Rufuge by Dot Jackson is a thought provoking novel of historical fiction that depicts life in the 1920s and 30's. Seneca Steel is born and raised in Charleston, SC but has always been curious about her father's people in Appalachia. She spends some years there and falls in love with the place and it's people. This novel ultimately becomes a lesson in what happens when you make bad choices. Spoilers below.
Seneca, feeling a bit lonely agrees to marry the spoiled and self important "Foots" even though she suspects that he is only marrying her for her money. Not long after the marriage, Foots becomes abusive. Seneca is miserable, but chooses not to act because at that time period divorce was just not done. When Foots begins to threaten the children and has wasted most of Seneca's fortune she packs the kids up and heads for her father's "people" up in the mountains.
When Seneca arrives in Caney Forks, she meets family members she had only heard about it tales from her long dead father. They make her right at home and she is happy to stay at the family home called The Birches. This was my favorite part of the book. I loved learning about the culture and how self sufficient people were in that time. But soon after, Seneca falls in love with her already married cousin. I spent most of the reading thinking, is she really crushing on her cousin?? Ben Aaron is a great character, but the decision to act on her feelings lead to the death of Seneca's cousin, aunt, friend and ultimately the town in general. This drives Seneca back to South Carolina.
Once reunited with Foots, Seneca takes no nonsense. When the children are grown, she goes back to The Birches. By this point all of the beloved characters there have died and excluding a few visits and some animal friends, Seneca is ultimately alone with the graves of the people she loved. This part was very bleak and depressing. Seneca chooses to live her life alone on the mountain instead of being a part of her grandchildren's lives. I did not enjoy the end, but kept reading in hopes that things would get better for Seneca. I gave this book 3 stars, because I enjoyed the first half, but felt the last third or so of the book was too sad and a bit boring.