was because of a few of the historical stories I had a hard time getting into. But that's just me. This is a fantastic group of stories. I'm so glad my buddy John Boden turned me onto Ron Rash. He's like a tame Ketchum meets a hardcore Raymond Carver. Get into it!
June 17, 2015
Spectacular. Something Rich and Strange is Ron Rash's latest collection of short stories. He expertly captures the hardscrabble life and physical landscape of North Carolina, often in the region of Boone. Each story is unique, poignant and never ordinary. These vignettes of ordinary people living on the cusp of folklore and modernity have captured my heart and imagination.
Most of these stories aren't new; I've already read many in Nothing Gold Can Stay, but I have found that they stick with me long afterwards I’m done reading. While reading this particular collection several themes resonated deeply with me: stories set during the Civil War with the beautiful yet savage imagery (“Lincolnites”, “Where the Map Ends”, “The Dowry”); stories which portray the horrors of Methamphetamines (“The Ascent”, “Back of Beyond”, “Those Who Are Dead Are Only Now Forgiven”); and stories that reveal how one decision can have devastating effects (“Night Hawks”, “Into the Gorge”, ”Falling Star”).
My favorite story from Rash continues to be “The Trusty” about the escape of a chain gang prisoner. The ambiguous ending continues to haunt me today.
I've read a couple of Rash’s novels, but I prefer his short stories where I believe he really shines.
Most of these stories aren't new; I've already read many in Nothing Gold Can Stay, but I have found that they stick with me long afterwards I’m done reading. While reading this particular collection several themes resonated deeply with me: stories set during the Civil War with the beautiful yet savage imagery (“Lincolnites”, “Where the Map Ends”, “The Dowry”); stories which portray the horrors of Methamphetamines (“The Ascent”, “Back of Beyond”, “Those Who Are Dead Are Only Now Forgiven”); and stories that reveal how one decision can have devastating effects (“Night Hawks”, “Into the Gorge”, ”Falling Star”).
My favorite story from Rash continues to be “The Trusty” about the escape of a chain gang prisoner. The ambiguous ending continues to haunt me today.
I've read a couple of Rash’s novels, but I prefer his short stories where I believe he really shines.
March 9, 2016
Author Ron Rash, it seems, is a mountain boy. Some of his marvelous stories are set during the Civil War, some in the Depression, and some as recently as yesterday, or perhaps this morning. The commonality is the setting in Appalachia, mostly North Carolina.
I am always leery of reading short stories in collections. Each story seems to fade as I move on, too quickly, to the next one. That wasn’t a problem this time. This collection is held together, gracefully, by its fealty to region. As I savored each story, I immersed myself a little more deeply in these mountains, finding people to remember, bookmarking stories to return to. The experience was made even richer by narrator Christian Baskous. After spending memorable days with the audio version of Something Rich and Strange, I began reading about Ron Rash. The most telling detail I turned up is that he is a professor of Appalachian Cultural Studies – not of English or Creative Writing.
Characters live mostly hardscrabble lives, yet never merely ordinary ones. Rash’s people often seem to straddle a line between modern America and ancient traditions as rock solid as the mountains themselves. A recurring dilemma for characters is conflict between remaining true to people with their shared roots and moving on to a different, potentially better life. A woman goes to community college, and her husband lashes out, knowing she’s moving beyond him (“Falling Star”). A boy goes away to college, and his equally smart girl friend remains behind, only to become ruined by a meth addiction ("Those Who are Dead are Only Now Forgiven”). Education was often a wedge, but it was sometimes rejected in favor of old loyalties.
Sometimes the stories were essentially snapshots. In “Twenty-Six Days,” a waitress and college custodian await the return of their daughter from a tour in Afghanistan. Their fear for her safety is palpable. In “Three A.M. and the Stars were Out,” Rash paints a word picture of two old Vietnam veterans, one a farmer and the other a veterinarian, both widowers. A cow gives birth, but that’s about the only action. Wars are prominent, sometimes in the forefront, sometimes as subtext. They all make appearances – Civil War (in which mountain loyalties were divided), WWI, WWII, Korean, Vietnam, Afghanistan.
