{"product_id":"the-cove-a-novel-isbn-9780061804199","title":"The Cove: A Novel","description":"\u003cp\u003e“Set during World War One, \u003cem\u003eThe Cove\u003c\/em\u003e is a novel that speaks intimately to today’s politics. Beautifully written, tough, raw, uncompromising, entirely new. Ron Rash is a writer’s writer who writes for others.”\u003cbr\u003e—Colum McCann\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Ron Rash is a writer of both the darkly beautiful and the sadly true; \u003cem\u003eThe Cove\u003c\/em\u003e solidifies his reputation as one of our very finest novelists.”\u003cbr\u003e—Richard Russo, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of \u003cem\u003eEmpire Falls\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHere is a magnificent tale that captures the wondrous beauty of nature and love—and the darkness of superstition and fear—from one of America’s most exciting contemporary novelists. With \u003cem\u003eThe Cove\u003c\/em\u003e, Ron Rash, author of the acclaimed \u003cem\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/em\u003e bestseller \u003cem\u003eSerena\u003c\/em\u003e, returns to the Appalachian milieu he has previously so memorably evoked. A two-time O. Henry Prize winner for his short fiction—and recipient of the 2010 Frank O’Connor International Story Award and the 2010 SIBA Book Award for his story collection \u003cem\u003eBurning Bright\u003c\/em\u003e—Rash can expect more honors for \u003cem\u003eThe Cove\u003c\/em\u003e, a novel that brilliantly explores often dangerous notions of patriotism during wartime. This story of a love affair doomed in the rising turmoil of WWI resonates powerfully in today’s world. \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e | \u003cp\u003eThe \u003cem\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/em\u003e bestselling author of \u003cem\u003eSerena\u003c\/em\u003e returns to Appalachia, this time at the height of World War I, with the story of a blazing but doomed love affair caught in the turmoil of a nation at war\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDeep in the rugged Appalachians of North Carolina lies the cove, a dark, forbidding place where spirits and fetches wander, and even the light fears to travel. Or so the townsfolk of Mars Hill believe–just as they know that Laurel Shelton, the lonely young woman who lives within its shadows, is a witch. Alone except for her brother, Hank, newly returned from the trenches of France, she aches for her life to begin.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThen it happens–a stranger appears, carrying nothing but a beautiful silver flute and a note explaining that his name is Walter, he is mute, and is bound for New York. Laurel finds him in the woods, nearly stung to death by yellow jackets, and nurses him back to health. As the days pass, Walter slips easily into life in the cove and into Laurel's heart, bringing her the only real happiness she has ever known. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBut Walter harbors a secret that could destroy everything–and danger is closer than they know. Though the war in Europe is near its end, patriotic fervor flourishes thanks to the likes of Chauncey Feith, an ambitious young army recruiter who stokes fear and outrage throughout the county. In a time of uncertainty, when fear and ignorance reign, Laurel and Walter will discover that love may not be enough to protect them. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis lyrical, heart-rending tale, as mesmerizing as its award-winning predecessor \u003cem\u003eSerena\u003c\/em\u003e, shows once again this masterful novelist at the height of his powers.\u003c\/p\u003e | \u003cp\u003e“Ron Rash is a writer of both the darkly beautiful and the sadly true; his new novel, \u003ci\u003eThe Cove\u003c\/i\u003e, solidifies his reputation as one of our very finest novelists.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eRichard Russo, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Empire Falls\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“I wish the whole world spoke the way Ron Rash’s characters do. Read him for his poetry and great humanity. Just read him.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eJennifer Haigh, author of Faith\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003ePraise for \u003ci\u003eBurning Bright\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e  “Ron Rash was the seasoned author of nine books of fiction and poetry before his 10th, the stunning 2008 Serena, established him as one of the best American novelists of his day. With its stark Appalachian setting, piercing language and coolly ferocious title character, Serena was a big book filled with bleakly beautiful details. Mr. Rash’s artistry was blinding enough to eclipse his craftsmanship. But the skill with which his tales are constructed is more apparent in Burning Bright... these paired down short stories make it much easier to see how expertly Mr. Rash fine-tunes his work... elegantly sophisticated work... enormously effective... another instance of Mr. Rash’s tactical precision... remarkable stories... Mr. Rash certainly knows how to rivet attention.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eJanet Maslin, New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"For the past 15 years, Ron Rash has been carving out a position as one of the best writers in America writing about Appalachia... a fascinating place for a writer to inhabit. This is what Rash does best, and his reputation is assured with his latest story collection, Burning Bright.. The Ascent' is a heartbreakingly simple tale...but it still plows right into you... [Rash] exhibit[s] an astonishing range... powerful and affecting... Burning Bright is raw, honest and assured, the work of a talented writer. His characters fight through their tiny lives, proud and indomitable, like the land itself.\" - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eSan Francisco Chronicle\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Ron Rash brings his poet’s eye to an unforgiving world in Burning Bright, a finely crafted, understated collection of 12 stories... Rash doesn’t need much to tell a story --- in fact, emptiness brings out the best in him. Rash writes the way the old bluegrass musicians sing: in a stark, high-lonesome voice capturing the yearning and despair of characters who have lost almost everything but their pride... In these spare and haunting stories Rash restores the humanity that trumps the meanness in this world. It may be a thin shard of hope, but it still burns bright.