Scan barcode
myriadreads's review
5.0
I've been trying to be stingier with the 5-star ratings, but I had to give this book its due. Rash is a fantastic, descriptive, artful writer. It was so hard to put this book down, and I kept wondering what was going to happen in between readings. It's thoughtful and deep and would make an excellent discussion read.
The ending surprised me! In retrospect, though, I should have seen it coming.
I will likely read this again, so that I can slow down and admire the craft even more now that I know the story.
The ending surprised me! In retrospect, though, I should have seen it coming.
I will likely read this again, so that I can slow down and admire the craft even more now that I know the story.
caitlinhonard's review
1.0
I couldn't even finish it. I was bored and found it too hard to pick up and too easy to put down.
colleengeedrumm's review
4.0
What made losing someone you loved bearable was not remembering but forgetting.
The mind is it's own place, as the poet tells us, and has its own peculiar reality. What one feels one feels.
Only the present being real.
They's a feeling about a place where men dies and the land dies with them.
The mind is it's own place, as the poet tells us, and has its own peculiar reality. What one feels one feels.
Only the present being real.
They's a feeling about a place where men dies and the land dies with them.
ciaoamandareads's review
3.0
This was a very slow read for me. The description on the book says that Serena goes after her husband's illegitimate child after she can no longer have children. Her miscarriage doesn't occur until 200 pages into the book... The action from there on was predictable and unsatisifying.
shhchar's review against another edition
2.0
I enjoyed reading Serena, but at the end of the novel, I was left with a lingering feeling that I am now exploring, most likely to my ire.
The intrigue of human brutality within the novel's Appalachian setting was the driving force. However, there is such little exploration into the emotions behind the brutality that I'm left wondering whether Serena was some sort of manic pixie timber-dream girl.
We never get her perspective and are stuck reading either about the idolization Pemberton has for her or the larger-than-life rumors among the workers. This wasn't of huge consequence until about 3/4ths of the way through the book. I expected the slow pace to pick up a little, but it did not. Instead, the readers are led to a quite obvious ending and left with the option of accepting it or if you're me, questioning why we are meant to accept it.
In the ensuing author's interview at the end of Serena, Ron Rash is asked about the "uniqueness of a character like Serena in American literature" to which he replies "I thought it would be interesting to have a female character who had power, even the power of life and death, at a time when women had few opportunities to achieve such power. Her ruling a timber camp full of men struck me as even more intriguing." I think that would have been intriguing as well, but I find it firstly ridiculous to mold that said female character into an impenetrable force - both in mind, body, and power - and not give us any perspective of her inner thoughts or how she came to be that way. Additionally, most of Serena's actions are carried out by another male character which kind of defeats his explanation.
It's not groundbreaking to give a female character power or, honestly, to do it "at a time when women had few opportunities to achieve such power." But did she REALLY achieve this power? We are given a half-assed explanation into her past that is as believable as a fish flying (her Colorado upbringing that I was hoping would be expanded upon was not) and the sparse details that she sought out Pemberton before luring him into marriage with - this is made extremely clear - her body.
With this said "power" she turns into the mistress of the timber camp with all the workers viewing her as a sort of vengeful goddess. Outside of these pages, it is more clear that she is simply a killer we are expected to understand at face value who uses her body for her own unexplored purposes. Thank you, feminist hero.
Safe to say, I fucking hated Serena's character, which is especially sad as she was the driving force behind why I read the book in the first place. I kept expecting to flip the page and get a new detail that would give me insight into why she acted so ruthlessly and devoid of emotion. The reason we are meant to accept (which is on the back of the book and not a spoiler) is of Pemberton aiding his baby-mama and child behind Serena's back. This is so poorly developed within the actual story that without going into the novel expecting it I would've been confused or even more annoyed at its conclusion. I won't even go into the epilogue/coda because it is too ridiculous and farfetched that I'd rather forget about it.
It is frustrating to see a novel with two half-assembled female characters - one flat and one slightly rounded as we are given some insight into her feelings, though she too feels like a caricature of the idyllic pioneer woman with a baby on her back - be given so much literary praise when there are novels with much more accurate depictions of womanhood out there.
I am not taking any fault with the writing of this novel; it built the atmosphere quite wonderfully. But I cannot forgive Rash for positioning this book of supposed evilness of womanhood on the dubious explanation that Serena cannot get pregnant and therefore wishes to murder the woman who has had her husband's child (which was entirely before Serena even knew him).
As for this Rachel Harmon, besides the glimpses of her POV that we are given, we still had to suffer through Pemberton's disparaging male gaze in multiple scenes of him questioning why he ever found her attractive. I'm putting myself in a sour mood by writing this but I am so used to the male gaze in media that I have absolutely no patience for it anymore, especially in literature that I look to escape in.
To declare that few women had power at this time and to present us with a "proper" example of a contemporarily powerful woman who remains static the entire novel and seems to only represent wild greed, murder, and lust is not my idea of "a villainess like no other" as a quote on the back proudly declares. I can now guess why the movie adaptation must've flopped even with Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper in the main roles.
I believe Rash put more effort into building the setting and vernacular, framing the story, and the too-many-to-remember workers' POVs at the sacrifice of well-rounded characters, especially women. This is not a play, as he cited "consciously evoking" MacBeth in the novel, there are no actors to give life and emotion to the lines. This is just another upsettingly flat depiction of good versus evil with women positioned on the front lines instead of men.
The intrigue of human brutality within the novel's Appalachian setting was the driving force. However, there is such little exploration into the emotions behind the brutality that I'm left wondering whether Serena was some sort of manic pixie timber-dream girl.