Each short work manifests a dazzling talent for creating characters who are genuine, with hopes and limitations. While they are often bound by geography, their heartbreaks and uncertainties are true to the human experience. Thirty-four stories. An embarrassment of riches. Pun intended.
I am always leery of reading short stories in collections. Each story seems to fade as I move on, too quickly, to the next one. That wasn’t a problem this time. This collection is held together, gracefully, by its fealty to region. As I savored each story, I immersed myself a little more deeply in these mountains, finding people to remember, bookmarking stories to return to. The experience was made even richer by narrator Christian Baskous. After spending memorable days with the audio version of Something Rich and Strange, I began reading about Ron Rash. The most telling detail I turned up is that he is a professor of Appalachian Cultural Studies – not of English or Creative Writing.
Characters live mostly hardscrabble lives, yet never merely ordinary ones. Rash’s people often seem to straddle a line between modern America and ancient traditions as rock solid as the mountains themselves. A recurring dilemma for characters is conflict between remaining true to people with their shared roots and moving on to a different, potentially better life. A woman goes to community college, and her husband lashes out, knowing she’s moving beyond him (“Falling Star”). A boy goes away to college, and his equally smart girl friend remains behind, only to become ruined by a meth addiction ("Those Who are Dead are Only Now Forgiven”). Education was often a wedge, but it was sometimes rejected in favor of old loyalties.
Sometimes the stories were essentially snapshots. In “Twenty-Six Days,” a waitress and college custodian await the return of their daughter from a tour in Afghanistan. Their fear for her safety is palpable. In “Three A.M. and the Stars were Out,” Rash paints a word picture of two old Vietnam veterans, one a farmer and the other a veterinarian, both widowers. A cow gives birth, but that’s about the only action. Wars are prominent, sometimes in the forefront, sometimes as subtext. They all make appearances – Civil War (in which mountain loyalties were divided), WWI, WWII, Korean, Vietnam, Afghanistan.
Each short work manifests a dazzling talent for creating characters who are genuine, with hopes and limitations. While they are often bound by geography, their heartbreaks and uncertainties are true to the human experience. Thirty-four stories. An embarrassment of riches. Pun intended.
May 28, 2015
If, like me, you feel that you do not fully understand the contemporary American South--having never lived or traveled there--there is probably no better way to feel the pulse of the place than through Ron Rash's exquisitely lyrical prose and gut-wrenching stories of life in Appalachia. Covering a broad spectrum of underrepresented characters--from drug addicts to families in the throes of poverty--the thirty-four stories in this collection provide tangible proof for the ability of literature to expand our sympathies and to help us inhabit, successfully, other people's worlds. Realistic but respectful of the power of intuition, these stories offer insight into the innermost workings of the human heart with an immediacy that feels at times exhilarating and at other times utterly discomfiting. If you like fiction that asks questions and then dishes out answers, these stories are not for you. If, on the other hand, you like fiction that helps you *feel* what it means to live without answers, then you'll hardly find anything better than Rash's stories.
March 4, 2015
As good a three-star book as you will find!
If you have read other Ron Rash short story collections, this one will have a lot of repeats for you. That's not all bad. A lot of his short stories are definitely worth reading again. But I have to say there are also several stinkers in this book. Yes, one star stinkers! So for me that brings it down to a three star average book. The one stars were trite and hokey. But the five stars were brilliant! I would also give a few stories two stars because I didn't go for the religious content.
There are quite a few stories in this book however; it's chock full of choices. If you haven't read this author before I think it would be a fine place to start. It's unevenness just makes Ron Rash human and he wears his humanity very well. I have included a lot of status updates in my Goodreads review that point out my highlights and low lights. But, make no mistake, this guy can write!
If you have read other Ron Rash short story collections, this one will have a lot of repeats for you. That's not all bad. A lot of his short stories are definitely worth reading again. But I have to say there are also several stinkers in this book. Yes, one star stinkers! So for me that brings it down to a three star average book. The one stars were trite and hokey. But the five stars were brilliant! I would also give a few stories two stars because I didn't go for the religious content.
