Above the Waterfall: A Gripping Southern Gothic Noir of Betrayal and Redemption in Appalachia - Softcover

Rash, Ron

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0062349325 ISBN 13: 9780062349323

Publisher: Ecco, 2016

Synopsis

“Rash captures the gritty realities of modern Appalachia with mournful precision...the novel contemplates timeless questions about human frailty, the divinity of nature and the legacies of our native landscapes.” -Atlanta Journal-Constitution

A poetic and haunting tale set in contemporary Appalachia, New York Times bestselling author Ron Rash illuminates lives shaped by violence and a powerful connection to the land.

Les, a long-time sheriff just three-weeks from retirement, contends with the ravages of crystal meth and his own duplicity in his small Appalachian town.

Becky, a park ranger with a harrowing past, finds solace amid the lyrical beauty of this patch of North Carolina.

Enduring the mistakes and tragedies that have indelibly marked them, they are drawn together by a reverence for the natural world. When an irascible elderly local is accused of poisoning a trout stream, Les and Becky are plunged into deep and dangerous waters, forced to navigate currents of disillusionment and betrayal that will force them to question themselves and test their tentative bond—and threaten to carry them over the edge.

Echoing the heartbreaking beauty of William Faulkner and the spiritual isolation of Carson McCullers, Above the Waterfall demonstrates once again the prodigious talent of “a gorgeous, brutal writer” (Richard Price) hailed as “one of the great American authors at work today” (Janet Maslin, New York Times).

About this title

About the Author

Ron Rash is the author of the 2009 PEN/Faulkner finalist and New York Times bestseller Serena and Above the Waterfall, in addition to four prizewinning novels, including The Cove, One Foot in Eden, Saints at the River, and The World Made Straight; four collections of poems; and six collections of stories, among them Burning Bright, which won the 2010 Frank O’Connor International Short Story Award, and Chemistry and Other Stories, which was a finalist for the 2007 PEN/Faulkner Award. Twice the recipient of the O. Henry Prize, he teaches at Western Carolina University.

From the Back Cover

From New York Times bestselling author Ron Rash, a poetic and haunting tale set in contemporary Appalachia that illuminates lives shaped by violence and a powerful connection to the land

Les, a longtime sheriff, is just weeks from retirement when he is forced to contend with the ravages of crystal meth—and his own corruption—in his small Appalachian town. Meanwhile, Becky, a park ranger with a harrowing past, finds solace amid the lyrical beauty of the North Carolina mountains.

Enduring the mistakes and tragedies that have indelibly marked them, they are drawn together by a reverence for the natural world. When an embittered elderly local is accused of poisoning a trout stream on the property of a nearby resort, Les and Becky are plunged into deep and dangerous waters, forced to navigate currents of disillusionment and betrayal that will force them to question themselves and test their tentative bond—and threaten to carry them over the edge.

Echoing the lapsarian beauty of William Faulkner and the spiritual isolation of Carson McCullers, Above the Waterfall demonstrates the prodigious talent of an author hailed as a “gorgeous, brutal writer” (Richard Price) and “one of the best American novelists of his day” (Janet Maslin, New York Times). Tragic, evocative, and unforgettable, Above the Waterfall is a breathtaking achievement from a literary virtuoso.

Edition details

• Publisher: Ecco
• Publication date: 2016
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0062349325
• ISBN 13: 9780062349323
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 272