The Cove by Ron Rash

A few months ago, I reviewed a book called Nightwoods by Charles Frazier. It is a lovely book set in the North Carolina Mountains.  As I said in the review, I have an affinity for that landscape and I think Frazier portrays it with a gentle hand. Rash portrays it with a blunt force trauma.

Ron Rash’s new novel, The Cove, also takes place in the beauty of the Blue Ridge Mountains.  Set during WWI, it is the story of a young girl named Laurel who lives with her brother, a wounded war vet, on the family farm located in a backwoods cove near small town Mars Hill North Carolina.  People think the cove is bewitched and, because of a large birthmark, Laurel is too.  One day Laurel finds a young mysterious injured traveler hiding out on their property and brings him home to recuperate.  The man is mute, but a very talented flute player.  He decides to stay and help the family, soon falling in love with Laurel.  The town, which has always shied away from the cove and its inhabitants, is skeptical.  Led by a pompous and bigoted Chauncey Feith, the town is out to expose any “unpatriotic” people hidden in the backwoods or at the local college.  When the townspeople find out the man’s true identity, all hell breaks loose in the cove. 

While The Cove is a good read and Rash writes beautifully, the story isn’t as strong as his last book, the gothic and brutal Serena.  I definitely was interested in the story and kept reading, but was not as enthralled as I hoped to be.  I thought the story was really great, but the romance between Laurel and Walter did not ring so true.  I thought her wishes and daydreams for romance and normalcy was a little trite.  I did think the plotline was interesting and the history behind it was intriguing.  His set up of good verses evil is done beautifully and with rising suspense. Rash does have a way of bringing the book together at the end in a gritty and horrible way.  

Rash’s mountains are those of Cormac McCarthy rather than Charles Frazier.  They are more brutal and mean than kind.  I suggest you try Rash’s other books – especially if life in the NC mountains appeals to you.  All three are very good and are probably more true to life than other’s more idealistic accounts, but if you do, make sure you hold on tight, they are not for the faint of heart.  Start with Serena and finish with .  You’ll see what I mean.