When the story opens, both the reader and the community of Waynesville, North Carolina are introduced to Serena. George Pemberton went to Boston to take care of family business and returns to his timber company in Waynesville, with his captivating but certainly not blushing bride. Also waiting on the train platform are a pregnant 16 year-old girl and her father. When the father approaches George, it is Serena who speaks out that we will settle this incident here and now and hands her husband, his hunting knife which just happens to be a wedding present from Serena. As expected, the father is killed; Serena informs the girl that – nothing is due her and her unborn child. And the reader knows that more is to come and one wonders when Serena will get her due.

While Ron Rash weaves an intriguing gothic tale of the adventures of George and Serena – as they begin their timber empire, becoming greedier as the wealth and power appear unlimited. The reader will be quickly turning pages to see the outcome of their schemes. But, do not turn the pages too quickly as the story of the history of western North Carolina in the early depression years is just as engaging as Serena antics. There is one group of investors who are looking to strip the land of its resources both above and below the ground and another group which wish to preserve the land as a national park. Both of these are outsiders – and the locals are the ones to lose which ever side wins. This is still a current theme preserving our environment versus providing jobs for local people. The author does a good job of having the locals have their say and interspersed in the story is local folklore and dialect.

I recommend this book to readers of southern literature, gothic literature and environmentalists and this fast-paced story should be put on summer reading lists.

Reviewed by Beverly
APOOO BookClub

CLICK HERE to order a copy of Serena and to vote accordingly for Beverly’s review.

Related Posts

• The Outlander by Diana Galbaldon
• Whiskey Gulf by Clyde Ford
• Step By Step: A Memoir of Living the American Dream by Bertie Bowman
• Deception At Its Best by Nea
• Under This Unbroken Sky by Shandi Mitchell