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shelfimprovement's review against another edition
3.0
I really love reading good Appalachian fiction. I have very strong Appalachian roots, and sometimes it’s nice to get away from more metropolitan kind of stories and to be reminded of the very specific cultural quirks that I miss. I feel like Ron Rash should really scratch that itch of mine (no pun intended), and so I jumped at the chance to snag an ARC, but this really came up short for me.
Set in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, Above the Waterfall is about Les, a sheriff on the brink of retirement, and Becky, his park ranger lady friend with a troubled past and a very specific sense of obligation. The two find themselves on opposite sides of each other when Les must investigate an act of environmental terrorism that is not what it seems to be on the surface.
I think the reason this book didn’t have enough oomph for me is that the character development – Becky in particular – felt kind of ham-fisted and incomplete. Becky came to North Carolina to escape a childhood trauma and the memory of a bad relationship with a violent man, but I don’t think her background was woven in to the present-day tale in a successful manner. I often found myself reading about her emotional struggles as a younger woman and thinking, “What does this have to do with the price of potatoes?” I didn’t feel like it informed her actions in the face of the crime – it didn’t tell me why she was doing what she was doing, and I never really felt like I understood her sense of obligation to Gerald. Rash wanted to draw a connection between Gerald and Becky’s former beau, to force us to question her judgment, but that connection felt kind of forced and inauthentic to me. And the stuff with the personal trauma – which Rash keeps a little more shrouded in mystery – did zero to help me understand Becky within the context of the main action of the book.
Though I was reading this on an eight-hour transatlantic flight, so it's possible that I wasn't reading as carefully as I should have been?
If Becky had received less focus, I might have enjoyed this book a lot more. I liked reading Les’s perspective as the kind of sheriff who is willing to take kickbacks from pot dealers to deal with his county’s meth problems but who is also willing to consider the Appalachian sense of pride and obligation when dealing with criminal matters. He is very much in tune with his community and he is a very specific type of flawed that we may have seen before but didn’t feel too clichéd. His investigation was full of twists and turns that were occasionally predictable and yet intriguing.
Ultimately, I felt like this book was a little phoned-in. It was by no means a bad book and I’m sure there are many other readers who will enjoy it quite a bit, but to me, even its deepest depths felt rather shallow and that was kind of disappointing.
Set in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, Above the Waterfall is about Les, a sheriff on the brink of retirement, and Becky, his park ranger lady friend with a troubled past and a very specific sense of obligation. The two find themselves on opposite sides of each other when Les must investigate an act of environmental terrorism that is not what it seems to be on the surface.
I think the reason this book didn’t have enough oomph for me is that the character development – Becky in particular – felt kind of ham-fisted and incomplete. Becky came to North Carolina to escape a childhood trauma and the memory of a bad relationship with a violent man, but I don’t think her background was woven in to the present-day tale in a successful manner. I often found myself reading about her emotional struggles as a younger woman and thinking, “What does this have to do with the price of potatoes?” I didn’t feel like it informed her actions in the face of the crime – it didn’t tell me why she was doing what she was doing, and I never really felt like I understood her sense of obligation to Gerald. Rash wanted to draw a connection between Gerald and Becky’s former beau, to force us to question her judgment, but that connection felt kind of forced and inauthentic to me. And the stuff with the personal trauma – which Rash keeps a little more shrouded in mystery – did zero to help me understand Becky within the context of the main action of the book.
Though I was reading this on an eight-hour transatlantic flight, so it's possible that I wasn't reading as carefully as I should have been?
If Becky had received less focus, I might have enjoyed this book a lot more. I liked reading Les’s perspective as the kind of sheriff who is willing to take kickbacks from pot dealers to deal with his county’s meth problems but who is also willing to consider the Appalachian sense of pride and obligation when dealing with criminal matters. He is very much in tune with his community and he is a very specific type of flawed that we may have seen before but didn’t feel too clichéd. His investigation was full of twists and turns that were occasionally predictable and yet intriguing.
Ultimately, I felt like this book was a little phoned-in. It was by no means a bad book and I’m sure there are many other readers who will enjoy it quite a bit, but to me, even its deepest depths felt rather shallow and that was kind of disappointing.
schauser's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
amielizabeth's review against another edition
2.0
I'm a huge Ron Rash fan- Saints at the River is one of my all time favorites and Serena is brilliant - but this book just didn't do it for me. Some of the descriptions are gorgeous, but the environment has more personality than either of the main characters. I was also often very confused as to who was speaking, both "I" voices. I finished the book but had to push through.
cabonin's review against another edition
2.0
I wonder when I will learn my lesson and stop reading Ron Rash books. I have not liked one yet.
alyssagongora's review against another edition
fast-paced
3.5
Really good book. Once we got to the mystery part I feel like the story got a little too clean. I like when mysteries are messy and you can’t figure out what’s happening, the author here really guides you through the mystery in a logical way which is fine just kind of lack luster. I love Becky’s chapters and the descriptions of NC and nature. Absolutely beautiful.
gryffindork19's review against another edition
3.0
Overall a compelling plot featuring intriguing (if somewhat one dimensional characters in need of some fleshing out). Because sections often ft affected (and therefore off putting).
auntieg0412's review against another edition
3.0
UPDATE: Okay, so I forced my eyes to stay open to finish this book last night, and wrote the review while VERY tired. So I was a little harsh. It was good, just not as good as I expected based on his other books. I've edited my review a little in the light of day.
Mr. Rash, I'm still going to read more of your books!
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This book was not nearly as good as The Cove or Serena. The first thing I didn't care for was that the chapters narrated by Becky were so rambling and nonsensical that they were hard to read.
Still don't feel it is Rash's best work.
Mr. Rash, I'm still going to read more of your books!
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This book was not nearly as good as The Cove or Serena. The first thing I didn't care for was that the chapters narrated by Becky were so rambling and nonsensical that they were hard to read.
Spoiler
But maybe Becky's rambling was to show her mixed-up state of mind, even after so many years. Second thing: what was the book's theme, anyway -- that it's okay to be a little corrupt if your heart is in the right place? That each man who wears the sheriff's badge gets to decide where the line sits? I couldn't decide whether to like Les or not. But -- in the light of day -- I guess every good guy's hat is a little bit grayed and worn.Still don't feel it is Rash's best work.
sarahbethveler's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
knitter22's review
4.0
Not many authors could pull off poetically beautiful writing about meth, Appalachia, a pragmatic sheriff, and a deeply traumatized park ranger, but Ron Rash did it wonderfully in Above the Waterfall. The story is told in chapters alternating between Les, a straightforward and soon-retiring sheriff, and Becky, a park ranger who has found solace in nature after a harrowing childhood experience. Les' observations are stark, simple, and truthful, while Becky's are much more idyllic and lyrical, but together they provide a clear, descriptive picture of life, both beautiful and brutal, in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. The plot includes an eco-terrorist, but for me, this book was much more about the speckled brook trout than who poisoned the trout stream.
This 4.5 star book is the first I've read by Ron Rash, but I anticipate reading many more.
Book Bingo 2016 – Borrowed from the library
This 4.5 star book is the first I've read by Ron Rash, but I anticipate reading many more.
Book Bingo 2016 – Borrowed from the library