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Catie T. (Aurora, CO)
Serena by Ron Rash
Serena takes place during the Depression in the western mountains of North Carolina. Serena and George Pemberton are newlyweds obsessed with each other and with creating a lumber dynasty. Rachel is a young, poor country girl who was seduced by George before he went to Boston and met Serena. What follows is a story of greed, selfishness, and destruction. Excellent writing. My only complaint: I felt the book was not long enough and detailed enough to do justice to the huge storyline and the many colorful characters; therefore, it was good, not great.
Jan M. (Jenks, OK)
Serena by Ron Rash
As a somewhat “over the hill” reader, I enjoyed
Serena. I have some letters written by my grandfather describing his life in a logging camp during the Depression. Ron Rash’s description of the harshness of the times was much the same as those described by my Grandfather and it made me sympathize with the loggers and dislike the Pemberton’s even more. Serena’s greed and ruthlessness was the focus of the story, but the lives of her victims were what made the book such a page-turner. The irony in the final pages when the pearl-handled knife that we read about early in the book, showed up in the ending of the story
…more was a brilliant twist to a gruesome tale.
I have recommended this book to our book club. I think it will generate some lively discussion. I’m sure there will be some varied opinions about Galloway’s complete subservience to Serena. What made him a tool for her unconscionable behavior puzzled me throughout the book. I thought the author was successful in creating fictional tale that, was also a glimpse into the lives and times of those who lived during a very difficult period in our nation. (less)The writer was very descriptive with his words and I could visualize the story vividly. Oh Serena! What a bad girl you were. Nobody was safe if you had a grudge. I particularly liked the setting for the story in North Carolina. I have been to Asheville and the mountains and it is a lovely place. I tried to visualize that area as as it would have been back in the early days the story was projected. The author included some history into the story and that was interesting to me. Even though the story was gruesome, I enjoyed reading it.
Teresa R. (Evansville, IN)
Ruthless People
The first 100 pages of the book were very slow for me. I learned about the lumber business in 1929 which was educational, though not necessarily entertaining. After that, though, the action quickly picks up. Ron Rash is a great writer and a master of storytelling. This book is a tribute to greed, ruthlessness, and betrayal. It is beautifully written with incredible characters. I loved this story! Would have given it a 5 had it not been for the slow beginning. Read it- it is well worth the effort!
Barbara S. (Brick, NJ)
Not Rash's Best
Serena was not the best of the Ron Rash books. It was a disappointment. Grisham and other authors are also guilty of giving us books not on the par with their first few great reads. In his own words, Rash put a "rusty" on us.
I did enjoy the lingo from that time when he used it and, of course, you knew it because he put it in quotes.
The lack of character development and long, boring glimpses into everyday life added little to the story.
Serena was such an unappetizing character even though he tried to make her unique with the use of the eagle and the horse. Murder came so easy to her but what was she about really?
Shirley F. (Franksville, WI)
I wanted to like it
I really wanted to like this book which is about Appalachia around the Depression. I enjoyed the descriptions of the area, the mountains and the logging camp. My chief objection is that the characters were not well developed except for Serena and her husband and Rachel Harmon. While Serena and Pemberton were not likable characters, they don't have to be in order for me to appreciate a story, I felt they were consumed by their own greed and ruthlessness. I also felt that the author rushed the ending and I'm not sure if it is entirely believable. It is an American tragedy, but I felt it was less of an epic because
…more of the lack of empathy that I felt for the characters.I hesitate to give the book 3 out of 5 stars and would probably give it 2 1/2. (less)I had high expectations for the book based on the preliminary reviews I'd read, so perhaps it isn't surprising that I was disappointed, although I was glad to have read it in the end.
The story was weirdly Shakespearean, and there were enough references to old English that it was clear that this was intentional. Think one of the bloodier stories -
Hamlet or
Macbeth, maybe, without any of the wry humour that underlies those tragedies. It also had a touch of the Ancient Greek plays (especially with the use of the chorus) - Medea, maybe - without the character development.
The characters were unconvincing and un-
…more nuanced, and many of the plot points felt forced or contrived. What made the story worthwhile, however, was the sub-story of the development of the National Park System, which is timely with the upcoming Ken Burns film on the subject, as well as the approaching NPS centennial in 2016. The presentation of the logging communities and the rape of the forests is in sharp contrast with the maneuvering land-grab that protected the lands into one of the most cherished parks in the system.
Flawed, but worthwhile. (less)The quality of the writing is the only thing that saved this book for me. This story in a less capable writer’s hands would have been wholly unreadable for me. The main characters were cartoonish in their villainy and invincibility. Normally I am more than willing to suspend my disbelief when reading, especially for a writer of this caliber, but it helps if the characters are at least remotely sympathetic. Serena is loathsome in her complete lack of humanity and her husband is not much better.
If the body count hadn’t been so high and come so easily, if Mr. Rash had delved a little deeper into what makes Serena
…more tick or if he hadn’t succumbed to such convenient plot devices as the one-dimensional, slavishly devoted hit man and his clairvoyant mother, I could have better enjoyed the beautifully written scenic descriptions and the unflinching documentation of the history of the logging industry and the devastation it wrought on the land and the people who worked it. (less)