There are quite a few stories in this book however; it's chock full of choices. If you haven't read this author before I think it would be a fine place to start. It's unevenness just makes Ron Rash human and he wears his humanity very well. I have included a lot of status updates in my Goodreads review that point out my highlights and low lights. But, make no mistake, this guy can write!
February 20, 2015
SOMETHING RICH AND STRANGE
Ron Rash
Short stories are not my typical reading choice, but I would read anything by one of my very favorite authors, Ron Rash.
Ron Rash is a master craftsman with an artistry surrounding the Carolina Blue Ridge mountain section of Appalachia. This same artistry encompasses the exquisite beauty of the landscape and the almost sixth sense of his ability to portray the heart and soul of the people and the land.
He has captured me as a icon in his craft and majesty of ordinary people and their lives, some good, some bad.
This is a book of previously published thirty short stories that are uncanny in their ability to inhabit your soul in such short vignettes.
Ron Rash
Short stories are not my typical reading choice, but I would read anything by one of my very favorite authors, Ron Rash.
Ron Rash is a master craftsman with an artistry surrounding the Carolina Blue Ridge mountain section of Appalachia. This same artistry encompasses the exquisite beauty of the landscape and the almost sixth sense of his ability to portray the heart and soul of the people and the land.
He has captured me as a icon in his craft and majesty of ordinary people and their lives, some good, some bad.
This is a book of previously published thirty short stories that are uncanny in their ability to inhabit your soul in such short vignettes.
November 6, 2014
With the sharpest stories of a career now honed into a single collection, I've found the one book I would take with me on a deserted island. Ron Rash is simply a master of the short story form. There are few, if any, writing stories this well crafted. He'll always be mentioned in the context of his novels, but the reality is that its his poetry and short stories where we see him in his element. Rich. Beautiful. One of America's finest.
May 25, 2020
‘Something Rich and Strange’ was my first experience of reading Ron Rash, and what an experience it was. This collection of short stories from the heart of Appalachia just bowled me over. The stories are short, but the characters are well developed and everything is delivered with such feeling. It took about ten minutes to read a story and then thirty minutes to think about that story. Isn’t that what reading should be about sometimes?
January 2, 2025
For a December advent calendar challenge, I read one or two of these stories a day (34 in total).
Ron Rash is an amazing storyteller. I love how he jumps you into the story partway through and can put together a fabulous story within 5 pages. His creation of characters is excellent - some made me SO mad! A few stories were too brief, making me wonder at the ending or the purpose, but overall this was a superb collection.
I have given a spoiler-free blurb about each below:
✅1. Hard Times 5⭐️
- An illustration of incredible poverty during the depression. I honestly gasped at the height of this story!
✅2. 3 AM and the Stars Were Out 5⭐️
- A breached calf brings two old friends together, revealing their shared pasts and current solitudes.
✅3. The Ascent 5⭐️
- Jared, an 11 year old with a vivid imagination, discovers a crashed airplane in the Smokey Mountains. Finding it brings excitement, promise, hope, wealth and goes on to alter the course of his family's life.
✅4. Night Hawk 3⭐️
- Jenny begins her new job as a radio station disc jockey on the graveyard shift and recounts the trauma and shame that have brought her to this place. This one eluded me, lacking the punch that the others have had.
✅5. The Trusty 5⭐️
- As a chain-gang makes their way along a back route, Sinkler earns the title 'Trusty' as the one who is unchained to go source well water each day for the gang. His con-man attempt at escape catches him off-guard. An excellent twist.
✅6. Back of Beyond 5⭐️
- We are forced to face the question of whether we want our enemies close enough that they may still abuse us or so far away that we have no idea if they still live. Rash captures so much in that single phrase that Martha utters.
✅7. Lincolnites 4⭐️
- Another gripping story of a solitary farm woman who knows how to recognize and outwit an intruder. Deliciously gruesome.
