The Cove
by Ron Rash
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The New York Times bestselling author of Serena 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 warDeep 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, show more 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 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.
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, 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.
This lyrical, heart-rending tale, as mesmerizing as its award-winning predecessor Serena, shows once again this masterful novelist at the height of his powers.
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There is an ethereal feel to this story, as if the Cove was part of another world. I found myself drawn in by Laurel, a sad and lonely young woman lost to the Cove. Laurel is rather a mix of simple and complex. She speaks simply, she lives simply, she loves simply. However she is not simple-minded. Intelligent and strong, life in the Cove has not broken her. Devoted to a brother that is her world and ostracized by her community, she clings every day to every minute glimpse of beauty that she can find, few as they are in such a desolate landscape.
Her brother Hank is an honorable man who was horribly wounded in the war against the Germans. He and his sister are both viewed as outsiders, living in a Cove that most feel is cursed. However show more while Hank returns from the war a hero and sees a better life in his future, his sister Laurel will never be anything but cursed, marked at birth as a witch.
The Cove is viewed by the town as cursed, but in seeing the Cove through Laurel’s eyes I came to love it. Quiet and peaceful, it is free of people, since everyone fears it. There are some areas completely in shadow where light never falls, but there are also pockets of beauty where butterflies flit and colorful parakeets skirt across the sky as sunlight glistens in a hidden copse. There is always beauty in life. Sometimes you just have to look a little harder for it.
This is a story of judgement-- people passing judgement that they have no right to pass-- and the story slowly reveals itself, like the peeling of an onion, layer by layer.
I would consider this story to have a didactic theme, with a moral lesson hiding in the story. However there is also something cautionary about it. This story left me feeling melancholic yet hopeful.
My final word: As the title would indicate, the setting in this story is everything. The ethereal feel of the Cove, the darkness, dankness, with pockets of beauty, is haunting. Laurel is one of these hidden beautiful bits. Unfortunately few could see the beauty of the Cove, nor that of Laurel. But I definitely felt the beautiful spirit of this story. I loved it! show less
Her brother Hank is an honorable man who was horribly wounded in the war against the Germans. He and his sister are both viewed as outsiders, living in a Cove that most feel is cursed. However show more while Hank returns from the war a hero and sees a better life in his future, his sister Laurel will never be anything but cursed, marked at birth as a witch.
The Cove is viewed by the town as cursed, but in seeing the Cove through Laurel’s eyes I came to love it. Quiet and peaceful, it is free of people, since everyone fears it. There are some areas completely in shadow where light never falls, but there are also pockets of beauty where butterflies flit and colorful parakeets skirt across the sky as sunlight glistens in a hidden copse. There is always beauty in life. Sometimes you just have to look a little harder for it.
This is a story of judgement-- people passing judgement that they have no right to pass-- and the story slowly reveals itself, like the peeling of an onion, layer by layer.
I would consider this story to have a didactic theme, with a moral lesson hiding in the story. However there is also something cautionary about it. This story left me feeling melancholic yet hopeful.
My final word: As the title would indicate, the setting in this story is everything. The ethereal feel of the Cove, the darkness, dankness, with pockets of beauty, is haunting. Laurel is one of these hidden beautiful bits. Unfortunately few could see the beauty of the Cove, nor that of Laurel. But I definitely felt the beautiful spirit of this story. I loved it! show less
Set in the southern Appalachians during WWI, this compelling story defies categorization: southern lit, historical fiction, a war story, a love story, something mysterious and eerie...all descriptions fit, yet none fits perfectly; THE COVE is one-of-a-kind.
Ron Rash writes short books, filled with simple sentences and basic language. Yet there is great magic in his storytelling. He creates a sense of place that is much as I imagine this area would have been in the early 20th century. A strong fear of the unknown permeates his characters, whether that's fear of strangers, fear of Germans, fear of a woman's birthmark, fear of a haunted cove where Laurel lives in isolation with her war-damaged brother. Characters are drawn clearly with show more little wasted language, and are distinct in their views of life and their treatment of others.
