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The Cove

by Ron Rash

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7704928,650 (3.67)29
Living deep within a cove in the Appalachians of North Carolina during World War I, Laurel Shelton finally finds the happiness she deserves in Walter, a mysterious stranger who is mute, but their love cannot protect them from a devastating secret.
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» See also 29 mentions

English (47)  French (1)  Dutch (1)  All languages (49)
Showing 1-5 of 47 (next | show all)
In the book THE COVE, the cove is a place where nothing good has ever happened to anyone who lived there. At this point in history, the end of World War I, can that be changed?

THE COVE begins with a mystery in the prologue, then soon after another mystery makes you forget about the first one.

Allow yourself to discover this mysterous story as it was meant to be discovered: as you read it. Don't read reviews. Don't even read the book flap or the back of the book until after you've read it.

And now my rant: most book reviewers spoil books. Most book reviews tell the story before readers gets a chance to read the book and discover the story themselves. Most book reviewers thereby steal the pleasure of reading.

THE COVE is an exceptionallly good book because it is mysterious. But I made the mistake of reading reviews of this book before I read it, and most of them revealed the solution to one of the mysteries. So I was deprived of the pleasure of slowly discovering the story as it was revealed. I might have given THE COVE five stars otherwise.

If you don't make that mistake, you'll love THE COVE.

Thanks to Vera at luxuryreading.com for this book. ( )
  techeditor | Jun 21, 2022 |
I enjoyed the book until the end. I do not like how it ended. It was too obvious, too abrupt, too sad, and too unfair. The Chauncey chapters were annoying and pointless, and it was because of his pointlessness in all other aspects that made the ending all-too-predictable.
( )
  mbellucci | Apr 10, 2021 |
Generally good, but the abrupt ending left me with the feeling that the story wasn't finished. ( )
  Misprint | Aug 31, 2020 |
Beautifully haunting story by Ron Rash, author of Serena. Quiet and touching, the story unfolds at a time right before the war with the "Huns" ended. Well described characters that just want to be happy...... But they live in The Cove, where everything there lives under the literal, and figurative mountain shadows, rarely ever seeing the sun. Some say that everything in the cove, from the vegetation to the animals, are damned. And maybe they are.....

3.5 stars for a very interesting story filled with heartbreak. ( )
  stephanie_M | Apr 30, 2020 |
I have never read Ron Rash before but I read this one because I am from the town of Mars Hill and I went to Mars Hill College so I was incredibly interested. I thought it was good but not great. One other reviewer who is also from Madison County said they do not talk like they do in the book there in real life and I have to say I agree although people who are from back in the mountains, live in the coves, and that are not main stream Madison Countiers might. I had somewhat of a hard time picturing the town of Mars Hill in my head as it is portrayed in the book because the layout he describes is not how the town looks today. I know the magic part was a major plot point but again people from Madison County and especially Mars Hill are not as judgmental as he made them out to be. In fact, because of the college I think they are more open-minded than some that live in the little mountain communities that surround that area.
  SWade0126 | Jan 11, 2019 |
Showing 1-5 of 47 (next | show all)
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. Essential for fans of literary fiction.
added by Christa_Josh | editLibrary Journal, Patrick Sullivan (Oct 15, 2011)
 
The Cove is nevertheless a powerful novel, with some of the mysterious moral weight of Carson McCullers, along with a musical voice that belongs to Rash alone.
 
But “The Cove” is a less intricate, nuanced book than “Serena,” perhaps because it is tethered to a real and freakish historical occurrence.
 

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Her eyes were open, but she still beheld, Now wide awake, the vision of her sleep. - John Keats, "The Eye of St. Agnes"
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For my sister Kathy Rash Brewer
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The truck's government tag always tipped them off before his Kansas accent could.
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(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
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Living deep within a cove in the Appalachians of North Carolina during World War I, Laurel Shelton finally finds the happiness she deserves in Walter, a mysterious stranger who is mute, but their love cannot protect them from a devastating secret.

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Deep 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. Then 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 he 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 day pass, Walter slips easily into life in the cove and into Laurel's heart, bringing her the only real happiness she has ever known. But 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, a petty and 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. (ARC)
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Penguin Australia

An edition of this book was published by Penguin Australia.

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