✅8. Into the Gorge 2⭐️
- Jesse gets caught harvesting ginseng on his family's old homestead, although this land now belongs to the Park Service. I couldn't really see his motive nor the connection to his great-aunt's story. He lost me here.
✅9. Return 4⭐️
- As a soldier returns from war, he gets off the local bus and walks up the 3 mile road to his family's home, a journey he had been visualizing and dreaming of throughout his time away. Reflective and so touchingly descriptive.
✅10. Waiting For the End of the World 3⭐️
- Devon has burned all of his bridges and now lives off the meager wages he's paid to play music at the local bar. We are given a glimpse of the life he has lost/rejected and the slight remorse he feels. Too much 'in the know' cultural references for me.
✅11. Burning Bright 4⭐️
- Marcie's life was one of true loneliness after her husband died and her daughters moved away and grew distant. When she hired Carl to do odd jobs around the farm, she savoured every aspect of their quiet companionship and now is willing to overlook his faults in order to keep him close.
✅12. The Woman Who Believed in Jaguars 1⭐️
- Ruth wonders about a line drawing of a jaguar that she saw in a text book 4 decades ago so decides to bother a ornithologist at the zoo about the existence of jaguars in her state. She accuses a mother of having kidnapped a child. This one was odd and unlikeable.
✅13. Where the Map Ends 3⭐️
- Two runaway slaves find shelter in a farmer's barn for the night and wonder at where to go from here, since they have reached the edge of their hand-drawn map. They are found in the morning by the farmer and plead for his help. The farmer choses to help only one of them, due to a grudge he has with the slaves' owner.
✅14. Those Who Are Dead Are Only Now Forgiven 5⭐️
- Incredibly powerful. Jody and Lauren are the bright students of their class, the only ones with hope of succeeding in college and leaving the nowheresville they grew up in. At college, Jody works so hard to manage classes, money, loans and grades. When he comes home, he finds that Lauren has chosen a different path - an easy path, filled with pleasure.
✅15. Their Ancient, Glittering Eyes 5⭐️
- Three old retired buddies hear rumours of an enormous fish living under the town bridge. They make it their purpose to see it then to catch it, using all manner of rods, lures and strategies. It is a fun story of triumph for all involved.
✅16. Falling Star 5⭐️
- Bobby can feel his life slipping out of his control. While his old body is struggling with the hard labour of his job, his wife is excelling at night school courses. She is no longer present in his life, giving all her attention to her studies. He decides to take matters into his own hands and is caught out by his own ignorance. Another great twist.
✅17. The Magic Bus 5⭐️
- At 16 years old, Sabre is beginning to see the empty life ahead of her. Chores, cooking and cleaning are her expected tasks and thanklessly done. When a beat up VW van breaks down on the highway by her family's farm, she helps the two hippies and listens to their stories of an adventurous life out on the open road. Sabre is pushed to open her mind to unheard of opportunities.
✅18. Something Rich and Strange 4⭐️
- After a young girl falls to her death down a river rapids, the recovery diver becomes overwhelmed with grief while trying to dislodge her body. It haunts him for months as the team waits for the river level to recede. Fabulous language here.
✅19. The Dowry 3⭐️
- Young lovers are barred from visiting each other and marriage because their families were on opposite sides of the Civil War. The local preacher tries his best to reason with the young woman's father but the father is set on the 'eye-for-an-eye' adage.
✅20. A Sort of Miracle 4⭐️
- Two good-for-nothing lay-about brothers-in-law (what a mouthful!) are driving Denton mad with their lack of motivation to do anything. He takes them out into the high mountains to help him with a chore. This whole snowy adventure proves that these brothers have actually gleaned a lot of knowledge from all their TV watching. But it simply isn't enough to counter their idiocy.
✅21. The Corpse Bird 4⭐️
- When an owl takes up a perch in the backyard Scarlet Oak, Boyd knows that it is an omen of an upcoming death. Knowing that his neighbour's have a sick daughter, Boyd takes matters into his own hands. This would have been better if either Boyd or his own daughter had come to a gruesome end.