The story drew me along, coaxed me to put off asking a few questions that turned out to be important. This is a very subtle and effective form of foreshadowing, and when secrets were revealed near the end of the story, I said to myself "I should have known." (Not "I knew it!")
Rash's ONE FOOT IN EDEN is one of my favorites of the past decade, and THE COVE will join it on my "keep and read again" shelf. show less
Ron Rash writes short books, filled with simple sentences and basic language. Yet there is great magic in his storytelling. He creates a sense of place that is much as I imagine this area would have been in the early 20th century. A strong fear of the unknown permeates his characters, whether that's fear of strangers, fear of Germans, fear of a woman's birthmark, fear of a haunted cove where Laurel lives in isolation with her war-damaged brother. Characters are drawn clearly with show more little wasted language, and are distinct in their views of life and their treatment of others.
The story drew me along, coaxed me to put off asking a few questions that turned out to be important. This is a very subtle and effective form of foreshadowing, and when secrets were revealed near the end of the story, I said to myself "I should have known." (Not "I knew it!")
Rash's ONE FOOT IN EDEN is one of my favorites of the past decade, and THE COVE will join it on my "keep and read again" shelf. show less
Laurel Shelton is considered a witch by some in Mars Hill, North Carolina because of a large birthmark. As WWI winds down Laurel lives at the family farm with her wounded veteran brother, Hank, who’s recently returned from France minus an arm. They live at The Cove, a dark spot by a river dominated by a sun-blocking cliff. It’s a feared place, seen as sinister by some, another reason Laurel is shunned.
When Laurel finds a mute man, Walter, in the woods after he’s attacked by bees, she nurses him back to health and he stays at The Cove for a while to help Hank bring the farm back to working shape. Laurel and Walter come to love each other.
The ignorance and fear that have made Laurel’s life lonely extends to anything remotely show more German. Chauncey Feith, a banker turned army recruiter has avoided the fighting due to his father’s influence. He stirs up “hun” hatred in Mars Hill, to the point of harassing a professor who reviewed postcards in German at the local internment camp for security issues. When a German internee, a civilian and musician – not a soldier, escapes the camp, Feith and the other local xenophobes make several fateful decisions.
The parallels in The Cove to the internment of Japanese Americans during WWI and the current lasting and corrosive results of the war on terror are plain. Ron Rash’s writing is clean and beautiful. The Cove is a major accomplishment of writing. show less
When Laurel finds a mute man, Walter, in the woods after he’s attacked by bees, she nurses him back to health and he stays at The Cove for a while to help Hank bring the farm back to working shape. Laurel and Walter come to love each other.
The ignorance and fear that have made Laurel’s life lonely extends to anything remotely show more German. Chauncey Feith, a banker turned army recruiter has avoided the fighting due to his father’s influence. He stirs up “hun” hatred in Mars Hill, to the point of harassing a professor who reviewed postcards in German at the local internment camp for security issues. When a German internee, a civilian and musician – not a soldier, escapes the camp, Feith and the other local xenophobes make several fateful decisions.
The parallels in The Cove to the internment of Japanese Americans during WWI and the current lasting and corrosive results of the war on terror are plain. Ron Rash’s writing is clean and beautiful. The Cove is a major accomplishment of writing. show less
This is a beautiful and heartbreaking book. Set in the Appalachians during WWI and hate towards Germans is running rampant with the help of one fervent recruiter Chauncey who is on a witch hunt for anything German. At the same time on a farm in the cove lives Laurel a young woman with a wine splotch birthmark that people in town say is a curse and call her a witch and the townspeople won’t let her go to school because she may harm their children. A superstitious lot they are, that makes for a lonely life for Laurel, she does have her brother Jack who is back from the war missing a hand but alive. When one day she hears the most beautiful flute music and sees a raggedy man a few days later she finds him covered in bee stings and brings show more him home. Walter recovers but seems to be a mute but that doesn’t stop sparks from flying between him and Laurel.
