Scan barcode
kcrouth's review against another edition
3.0
The Risen is a story of family secrets, friendships, betrayal, coming of age, success and failure, the dedication and love of brothers, and the dark underbelly under the pillars of a community. Set in a small Appalachian town in the mountains of NC, the events of a fateful summer play out with lifelong consequences for all involved. Great story telling by Ron Rash.
tarrowood's review against another edition
3.0
More like a 2.5. I enjoyed Rash’s attempt with allusions, but they felt too apparent. And the story felt meandering and surface level. There are some redeeming moments throughout, but overall I was disappointed
marisacarpico's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Not my favorite Rash, frankly, but not bad. Just a little predictable.
nathel's review against another edition
5.0
I will definitely read more of Rash's books. I Serena a number of years ago and enjoyed it. The Risen was a fast and interesting read about two brothers and a murder.
baklavopita's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
rachreadsbooks27's review against another edition
3.0
Objectively- 4 stars
Subjectively- 2... just didn’t really like it.
Subjectively- 2... just didn’t really like it.
dantastic's review against another edition
3.0
When Eugene and his brother Bill meet a girl while swimming in a creek, their lives are drawn into her web of sex and drugs. Eugene falls hard for Ligeia and would do anything for her until she suddenly leaves town. Now, almost fifty years later, a body identified as Ligeia's is found along the same creek. Just what the hell happened to the girl Eugene never got over?
During my Goodreads visit in 2016, they had a massive pile of books for us, free for the taking. I managed to restrain myself, taking only [b:The Impossible Fortress|30753698|The Impossible Fortress|Jason Rekulak|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1477662336s/30753698.jpg|47758879], an Anthony Bourdain book (may he rest in peace) that I regifted to my brother, and this one. I devoured it on a couple sweltering weekend days.
The Risen is the story of the buried secrets of Eugene Matny's past coming back to haunt him, although they'd been subtly haunting him for a few decades. Back in the day, Eugene was hot and heavy for a hippy chick named Ligeia until she vanished from his life. When her body is discovered, he immediately suspects his brother lied to him about taking her to the bus station. What exactly his brother was lying about proved to be quite something.
Rash's writing style sucked me right in, easy yet poignant. The parallel structure of the book, one set in the present day and the other in the mythical age of 1969, kept me interested even in the stretches where not a lot was happening. Knowing the train wreck is coming doesn't mean you'll be able to get off the tracks in time to avoid getting swept up in it. The ending was even better than I was expecting.
And now we've come to the point in the review where I reveal why I only gave The Risen a three. The book felt like it was missing a little something, like the time I forgot to put bay leaves in my beef stew. For the reputation Ron Rash has, this book was kind of a letdown. "Average" would be the first word that comes to mind when I think of this book. It was engaging but I'm already forgetting details and I just finished it a few minutes ago.
I think the characters needed to be fleshed out more. Eugene was a drunk. Bill was a med student. Ligeia was a hippy. Eugene and Bill's grandfather was a tyrant. That's pretty much it. The characters were pretty flat to me.
The Risen was a worthwhile read but it probably wasn't the Ron Rash book I should have read if I wanted a new author to follow. Three out of five stars.
During my Goodreads visit in 2016, they had a massive pile of books for us, free for the taking. I managed to restrain myself, taking only [b:The Impossible Fortress|30753698|The Impossible Fortress|Jason Rekulak|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1477662336s/30753698.jpg|47758879], an Anthony Bourdain book (may he rest in peace) that I regifted to my brother, and this one. I devoured it on a couple sweltering weekend days.
The Risen is the story of the buried secrets of Eugene Matny's past coming back to haunt him, although they'd been subtly haunting him for a few decades. Back in the day, Eugene was hot and heavy for a hippy chick named Ligeia until she vanished from his life. When her body is discovered, he immediately suspects his brother lied to him about taking her to the bus station. What exactly his brother was lying about proved to be quite something.
