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A review by kpendergraft
Serena by Ron Rash
2.0
Ok, so there is a lot going on in this book. I tried to read it a few times but each time I ended up putting it down. I am not a huge fan of this book now that I have finished but there were some aspects that I enjoyed and some that I really did not. I am going to try and be a vague as possible so as not to give away parts of the novel if you are interested in reading it.
Strong, self-sufficient female characters do not need to be blood-crazy psychopaths. They really don't. It seems like I have read a few novels that proudly say their main female character is "strong" or "self-sufficient" and then end up psychopaths. Ugh! If any female character is strong and self-sufficient in this novel, it would be Rachel and not Serena. She takes care of herself and her baby when her father dies and does what she has to do when her life and the life of her child is threatened. However, she of course committed the terrible sin of getting pregnant before she was married and therefore is shunned by most of the characters in this novel and by some readers.
The animal cruelty in this novel is insane. I think what makes it even sadder and more depressing is that it happened then and in some ways it happens now. People did this to animals and people still do this to animals in some respects. I get though that the animal cruelty and the cruelty toward humans and nature in general was there to show just how little the "bad characters" cared about the people and things around them. All the characters cared about was money. Their determination to keep cutting trees and destroying the forest until they absolutely had to stop, their senseless killing of animals and leaving their bodies to rot and their determination that everyone should bow to their will, just paints a picture of the true character of these people. So much death that by the end, death didn't seem to matter anymore.
I did like the use of the work crew as they gave their opinion on the events happening in the novel. It was almost like the Greek Tragedies with their chorus' stating what the people thought of these events. I actually began to look forward to those parts because it was so well written. Their insight into the events was interesting because they became as trapped as the main characters were because there was no place for them to escape to. They were dependent on their jobs and even though they hated every minute of it and what they were doing to the forest, they had no choice because they had families to feed. I think of them as I think of the animals, the way they were treated just goes to show the reader the true nature of the main characters.
The truth is that I will never read this book again and I was a little disappointed in it. However, I would be interested in looking at other things that Ron Rash has written and perhaps give them a try. Right now, I need to read something happy or just less depressing.
Strong, self-sufficient female characters do not need to be blood-crazy psychopaths. They really don't. It seems like I have read a few novels that proudly say their main female character is "strong" or "self-sufficient" and then end up psychopaths. Ugh! If any female character is strong and self-sufficient in this novel, it would be Rachel and not Serena. She takes care of herself and her baby when her father dies and does what she has to do when her life and the life of her child is threatened. However, she of course committed the terrible sin of getting pregnant before she was married and therefore is shunned by most of the characters in this novel and by some readers.
The animal cruelty in this novel is insane. I think what makes it even sadder and more depressing is that it happened then and in some ways it happens now. People did this to animals and people still do this to animals in some respects. I get though that the animal cruelty and the cruelty toward humans and nature in general was there to show just how little the "bad characters" cared about the people and things around them. All the characters cared about was money. Their determination to keep cutting trees and destroying the forest until they absolutely had to stop, their senseless killing of animals and leaving their bodies to rot and their determination that everyone should bow to their will, just paints a picture of the true character of these people. So much death that by the end, death didn't seem to matter anymore.
I did like the use of the work crew as they gave their opinion on the events happening in the novel. It was almost like the Greek Tragedies with their chorus' stating what the people thought of these events. I actually began to look forward to those parts because it was so well written. Their insight into the events was interesting because they became as trapped as the main characters were because there was no place for them to escape to. They were dependent on their jobs and even though they hated every minute of it and what they were doing to the forest, they had no choice because they had families to feed. I think of them as I think of the animals, the way they were treated just goes to show the reader the true nature of the main characters.
The truth is that I will never read this book again and I was a little disappointed in it. However, I would be interested in looking at other things that Ron Rash has written and perhaps give them a try. Right now, I need to read something happy or just less depressing.