✅22. Dead Confederates 4⭐️
- Grave-digging promises to be a lucrative business and Wesley recruits XX to partner with him in the robberies one night under a full moon. But the harsh back-breaking work and getting caught red-handed catch Wesley off-guard. This is a victory for morality!
✅23. The Woman at the Pond 4⭐️
- A local pond is being drained and, with that, all the old memories of fishing and swimming come back. As the water recedes, fishing lures, styrofoam, cinder blocks and garbage are revealed at the bottom. XX remembers a delicate encounter with an abused woman at the edge of the pond years ago which now comes to mind. This one has an unclear ending, making you choose your own ending.
✅24. A Servant of History 2⭐️
- James arrives in the 'New World' on a quest for of English music and ballads that have survived and thrived in America. He learns the hard way that folks don't appreciate his haughty prying. The ending was too vague for me. I don't really know what happened.
✅25. 26 Days 4⭐️
- Their daughter is almost done her military service in Afghanistan. The parents are counting down the days and are equally terrified that she might not make it home. A beautiful snippet of the depth of parental love.
✅26. Last Rite 3⭐️
- Perhaps during the Civil War, Elijah was killed but details of his demise are few. So his mother and his very young wife hire a guide to take them to the place where he died. More animosity than grief here.
✅27. Blackberries in June 5⭐️
- So similar to #14 above. Jamie and Matt are a hard-working young couple who are pouring their time, money and love into fixing up the shack that they call home. They have ambitions to make it livable and comfortable so that they can each return to school and eventually raise a family here on the lake. When disaster strikes Jamie's brother, her family puts inordinate pressure on J&M to give financial help to her lazy-ass sister-in-law and their rotten family.
✅28. Chemistry 4⭐️
- A chemistry teacher is diagnosed with debilitating depression and is prescribed medications that will dull his senses. He refuses to take the pills and is convinced that a religious sect will help him through this time. All told from his teenaged son's perspective.
✅29. The Night the New Jesus Fell to Earth 5⭐️
- Very funny! In an attempt to recruit more people to the church, Larry creates the equivalent to a nativity scene for Easter. He is only using it as a way to market his used car sales. All told through the eyes of his witty ex-wife who knows exactly who he is.
✅30. The Harvest 4⭐️
- On a thick foggy night, a family sneaks onto another farmer's field to secretly harvest their crops, taking advantage of the farmer's mourning family. Very eerie.
✅31. Badeye 4⭐️
- A sketchy character runs a snow cone business out of his truck. All the kids love him but the mothers in the neighbourhood want to revoke his business license. One day, Badeye brings the narrator a gift - in the form of a Coral snake. Madness ensues.
✅32. Love and Pain in the New South 3⭐️
- The narrator's ex-wife shows up with the divorce papers and expects him to sign off everything to her. She still captivates him and he is very sorry for the way the marriage came to its end. A little strange (pet monkey?) and unresolved.
✅33. Shiloh 4⭐️
- Benjamin simply walks away from a gruesome battle in the Civil War and abandons the war. He knows that he is only a few days walk from his home and his beloved wife. He is not prepared for what he finds upon his return.
✅34. Outlaws 4⭐️
- As a student, he worked as an outlaw at an Old Time Museum, acting and frightening the tourists. One of his fellow outlaws has just received his draft notice for the Vietnam War and is trying to figure out how to injure himself out of the service.
Ron Rash is an amazing storyteller. I love how he jumps you into the story partway through and can put together a fabulous story within 5 pages. His creation of characters is excellent - some made me SO mad! A few stories were too brief, making me wonder at the ending or the purpose, but overall this was a superb collection.
I have given a spoiler-free blurb about each below:
✅1. Hard Times 5⭐️
- An illustration of incredible poverty during the depression. I honestly gasped at the height of this story!
✅2. 3 AM and the Stars Were Out 5⭐️
- A breached calf brings two old friends together, revealing their shared pasts and current solitudes.
✅3. The Ascent 5⭐️
- Jared, an 11 year old with a vivid imagination, discovers a crashed airplane in the Smokey Mountains. Finding it brings excitement, promise, hope, wealth and goes on to alter the course of his family's life.