I cared so much about these characters that towards the end my stomach was knotted with worry and when events played out I was bawling (should not have been listening to this at work!). This book evokes the times and the place I felt like I was there. It is a love story but so much more it is about the human condition and how people can be so incredibly hurtful towards others. I loved Laurel and felt so bad for the way she was treated and even though I figured out certain things about Walter, it didn’t matter, he was one of the few people to show a kindness towards laurel and I think it was what they both needed.
Merritt Hicks’ narration was spot on her southern accent was great and her characters were all very distinct I always knew who was talking. I will definitely listen to this narrator again!
As I said this novel is beautiful and heart wrenching all at the same time, this is my first book by this author and will not be my last! I think fans of southern fiction and historical fiction will like this one.
4 ½ Stars show less
I cared so much about these characters that towards the end my stomach was knotted with worry and when events played out I was bawling (should not have been listening to this at work!). This book evokes the times and the place I felt like I was there. It is a love story but so much more it is about the human condition and how people can be so incredibly hurtful towards others. I loved Laurel and felt so bad for the way she was treated and even though I figured out certain things about Walter, it didn’t matter, he was one of the few people to show a kindness towards laurel and I think it was what they both needed.
Merritt Hicks’ narration was spot on her southern accent was great and her characters were all very distinct I always knew who was talking. I will definitely listen to this narrator again!
As I said this novel is beautiful and heart wrenching all at the same time, this is my first book by this author and will not be my last! I think fans of southern fiction and historical fiction will like this one.
4 ½ Stars show less
Laurel Shelton is a lonely young woman. Living alone save for her brother Hank in an isolated, deeply shadowed cove in the Appalachian mountains of North Carolina, she is shunned by the townspeople of nearby Mars Hill and feared as a witch because of a large purple birthmark on her shoulders. Hank has only recently returned from WWI missing one hand and he is fixing up the farm with the help of a neighbor, intending, Laurel believes, to propose to a local girl and bring her to live with them. Living in darkness and shadow and loneliness as she does, Laurel still dreams of sunlight and beauty, having had ambitions to become a teacher and move away from the cove—ambitions thwarted by her mother’s death and father’s long depression show more and illness. But when she finds a strange man in the cove, sick and feverish with hornet stings, and nurses him back to health, Laurel begins to dream once more—of love, and a life outside the cove. The man, Walter, plays flute like an angel but is otherwise mute, a note in his pocket claiming childhood illness. He falls into step with the siblings, helping Hank about the farm and playing his flute and falling in love with Laurel as she has fallen for him. However, Walter is not all he seems and harbors secrets of his own—secrets that could prove explosively dangerous to his new friends. Meanwhile, a cowardly and bombastic recruiter in town, Chauncey Feith, tries to prove his true worth by exposing supposed “Hun” spies in their midst. When the fires of xenophobia he has stoked collide with cursed Laurel, disabled Hank, and silent Walter, tragedy can be the only result.
Atmospheric, taut, and expertly realized, The Cove is a tale of passion, fear, and superstition with clear parallels to the overheated political rhetoric of today. show less
Atmospheric, taut, and expertly realized, The Cove is a tale of passion, fear, and superstition with clear parallels to the overheated political rhetoric of today. show less
A story of small minded mountain prejudice reveals war and peace in a cove out past the back of beyond. The heroine, Laurel Shelton, is shunned by many in the fine, God fearing communities of Mars Hill College and Madison County, North Carolina.
Laurel’s unjustified crime is being born under a bad sign with a mark so unsightly she is branded a witch. Laurel’s other unpardonable crime is being born deep within a dark and remote holler, a place so dark the sunlight don’t shine but in the middle of the day. Crops wither. Chestnut trees blight. Eventually, the community will drown the whole Cove and their communal memories will not be missed. Before that, the combination of isolation, physical and communal, reveal Laurel’s troubles show more run far below the surface.
