Read an extract of Ron Rash’s Serena
Ron Rash is well-known to American readers, and with Serena, his ninth novel, Canongate are now introducing him to the UK.
When Serena was published in the US in 2008, rave reviews came in fast and furious and it also won New York Times Book of the Year, Washington Post Book of the Year, Publishers Weekly Book of the Year and Amazon.com Book of the Year.
‘Rash’s evocative rendering of the blighted landscape and the tough characters who inhabit it recalls both John Steinbeck and Cormac McCarthy, while the malignant character of Serena, who projects a “stark unflinching certainty” about her actions, propels his finely paced story.’ New Yorker
‘In an age when literary fiction is so intent on subtlety that it often winds up virtually inert, a novel with this much uncomplicated gusto and narrative drive is a rare thing; in the case of Serena, it’s also a welcome one.’ Salon
‘A story that’s sprawling, engrossing and – from time to time – nightmarish. The tension builds so well that occasionally you just want whatever monstrosity is approaching to be over.’ San Francisco Chronicle
