Let me be honest I wasn't sure about another Oprah pick but I am a sucker for a new story and always try to give the book a chance and even the source of the recommendation. Ron Rash author of THE COVE is an excellent read.
Share a Book Rating | 4 - Great book, but hey you tell me is it a 5!Read below will have details about the story so here is your warning ** SPOILER ALERT **
Book Review | Theme, Characters & Setting
The setting for this book is in a cove and a small town far back in the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina at the height of World War I. The story is about a brother and sister, Hank and Laurel Shelton who share a farm that has seen it's life of bad luck and the neighbors see it as cursed. A stranger enters the life on the farm as a community is starting to regroup after the war with a strong resistance to outsiders.
Book Review | A little Research
Goodreads.com Author Profile :: Ron Rash is the author of the 2009 PEN/Faulkner Finalist and New York Times bestselling novel, Serena, in addition to three other prizewinning novels, One Foot in Eden, Saints at the River, and The World Made Straight; three collections of poems; and four collections of stories, among them Burning Bright, which won the 2010 Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award, and Chrmistry and Other Stories, which was a finalist for the 2007 PEN/Faulkner Award. Twice the recipient of the O.Henry Prize, he teaches at Western Carolina University. His next novel, The Cove, comes out in April 2012.
From Amazon The Cove Product Description
The New York Times bestselling author of Serena returns to Appalachia, this time at the height of World War I, with the story of a blazing but doomed love affair caught in the turmoil of a nation at war
Deep in the rugged Appalachians of North Carolina lies the cove, a dark, forbidding place where spirits and fetches wander, and even the light fears to travel. Or so the townsfolk of Mars Hill believe–just as they know that Laurel Shelton, the lonely young woman who lives within its shadows, is a witch. Alone except for her brother, Hank, newly returned from the trenches of France, she aches for her life to begin.
Then it happens–a stranger appears, carrying nothing but a beautiful silver flute and a note explaining that his name is Walter, he is mute, and is bound for New York. Laurel finds him in the woods, nearly stung to death by yellow jackets, and nurses him back to health. As the days pass, Walter slips easily into life in the cove and into Laurel's heart, bringing her the only real happiness she has ever known.
But Walter harbors a secret that could destroy everything–and danger is closer than they know. Though the war in Europe is near its end, patriotic fervor flourishes thanks to the likes of Chauncey Feith, an ambitious young army recruiter who stokes fear and outrage throughout the county. In a time of uncertainty, when fear and ignorance reign, Laurel and Walter will discover that love may not be enough to protect them.
This lyrical, heart-rending tale, as mesmerizing as its award-winning predecessor Serena, shows once again this masterful novelist at the height of his powers.
Book Review | What I have to say
I enjoyed the book. The author took me on a journey into a sheltered life then into an engaging community that led to sunshine in a place hidden from the sun all to be taken away by the curse believed to be part of the land. I have to say the ending was not quiet what I expected. I did love it because not everyday is a happy ending. I did feel it kind of happened to fast but the author's writing kept me turning the pages with delight.
Does your book need to have a happy ending? Share with me. Keep Turning those pages!
Happy Reading,
Jennifer
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