Serena

Serena

Ron Rash

5 out of 5

This book will stay with the reader in much the same was as Steinbeck holds onto you and won’t let you go.

Harsh realties abound in this stunning book when George Pemberton, the timber baron, disembarks from the train in North Carolina with his new wife Serena and are greeted by an angry father and a very pregnant young girl. What ensues sets the tone for this often brutal and very greedy look into the depression era timber industry.

Serena is no prim and proper lady, she is just as determined as any man and when she sets her sights on Pemberton, she got what she wanted even if he wasn’t so sure that it should be taken at no cost.

When Serena begins to see a person getting into her way, there is no problem tracking them down and having the problem dealt with, this isn’t just other businessmen, this is anyone. Anyone that Serena sees as a threat to her plans. A little too late Pemberton see what type of monster he has helped to create but his need for money and power allows him to turn a blind eye to the destruction of both forest and humanity.

The visuals that Rash gives you in both character and setting are truly amazing, you fall into this book and lose your own surroundings and time. He draws such a complete picture that you truly feel that you are there and that these people are real. The ending is beyond a doubt stunning and leaves you breathless and with more questions. Truly a great find and one that you will want to pass on to your friends.