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eAtlanta Journal-Constitution\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“The Cove is a beautifully written book that uses heartfelt characters to describe the difficult life of a lonely, misunderstood young woman.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Desert News\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Ron Rash has a deft touch in describing both landscape and household, and his use of evocatively specific regionalisms never edges into condescension or vernacular.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eOpen Letters Monthly \/ Like Fire (blog)\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Lonely young woman meets mysterious stranger. What might have been trite and formulaic is anything but in Rash’s fifth novel, a dark tale of Appalachian superstition and jingoism so good it gives you chills… Even better than the bestselling Serena (2008), for here Rash has elevated melodrama to tragedy.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews (starred review)\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Ron Rash always satisfies. . . His newest novel, \u003ci cove\u003e, reinforces this assessment. Rash still knows how to delivers a terrifically searing blow.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eCleveland Plain Dealer\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Rash is particularly good at capturing the hazy space where otherworldly phantoms mingle with plain old human meanness…Rash never lays down a dull or clunky line…at the very end…these pages ignite, and suddenly we’re racing through a conflagration of violence that no one seems able to control except Rash.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eWashington Post\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“A gently beautiful new novel…Rash, a native of Appalachia, has written a southern tragedy, with a self-consciously Shakespearean structure and economy…. [A] powerful novel, with some of the mysterious moral weight of Carson McCullers, along with a musical voice that belongs to Rash alone.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eUSA Today\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Rash masterfully poises suspense elements and gives full reign to other strengths: language, awe, symbolism, cast of characters and mountain knowledge…. It’s a book you could read again to savor the writing. Rash has found a subject that compellingly represents his vision—beauty shadowed by foreboding; and he’s made it symphonic.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eAsheville Citizen-Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“The Cove, the laconically beautiful new novel by Ron Rash, actually is lyrical, in the dictionary sense of having to do with song or poetry. Rash’s gorgeous prose is as close to song as you’ll find without an accompanying score . . .” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eNew Orleans Times-Picayune\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“This book ranks among the best backwoods fiction since 2006’s \u003ci\u003eWinter’s Bone\u003c\/i\u003e.... [A] gripping novel…[not] just an elegant work of literary fiction, written in a voice that’s hauntingly simple and Southern; it’s also a riveting mystery.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eEntertainment Weekly, Grade: A\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“When writers gather and tipple while discussing those not present at the table but admired, the name Ron Rash quickly comes up. He is a double-threat writer, great in both poetry and fiction. He uses language with such apparently effortless skill that it is as though he found words in his barn as a child and has been training them to fit his needs ever since. There’s not much he doesn’t know about humans in turmoil, or his region, a place where nothing ever changes until all of a sudden it does and often too much. Rash throws a big shadow now and it’s only going to get bigger and soon.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eDaniel Woodrell, author of Winter's Bone\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Warning: If you’re going to begin reading \u003ci\u003eThe Cove\u003c\/i\u003e, be prepared to miss your appointment and cancel your dinner plans, because it’s one of those books that grabs you from the first page and won’t let go. Rash is a hypnotist, a magician, a conjurer, and that rarest of wordsmiths, a masterful storyteller.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eJonathan Evison, author of West of Here\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Rash effortlessly summons the rugged Appalachian landscape as well as the small-mindedness and xenophobia of a country in the grip of patriotic fervor, drawing striking parallels to the heated political rhetoric of today. A powerful novel that skillfully overlays its tragic love story with pointed social commentary.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBooklist (starred review)\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Set during World War One, \u003ci\u003eThe Cove\u003c\/i\u003e is a novel that speaks intimately to today’s politics. Beautifully written, tough, raw, uncompromising, entirely new. Ron Rash is a writer’s writer who writes for others.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eColum McCann\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Mr. Rash’s writing is so richly atmospheric…as he has demonstrated elsewhere, notably in the dazzling 2008 novel Serena, [Rash] can make words take wing…A breathless sequence of events lead the book to its devastating final sentence. And that sentence affirms Mr. Rash’s reputation for writerly miracles when it manages an uncanny feat: fusing the cove, the Vaterland, the parakeets and the lovebirds into one perfectly wrenching last thought.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eJanet Maslin, New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Mr. Rash’s writing is so richly atmospheric…[he] can make words take wing…. A breathless sequence of events lead the book to its devastating final sentence. And that sentence affirms Mr. Rash’s reputation for writerly miracles.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eJanet Maslin, New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“[B]eautifully crafted…In [the cove’s] story, we hear the unique voice of a region made all the more poignant for how few will ever hear it exactly this way again.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eAtlanta Journal-Constitution\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“In Rash’s skilled hands, even farm chores take on a meditative beauty.