✅4. Night Hawk 3⭐️
- Jenny begins her new job as a radio station disc jockey on the graveyard shift and recounts the trauma and shame that have brought her to this place. This one eluded me, lacking the punch that the others have had.
✅5. The Trusty 5⭐️
- As a chain-gang makes their way along a back route, Sinkler earns the title 'Trusty' as the one who is unchained to go source well water each day for the gang. His con-man attempt at escape catches him off-guard. An excellent twist.
✅6. Back of Beyond 5⭐️
- We are forced to face the question of whether we want our enemies close enough that they may still abuse us or so far away that we have no idea if they still live. Rash captures so much in that single phrase that Martha utters.
✅7. Lincolnites 4⭐️
- Another gripping story of a solitary farm woman who knows how to recognize and outwit an intruder. Deliciously gruesome.
✅8. Into the Gorge 2⭐️
- Jesse gets caught harvesting ginseng on his family's old homestead, although this land now belongs to the Park Service. I couldn't really see his motive nor the connection to his great-aunt's story. He lost me here.
✅9. Return 4⭐️
- As a soldier returns from war, he gets off the local bus and walks up the 3 mile road to his family's home, a journey he had been visualizing and dreaming of throughout his time away. Reflective and so touchingly descriptive.
✅10. Waiting For the End of the World 3⭐️
- Devon has burned all of his bridges and now lives off the meager wages he's paid to play music at the local bar. We are given a glimpse of the life he has lost/rejected and the slight remorse he feels. Too much 'in the know' cultural references for me.
✅11. Burning Bright 4⭐️
- Marcie's life was one of true loneliness after her husband died and her daughters moved away and grew distant. When she hired Carl to do odd jobs around the farm, she savoured every aspect of their quiet companionship and now is willing to overlook his faults in order to keep him close.
✅12. The Woman Who Believed in Jaguars 1⭐️
- Ruth wonders about a line drawing of a jaguar that she saw in a text book 4 decades ago so decides to bother a ornithologist at the zoo about the existence of jaguars in her state. She accuses a mother of having kidnapped a child. This one was odd and unlikeable.
✅13. Where the Map Ends 3⭐️
- Two runaway slaves find shelter in a farmer's barn for the night and wonder at where to go from here, since they have reached the edge of their hand-drawn map. They are found in the morning by the farmer and plead for his help. The farmer choses to help only one of them, due to a grudge he has with the slaves' owner.
✅14. Those Who Are Dead Are Only Now Forgiven 5⭐️
- Incredibly powerful. Jody and Lauren are the bright students of their class, the only ones with hope of succeeding in college and leaving the nowheresville they grew up in. At college, Jody works so hard to manage classes, money, loans and grades. When he comes home, he finds that Lauren has chosen a different path - an easy path, filled with pleasure.
✅15. Their Ancient, Glittering Eyes 5⭐️
- Three old retired buddies hear rumours of an enormous fish living under the town bridge. They make it their purpose to see it then to catch it, using all manner of rods, lures and strategies. It is a fun story of triumph for all involved.
✅16. Falling Star 5⭐️
- Bobby can feel his life slipping out of his control. While his old body is struggling with the hard labour of his job, his wife is excelling at night school courses. She is no longer present in his life, giving all her attention to her studies. He decides to take matters into his own hands and is caught out by his own ignorance. Another great twist.
✅17. The Magic Bus 5⭐️
- At 16 years old, Sabre is beginning to see the empty life ahead of her. Chores, cooking and cleaning are her expected tasks and thanklessly done. When a beat up VW van breaks down on the highway by her family's farm, she helps the two hippies and listens to their stories of an adventurous life out on the open road. Sabre is pushed to open her mind to unheard of opportunities.
✅18. Something Rich and Strange 4⭐️
- After a young girl falls to her death down a river rapids, the recovery diver becomes overwhelmed with grief while trying to dislodge her body. It haunts him for months as the team waits for the river level to recede. Fabulous language here.