We never get her perspective and are stuck reading either about the idolization Pemberton has for her or the larger-than-life rumors among the workers. This wasn't of huge consequence until about 3/4ths of the way through the book. I expected the slow pace to pick up a little, but it did not. Instead, the readers are led to a quite obvious ending and left with the option of accepting it or if you're me, questioning why we are meant to accept it.
In the ensuing author's interview at the end of Serena, Ron Rash is asked about the "uniqueness of a character like Serena in American literature" to which he replies "I thought it would be interesting to have a female character who had power, even the power of life and death, at a time when women had few opportunities to achieve such power. Her ruling a timber camp full of men struck me as even more intriguing." I think that would have been intriguing as well, but I find it firstly ridiculous to mold that said female character into an impenetrable force - both in mind, body, and power - and not give us any perspective of her inner thoughts or how she came to be that way. Additionally, most of Serena's actions are carried out by another male character which kind of defeats his explanation.
It's not groundbreaking to give a female character power or, honestly, to do it "at a time when women had few opportunities to achieve such power." But did she REALLY achieve this power? We are given a half-assed explanation into her past that is as believable as a fish flying (her Colorado upbringing that I was hoping would be expanded upon was not) and the sparse details that she sought out Pemberton before luring him into marriage with - this is made extremely clear - her body.
With this said "power" she turns into the mistress of the timber camp with all the workers viewing her as a sort of vengeful goddess. Outside of these pages, it is more clear that she is simply a killer we are expected to understand at face value who uses her body for her own unexplored purposes. Thank you, feminist hero.
Safe to say, I fucking hated Serena's character, which is especially sad as she was the driving force behind why I read the book in the first place. I kept expecting to flip the page and get a new detail that would give me insight into why she acted so ruthlessly and devoid of emotion. The reason we are meant to accept (which is on the back of the book and not a spoiler) is of Pemberton aiding his baby-mama and child behind Serena's back. This is so poorly developed within the actual story that without going into the novel expecting it I would've been confused or even more annoyed at its conclusion. I won't even go into the epilogue/coda because it is too ridiculous and farfetched that I'd rather forget about it.
It is frustrating to see a novel with two half-assembled female characters - one flat and one slightly rounded as we are given some insight into her feelings, though she too feels like a caricature of the idyllic pioneer woman with a baby on her back - be given so much literary praise when there are novels with much more accurate depictions of womanhood out there.
I am not taking any fault with the writing of this novel; it built the atmosphere quite wonderfully. But I cannot forgive Rash for positioning this book of supposed evilness of womanhood on the dubious explanation that Serena cannot get pregnant and therefore wishes to murder the woman who has had her husband's child (which was entirely before Serena even knew him).
As for this Rachel Harmon, besides the glimpses of her POV that we are given, we still had to suffer through Pemberton's disparaging male gaze in multiple scenes of him questioning why he ever found her attractive. I'm putting myself in a sour mood by writing this but I am so used to the male gaze in media that I have absolutely no patience for it anymore, especially in literature that I look to escape in.
To declare that few women had power at this time and to present us with a "proper" example of a contemporarily powerful woman who remains static the entire novel and seems to only represent wild greed, murder, and lust is not my idea of "a villainess like no other" as a quote on the back proudly declares. I can now guess why the movie adaptation must've flopped even with Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper in the main roles.
I believe Rash put more effort into building the setting and vernacular, framing the story, and the too-many-to-remember workers' POVs at the sacrifice of well-rounded characters, especially women. This is not a play, as he cited "consciously evoking" MacBeth in the novel, there are no actors to give life and emotion to the lines. This is just another upsettingly flat depiction of good versus evil with women positioned on the front lines instead of men.
mmihaly's review against another edition
4.0
Amazingly well written, beautiful descriptions, and only a handful of characters worth redemption. This book was hard to read at times and the title character Serena, is cutthroat. I cannot stop thinking about the book's supporting characters even after finishing. Thought provoking and rich in detail!
nancy33's review
2.0
Slow start, it finally started getting interesting 3/4 of the way into the book. I must be missing the allure that other people found.
theseventhl's review against another edition
5.0
I wasn't sure how I felt about this book as I was reading it, but the more I reflect on it, the more I love it, so screw it, five stars. Brilliant, layered writing as always from Ron Rash, with some powerhouse characters that are hard to forget - the number one being, of course, Serena. Hopefully I'll read some Ron Rash again sooner than later.
icalyn_13's review
3.0
Just finished this book. It is dark and twisty and hard to describe....and I'm having trouble deciding if this was a fantastic story or a horrible one.
It was exceptionally well written, the characters are very developed and you feel like you can see the mountains that are being described. There are so many pieces of the story that are happening at once, and it is like the story takes a turn to the dark side, and the characters barely realize the path they have just started down. Serena is one of the coldest, fiercest characters I've ever read. A part of me respects her for her strength, but she truly has no soul, which becomes painfully clear as the story moves forward.
Overall, I liked it, but I hated how much I ended up hating most of the characters. It's hard to enjoy a story when you are hoping for their demise.
It was exceptionally well written, the characters are very developed and you feel like you can see the mountains that are being described. There are so many pieces of the story that are happening at once, and it is like the story takes a turn to the dark side, and the characters barely realize the path they have just started down. Serena is one of the coldest, fiercest characters I've ever read. A part of me respects her for her strength, but she truly has no soul, which becomes painfully clear as the story moves forward.
Overall, I liked it, but I hated how much I ended up hating most of the characters. It's hard to enjoy a story when you are hoping for their demise.
jamiejanae_6's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Child death, Classism, Death of parent, Misogyny, Stalking, Animal death, Pregnancy, Blood, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Infertility, Miscarriage, and Murder