Still, there is peace in the cove. WW I is nearing an end. Ron Rash, introduces unexpected textures by weaving the little known history of Southern Appalachia’s German internment camps. Further intrigue comes ashore via New York City with the marooned crew of the world’s largest ocean passenger vessels, the Vaterland -- German-built vessel that was larger and more luxurious than the Titanic. Rash brings facts to the fiction and the result is a bewitching story. Don’t expect potions or spells, but do expect to wonder if the same human natures exist less than 100 years later. show less
Laurel’s unjustified crime is being born under a bad sign with a mark so unsightly she is branded a witch. Laurel’s other unpardonable crime is being born deep within a dark and remote holler, a place so dark the sunlight don’t shine but in the middle of the day. Crops wither. Chestnut trees blight. Eventually, the community will drown the whole Cove and their communal memories will not be missed. Before that, the combination of isolation, physical and communal, reveal Laurel’s troubles show more run far below the surface.
Still, there is peace in the cove. WW I is nearing an end. Ron Rash, introduces unexpected textures by weaving the little known history of Southern Appalachia’s German internment camps. Further intrigue comes ashore via New York City with the marooned crew of the world’s largest ocean passenger vessels, the Vaterland -- German-built vessel that was larger and more luxurious than the Titanic. Rash brings facts to the fiction and the result is a bewitching story. Don’t expect potions or spells, but do expect to wonder if the same human natures exist less than 100 years later. show less
The Cove is the second Ron Rash novel I've read and, like One Foot in Eden, it is excellent.
What makes Rash one of the best writers I've ever read is his careful use of language. Here's a paragraph from the first chapter:
She pressed the wicker basket against her belly and made her way down the trail. The air grew dank and dark and even darker as she passed through a stand of hemlocks. Toad stools and witch hazel sprouted on the trail edge, farther down, nightshade and then baneberry whose poisonous fruit looked like a doll's eyes. Two days' rain had made the woods poxy with mushrooms. The gray ones with the slimy feel of slugs were harmless, Laurel knew, but the larger pale mushrooms could kill you, as could the brown-hooded kind that show more clumped on rotting wood. Chestnut wood, because that was what filled the understory more and more with each passing season. As Laurel approached her parents' graves, she thought of what she'd asked Slidell to do, what he said he'd do, though adding that at his age such a vow was like snow promising to outlast spring.
A writing class could be based on this paragraph alone. The rhythm is perfect. The setting is thoroughly described with careful use of detail he's either researched or lived. The characters of Laurel and Slidell are introduced with both physical details and glimpses of how they think. The paragraph ends with a wonderful simile and the choice of the word “poxy” to describe how the mushrooms fit in the scene changes a simple description to a metaphor with dozens of implications.
Ron Rash's book is about loneliness, hate, and insecurity. Laurel has large, purple birthmarks on her shoulders and back, which the early twentieth century residents of Mars Hill, NC believe mark her as a witch, causing them to avoid her as much as possible. While shopping for fabric she speaks out when she knows she shouldn't, showing us her resentment, but also letting us know she doesn't want to be bitter. Chauncey Feith, a military recruiter based in Mars Hill is always trying to prove himself by demeaning others. World War 1 is going on in Europe, but Chauncey's role in it is an easy one. He tries to prove he's as good a soldier as anyone else, but we can feel his self doubt.
The plot is the one area where I thought The Cove fell a bit short, especially when compared to One Foot in Eden. There are critical elements I had trouble believing. Laurel and her brother, Hank, take in a mute man who helps with work on their farm. They are too accepting of his story given Hank's war experience. Also the ending was too neat and depended on a coincidental event.