✅19. The Dowry 3⭐️
- Young lovers are barred from visiting each other and marriage because their families were on opposite sides of the Civil War. The local preacher tries his best to reason with the young woman's father but the father is set on the 'eye-for-an-eye' adage.
✅20. A Sort of Miracle 4⭐️
- Two good-for-nothing lay-about brothers-in-law (what a mouthful!) are driving Denton mad with their lack of motivation to do anything. He takes them out into the high mountains to help him with a chore. This whole snowy adventure proves that these brothers have actually gleaned a lot of knowledge from all their TV watching. But it simply isn't enough to counter their idiocy.
✅21. The Corpse Bird 4⭐️
- When an owl takes up a perch in the backyard Scarlet Oak, Boyd knows that it is an omen of an upcoming death. Knowing that his neighbour's have a sick daughter, Boyd takes matters into his own hands. This would have been better if either Boyd or his own daughter had come to a gruesome end.
✅22. Dead Confederates 4⭐️
- Grave-digging promises to be a lucrative business and Wesley recruits XX to partner with him in the robberies one night under a full moon. But the harsh back-breaking work and getting caught red-handed catch Wesley off-guard. This is a victory for morality!
✅23. The Woman at the Pond 4⭐️
- A local pond is being drained and, with that, all the old memories of fishing and swimming come back. As the water recedes, fishing lures, styrofoam, cinder blocks and garbage are revealed at the bottom. XX remembers a delicate encounter with an abused woman at the edge of the pond years ago which now comes to mind. This one has an unclear ending, making you choose your own ending.
✅24. A Servant of History 2⭐️
- James arrives in the 'New World' on a quest for of English music and ballads that have survived and thrived in America. He learns the hard way that folks don't appreciate his haughty prying. The ending was too vague for me. I don't really know what happened.
✅25. 26 Days 4⭐️
- Their daughter is almost done her military service in Afghanistan. The parents are counting down the days and are equally terrified that she might not make it home. A beautiful snippet of the depth of parental love.
✅26. Last Rite 3⭐️
- Perhaps during the Civil War, Elijah was killed but details of his demise are few. So his mother and his very young wife hire a guide to take them to the place where he died. More animosity than grief here.
✅27. Blackberries in June 5⭐️
- So similar to #14 above. Jamie and Matt are a hard-working young couple who are pouring their time, money and love into fixing up the shack that they call home. They have ambitions to make it livable and comfortable so that they can each return to school and eventually raise a family here on the lake. When disaster strikes Jamie's brother, her family puts inordinate pressure on J&M to give financial help to her lazy-ass sister-in-law and their rotten family.
✅28. Chemistry 4⭐️
- A chemistry teacher is diagnosed with debilitating depression and is prescribed medications that will dull his senses. He refuses to take the pills and is convinced that a religious sect will help him through this time. All told from his teenaged son's perspective.
✅29. The Night the New Jesus Fell to Earth 5⭐️
- Very funny! In an attempt to recruit more people to the church, Larry creates the equivalent to a nativity scene for Easter. He is only using it as a way to market his used car sales. All told through the eyes of his witty ex-wife who knows exactly who he is.
✅30. The Harvest 4⭐️
- On a thick foggy night, a family sneaks onto another farmer's field to secretly harvest their crops, taking advantage of the farmer's mourning family. Very eerie.
✅31. Badeye 4⭐️
- A sketchy character runs a snow cone business out of his truck. All the kids love him but the mothers in the neighbourhood want to revoke his business license. One day, Badeye brings the narrator a gift - in the form of a Coral snake. Madness ensues.
✅32. Love and Pain in the New South 3⭐️
- The narrator's ex-wife shows up with the divorce papers and expects him to sign off everything to her. She still captivates him and he is very sorry for the way the marriage came to its end. A little strange (pet monkey?) and unresolved.
✅33. Shiloh 4⭐️
- Benjamin simply walks away from a gruesome battle in the Civil War and abandons the war. He knows that he is only a few days walk from his home and his beloved wife. He is not prepared for what he finds upon his return.