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003ePeople\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“In addition to writing short stories, Rash is also a fine poet, and he brings a poet’s concision and elliptical tendencies to this novel. As a result, these scenes and conversations constantly suggest more than they show, a technique that renders them alluring, sometimes erotic, often frightening…The blind hag who delivers prophesies to the lumbermen, the insane preacher who warns of impending doom, even the portentous eclipse of the moon -- all these details rise up just right….it’s too hypnotic to break away from. Innocent people are in peril, and calamity seems as unstoppable as the millions of board feet Pemberton’s men send surging down the river. And the final chapter is as flawless and captivating as anything I’ve read this year, a perfectly creepy shock that will leave you hearing nothing but the wind between the stumps.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eWashington Post Book World\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Ron Rash uses language with such apparently effortless skill that it is as though he found words in his barn as a child and has been training them to fit his needs ever since....Rash throws a big shadow now and it’s only going to get bigger and soon.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eDaniel Woodrell, author of Winter's Bone\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Rash develops his story masterfully; the large cast of characters is superbly realized, as is the xenophobia that accompanies the war, and Rash brings the various narrative threads together at the conclusion of the novel with formidable strength and pathos.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal (starred review)\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“The gripping plot, gothic atmosphere, and striking descriptions, in particular of the dismal cove, make this a top-notch story of an unusual place and its fated and fearful denizens.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly (starred review), Pick of the Week\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003ePraise for \u003ci\u003eSerena\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e:  “A gorgeous, brutal writer.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eRichard Price, bestselling author of Lush Life\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Rash’s novel is a masterfully written condemnation of the logging industry and the damage it continues to wreak. The book is consistently heartbreaking in its portrayal of what humans are capable of. . . . Rash’s wealth of Smoky Mountain knowledge meshes seamlessly with an occasional touch of magical realism, which might have been a curious choice, but is a call-out to local superstitions. This is a story that’s sprawling, engrossing and-from time to time-nightmarish. The tension builds so well that occasionally you just want whatever monstrosity is approaching to be over. But once you’re in this world, you just have to bide your time and wait for the events to play out, for the trees to fall, for lives to be lost, all in the name of greed.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eSan Francisco Chronicle\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Serena is Ron Rash’s fourth novel. For those unfamiliar with the elegantly fine-tuned voice of this Appalachian poet and storyteller, a writer whose reputation has been largely regional despite an O. Henry Prize and other honors, it will prompt instant interest in his first, second and third. . . . With bone-chilling aplomb, linguistic grace and the piercing fatalism of an Appalachian ballad, Mr. Rash lets the Pembertons’ new union generate ripple after ripple of astonishment.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eJanet Maslin, New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Love gone seriously wrong is the central theme of Serena, the latest novel from Ron Rash (One Foot in Eden). The main character, Serena Pemberton, embodies that old axiom: Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. Or even disappointed, as in the case of Serena, a timber baron’s wife in North Carolina circa 1929. Her husband, George, tries desperately to keep Serena happy - emphasis on desperate. This logging soap opera has it all: sex, lies, deceit, betrayal, murder. The rugged Carolina terrain plays a key supporting role. The climatic ending embodies another saw: Revenge is a dish best served cold.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eUSA Today\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Finely drawn stories...Burning Bright is a collection to be read for the quality of the prose, which reflects Rash’s intimate knowledge of this region and its history. His heart is clearly in this place -- the dialect is pitch-perfect and he is a skillful translator of the inner worlds and difficult lifestyles of the unique, hardened-by-necessity breed of people who have populated the area, past and present.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Oregonian (Portland)\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“A slender set of spare and menacing depictions of the unforgiving ways of life in rural Appalachia, Burning Bright finds a narrow sweet spot between Raymond Carver’s minimalism and William Faulkner’s Gothic... Rash gets deep inside the peculiar psychology and emotional idiosyncrasies of the mountain South in all their pride, superstition and propensity for violence...” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eWashington Post\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Exquisite ... a dozen tragically beautiful stories... Rash is a praised writer, drawing comparisons to John Steinbeck and Cormac McCarthy, and those comparisons ring true here. In ‘Hard Times,’ he produces the first of many images that sear into the brain... It’s haunting images like that, horrific, but utterly believable because of the desperate world Rash creates, that stay with the reader long after this book is finished.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eMinneapolis Star Tribune\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Ecco","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44889177456869,"sku":"NP9780061804199","price":26.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780061804199.jpg?v=1730230688","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/the-cove-a-novel-isbn-9780061804199","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}