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Loading... Serena (2008)by Ron Rash
  
No current Talk conversations about this book.   ) Mcdede | Jul 19, 2023 |  After the first chapters of character introduction and world building, I was sucked in. A thoroughly enjoyable, exciting and intense read. (  ) Chanicole | Jul 6, 2023 | ) RRabas | Jun 16, 2023 |  ) JRobinW | Jan 20, 2023 | It is a chilling story. I wondered in the beginning why Serena was such a flat cardboard character (stilted and cold) when it was obvious that Rash could draw very complete and complex characters by his treatment of others in the novel (Rachel was full-blown, complex and interesting to me from the beginning). Sarena was not only inaccessible, but unredeeming, and that puzzled me until the story reached a point where it became very clear that Rash wanted and needed her to be seen that way. I finished the novel with very mixed feelings. I enjoyed reading the novel, but I did not think it had anything lofty or meaningful to say. I tend to like books in which the characters, good and bad, are people I might expect to find in my own world. I would not ever expect to meet anyone like Serena, nor, for that matter, like Pemberton or Galloway. This extremity keeps this from being a strong book for me, a fun read but not a favorite. I can believe that this would be a huge success for some readers, but it breaks somewhere in the middle for me. Finally, I must say that Rash has a comfortable writing style and knows how to move a story at a pleasing pace. I loved his descriptions and felt immersed in his environment. I would not hesitate to read another of his novels and feel sure that in his hands another story might captivate me completely. ( ) mattorsara | Aug 11, 2022 | no reviews | add a review
Has the adaptationAwardsDistinctionsNotable Lists
Fiction.
Historical Fiction.
HTML: The year is 1929, and newlyweds George and Serena Pemberton travel from Boston to the North Carolina mountains where they plan to create a timber empire. Although George has already lived in the camp long enough to father an illegitimate child, Serena is new to the mountainsâ??but she soon shows herself to be the equal of any man, overseeing crews, hunting rattle-snakes, even saving her husband's life in the wilderness. Together this lord and lady of the woodlands ruthlessly kill or vanquish all who fall out of favor. Yet when Serena learns that she will never bear a child, she sets out to murder the son George fathered without her. Mother and child begin a struggle for their lives, and when Serena suspects George is protecting his illegitimate family, the Pembertons' intense, passionate marriage starts to unravel as the story moves toward its shocking reckoning. Rash's masterful balance of violence and beauty yields a riveting novel that, at its core, tells of love both honored and betrayed. No library descriptions found. 
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 Google Books — Loading...GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)813.54Literature English (North America) American fiction 20th Century 1945-1999LC ClassificationRatingAverage: (3.7)
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