Steve Lindahl – Author of White Horse Regressions and Motherless Soul show less
What makes Rash one of the best writers I've ever read is his careful use of language. Here's a paragraph from the first chapter:
She pressed the wicker basket against her belly and made her way down the trail. The air grew dank and dark and even darker as she passed through a stand of hemlocks. Toad stools and witch hazel sprouted on the trail edge, farther down, nightshade and then baneberry whose poisonous fruit looked like a doll's eyes. Two days' rain had made the woods poxy with mushrooms. The gray ones with the slimy feel of slugs were harmless, Laurel knew, but the larger pale mushrooms could kill you, as could the brown-hooded kind that show more clumped on rotting wood. Chestnut wood, because that was what filled the understory more and more with each passing season. As Laurel approached her parents' graves, she thought of what she'd asked Slidell to do, what he said he'd do, though adding that at his age such a vow was like snow promising to outlast spring.
A writing class could be based on this paragraph alone. The rhythm is perfect. The setting is thoroughly described with careful use of detail he's either researched or lived. The characters of Laurel and Slidell are introduced with both physical details and glimpses of how they think. The paragraph ends with a wonderful simile and the choice of the word “poxy” to describe how the mushrooms fit in the scene changes a simple description to a metaphor with dozens of implications.
Ron Rash's book is about loneliness, hate, and insecurity. Laurel has large, purple birthmarks on her shoulders and back, which the early twentieth century residents of Mars Hill, NC believe mark her as a witch, causing them to avoid her as much as possible. While shopping for fabric she speaks out when she knows she shouldn't, showing us her resentment, but also letting us know she doesn't want to be bitter. Chauncey Feith, a military recruiter based in Mars Hill is always trying to prove himself by demeaning others. World War 1 is going on in Europe, but Chauncey's role in it is an easy one. He tries to prove he's as good a soldier as anyone else, but we can feel his self doubt.
The plot is the one area where I thought The Cove fell a bit short, especially when compared to One Foot in Eden. There are critical elements I had trouble believing. Laurel and her brother, Hank, take in a mute man who helps with work on their farm. They are too accepting of his story given Hank's war experience. Also the ending was too neat and depended on a coincidental event.
Steve Lindahl – Author of White Horse Regressions and Motherless Soul show less
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ThingScore 100
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
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.
added by 1morechapter
But “The Cove” is a less intricate, nuanced book than “Serena,” perhaps because it is tethered to a real and freakish historical occurrence.
added by 1morechapter
Lists
Southern Fiction
212 works; 52 members
ALA The Reading List
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Female Protagonist
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Novels featuring siblings
133 works; 8 members
Read-alike - The book woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Richardson
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Author Information
28+ Works 6,854 Members
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- The Cove
- Original title
- The Cove
- Original publication date
- 2012 (1e édition originale américaine ∙ Ecco ∙ HarperCollins) (1e édition originale américaine ∙ Ecco ∙ HarperCollins); 2014-01-02 (1e traduction et édition française ∙ Cadre vert ∙ Seuil) (1e traduction et édition française ∙ Cadre vert ∙ Seuil); 2015 (Réédition française, Points ∙ Seuil) (Réédition française, Points ∙ Seuil); 2019-10-10 (Réédition française avec une préface de Franck Bouysse ∙ Points signatures ∙ Seuil) (Réédition française avec une préface de Franck Bouysse ∙ Points signatures ∙ Seuil)
- People/Characters
- Laurel Shelton; Hank Shelton; Walter
- Important places
- North Carolina, USA; Appalachia, USA
- Important events*
- 1e guerre mondiale (1917 | 1918)
- Epigraph
- Her eyes were open, but she still beheld, Now wide awake, the vision of her sleep. - John Keats, "The Eye of St. Agnes"
- Dedication
- For my sister Kathy Rash Brewer
- First words
- The truck's government tag always tipped them off before his Kansas accent could.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)He would tell Goritz that he was ready.
- Blurbers
- Haigh, Jennifer; Russo, Richard
- Original language*
- Anglais (Etats-Unis) (Etats-Unis)
*Some information comes from Common Knowledge in other languages. Click "Edit" for more information.
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- Reviews
- 52
- Rating
- (3.67)
- Languages
- Dutch, English, French, Italian
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 35
- ASINs
- 9