✅34. Outlaws 4⭐️
- As a student, he worked as an outlaw at an Old Time Museum, acting and frightening the tourists. One of his fellow outlaws has just received his draft notice for the Vietnam War and is trying to figure out how to injure himself out of the service.
April 7, 2015
I am not a fan of short stories or at least I thought I wasn't; that is I never gave a book of short stories a chance because I assumed that I wouldn't like it. I loved this book so much that I am planning on owning my own copy! I listened to the audio read by Christian Baskous and he brought the stories to life by his accents and gift of intonation. I recommend listening to the audio if you are able to get ahold of it.
Many of the stories were my favorites and the period of time ranged from the Civil War to present which gave a good balance of interest. All were showcasing the Appalachian mountains in North Carolina and the there was a voice of authenticity that ran through them all. I love to read about the South and the people but it seems like most of the books I have ventured to read always seem so depressing. I understand because both my parents were such people and their lives and family history was draped with real life stories of hardship and heartache. But, there are stories of triumph and a belief system that uplifted those stories. So, I was pleased when the stories in this book had a cadence of hardship, sadness and hope and yes, even humor which brought life to the stories. I consider this book to be one of my favorites.
Many of the stories were my favorites and the period of time ranged from the Civil War to present which gave a good balance of interest. All were showcasing the Appalachian mountains in North Carolina and the there was a voice of authenticity that ran through them all. I love to read about the South and the people but it seems like most of the books I have ventured to read always seem so depressing. I understand because both my parents were such people and their lives and family history was draped with real life stories of hardship and heartache. But, there are stories of triumph and a belief system that uplifted those stories. So, I was pleased when the stories in this book had a cadence of hardship, sadness and hope and yes, even humor which brought life to the stories. I consider this book to be one of my favorites.
September 11, 2016
This collection is like Annie Proulx's "Close Range" but set in North Carolina instead of Wyoming. A seemingly endless (it's over 400 pages) parade of misery, despair, poverty, disease, death, etc. The stories are very well-written and have lots of arresting imagery. I just didn't enjoy it. Too much capital-T Tragedy.
August 8, 2015
Beautiful. With each story I'd forget it was a short and then be hit by disappointment when it ended so soon. The way he writes about North Carolina, I would be so absorbed, so there that I was disoriented when interrupted.
February 3, 2016
Every single story--every single one of the 34--is wonderful.
January 10, 2025
Anywhere from a wife left behind to guard the homestead during the Civil War to a bunch of old men chasing a big fish, Rash's stories cover the gamut — all while still remaining fully ensconced in Western North Carolina. And yet, Rash manages to sketch his stories with so much variety, so much depth, filled with characters as solidly real as I've ever known.
My only gripes, which really only underscores how difficult short story collections can be, were that I was surprised there wasn't a single standout story. They were all solid but because of that, they were essentially on equal playing ground, and I'm not sure that does the entire collection justice. The other thing is that perhaps 34 is too many in a single collection. I didn't get bored, per se, but I did come close, with the feeling of a sameness straining to get through. Regardless, I thought this was a fantastic collection — and it did its job in delivering wonderful short stories but also in making me want to go read his novels.
Also, though I've stopped commenting on every single audiobook performer in my reviews, Christian Baskous has to be commended for his reading of this collection. As a North Carolinian, there was only a single word — the name of a town — that struck my ear with his swing and miss — and that's an excellent record, because I'm a tough critic of Southern fiction.
My only gripes, which really only underscores how difficult short story collections can be, were that I was surprised there wasn't a single standout story. They were all solid but because of that, they were essentially on equal playing ground, and I'm not sure that does the entire collection justice. The other thing is that perhaps 34 is too many in a single collection. I didn't get bored, per se, but I did come close, with the feeling of a sameness straining to get through. Regardless, I thought this was a fantastic collection — and it did its job in delivering wonderful short stories but also in making me want to go read his novels.
Also, though I've stopped commenting on every single audiobook performer in my reviews, Christian Baskous has to be commended for his reading of this collection. As a North Carolinian, there was only a single word — the name of a town — that struck my ear with his swing and miss — and that's an excellent record, because I'm a tough critic of Southern fiction.
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