The Risen: A Novel - Hardcover

Rash, Ron

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0062436317 ISBN 13: 9780062436313

Publisher: Ecco, 2016

Synopsis

“The Risen is an important novel — and an intriguing one — from one of our master storytellers. In its pages, the past rises up, haunting and chiding, demanding answers of us all.” —The News & Observer

New York Times bestselling author Ron Rash demonstrates his superb narrative skills in this suspenseful and evocative tale of two brothers whose lives are altered irrevocably by the events of one long-ago summer, one bewitching young woman—and the secrets that could destroy their lives.

While swimming in a secluded creek on a hot Sunday in 1969, sixteen-year-old Eugene and his older brother, Bill, meet the entrancing Ligeia. A sexy, free-spirited redhead from Daytona Beach banished to their small North Carolina town, Ligeia entrances the brothers, especially Eugene, who is drawn to her raw sensuality and rebellious attitude. Eugene begins to move farther and farther away from his brother, the cautious and dutiful Bill, and when Ligeia vanishes as suddenly as she appeared, the growing rift between the two brothers becomes immutable.

Decades later, the once close brothers now lead completely different lives. Bill is a gifted and successful surgeon, and a paragon of the community, while Eugene, the town reprobate, is a failed writer and determined alcoholic. When a shocking reminder of the past unexpectedly surfaces, Eugene is plunged back into that fateful summer, and the girl he cannot forget.

The deeper Eugene delves into his memories, the closer he comes to finding the truth. But can Eugene’s recollections be trusted? And will the truth set him free and offer salvation . . . or destroy his damaged life and everyone he loves?

About this title

From the Back Cover

A suspenseful and evocative tale of two brothers whose lives are altered irrevocably by the events of one long-ago summer

While swimming in a secluded creek on a hot Sunday in 1969, sixteen-year-old Eugene and his older brother, Bill, meet Ligeia. A free-spirited, rebellious teenager from Daytona Beach banished to their small North Carolina town, she not only entrances the two brothers, but lures them into a struggle that reveals the hidden differences in their natures. 

Eugene falls deeper under Ligeia’s spell as she introduces him to the thrills and pleasures of the counterculture—but just as the movement’s youthful optimism turns dark elsewhere in the country that summer, so does Eugene and Ligeia’s brief romance. Eugene grows further and further apart from his brother, and when Ligeia vanishes as suddenly as she appeared, the growing rift between the two boys becomes immutable. 

Decades later, the once-close brothers now lead completely different lives. Bill is a gifted and successful surgeon, a paragon of the community, while Eugene is a failed writer and determined alcoholic. 

When a shocking reminder of the past unexpectedly surfaces, Eugene is forced to remember that fateful summer and the girl he cannot forget. The deeper he delves into his memories, the closer he comes to finding the truth. But can Eugene’s recollections be trusted? And will the truth set him free and offer salvation, or destroy his damaged life and everyone he loves?

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.

About this edition

• Publisher: Ecco
• Publication date: 2016
• ISBN 10: 0062436317
• ISBN 13: 9780062436313
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 272