Rash's writing style sucked me right in, easy yet poignant. The parallel structure of the book, one set in the present day and the other in the mythical age of 1969, kept me interested even in the stretches where not a lot was happening. Knowing the train wreck is coming doesn't mean you'll be able to get off the tracks in time to avoid getting swept up in it. The ending was even better than I was expecting.
And now we've come to the point in the review where I reveal why I only gave The Risen a three. The book felt like it was missing a little something, like the time I forgot to put bay leaves in my beef stew. For the reputation Ron Rash has, this book was kind of a letdown. "Average" would be the first word that comes to mind when I think of this book. It was engaging but I'm already forgetting details and I just finished it a few minutes ago.
I think the characters needed to be fleshed out more. Eugene was a drunk. Bill was a med student. Ligeia was a hippy. Eugene and Bill's grandfather was a tyrant. That's pretty much it. The characters were pretty flat to me.
The Risen was a worthwhile read but it probably wasn't the Ron Rash book I should have read if I wanted a new author to follow. Three out of five stars.
spaulk57's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars. Good story but the characters were not quite fleshed out enough to make this a four or five star read. Would have liked more background and motivations on the grandfather, grandmother, mother and Nebo.
kamckim's review against another edition
4.0
I absolutely love Ron Rash, as my past reviews of his other books will show. I was happily surprised by this narrative. It had a slightly more straight-forward and quick narrative about one powerful family in a rural North Carolina town. Two brothers met a girl at the creek in the summer of 69. With her death, she becomes the unspoken ghost who separates the two for life until her body is discovered some 40 years later. The younger brother, Eugene, comes face to face with events that led him to a life of alcoholic dissolution. He also comes face to face with his brother Bill, a successful neurosurgeon in Asheville, who has lived with a horrible secret for years, justifying his choices in the name of a greater good. The story reveals the cruelty of hypocrisy that lies beneath the surface of every human.
jdintr's review against another edition
3.0
My grandfather was a family doctor in a small, southern town. I remember working in his office during summers off from high school, much as Bill and Eugene had done. I want to emphasize that these facts are the only ones I share with the events in this book!
Rash reveals a mystery at the beginning of the book--a young woman's bones emerge from a creek bank. Her body bears marks of murder (and worse). To Rash's credit, he keeps the reader guessing right up until the final chapter.
The town of Sylva, as constructed by Rash, is very believable. Eugene and Bill, raised in the shadow of an overbearing grandfather, are broken by his dominance and turn away--Eugene into drink, and Bill into a marriage that his grandfather had proscribed. The emergence of the remains of a young woman that both boys had romanced (?) in the fabled summer of 1969 help to bring their relationship into new light.
I loved Rash's sense of place and the voice through which he told the story. I felt, though, that Ligeia--the antagonist--was a crudely drawn vixen: too open with her sexuality, too closed with her motives other than the acquisition and sale of drugs. This cost my rating one star.
As Ron Rash books go, this is for people who are big fans, like me, or for those interesting in exploring 60s-era rural North Carolina through the mind of one of the region's finest writers.
Rash reveals a mystery at the beginning of the book--a young woman's bones emerge from a creek bank. Her body bears marks of murder (and worse). To Rash's credit, he keeps the reader guessing right up until the final chapter.
The town of Sylva, as constructed by Rash, is very believable. Eugene and Bill, raised in the shadow of an overbearing grandfather, are broken by his dominance and turn away--Eugene into drink, and Bill into a marriage that his grandfather had proscribed. The emergence of the remains of a young woman that both boys had romanced (?) in the fabled summer of 1969 help to bring their relationship into new light.
I loved Rash's sense of place and the voice through which he told the story. I felt, though, that Ligeia--the antagonist--was a crudely drawn vixen: too open with her sexuality, too closed with her motives other than the acquisition and sale of drugs. This cost my rating one star.
As Ron Rash books go, this is for people who are big fans, like me, or for those interesting in exploring 60s-era rural North Carolina through the mind of one of the region's finest writers.