There were so many lies to keep straight and more would come. Like a long line of boxcars on a steep grade, just one unhitched could cause disaster.
A stabbing by a North Korean soldier provides a ticket home for Jacob Hampton where his pregnant wife is waiting for him. Working as a hotel maid and barely literate, Naomi is so far from the wife the Hamptons had set their heart on for Jacob that they disinherited their only son when the couple eloped. Before he left, Jacob had asked his childhood friend to look after Naomi. Disfigured by polio, Blackburn is the cemetery caretaker, respectful of both the dead and the bereaved in a town which chooses to turn its face away from him. Blackburn makes sure that the couple’s farmhouse is in order, taking Naomi home to Tennessee as her due date draws near. Naomi once thought Jacob’s parents might accept her but a public altercation with his father has put paid to that idea. Blackburn continues to ensure Naomi is well and has all she needs, despite the long journey to Tennessee. When the telegram arrives at the town’s post office, addressed to Naomi telling her of Jacob’s return, a misguided act of kindness leads to a deception which causes terrible heartache.
The sun held steady in the sky. By late afternoon, hidden gravestones emerged. Outside the cemetery, ice sleeves slipped of limbs, a brittle chiming as they shattered.
Rash sets the scene for tragedy with this novel which explores themes of love, loyalty, betrayal and the legacy of war. There’s a thread of suspense running through it which makes me reluctant to reveal too much about the deception and its fallout but it’s the characterisation that makes the novel stand out for me. Rash is careful to portray the Hamptons as largely decent people – their kindness to many during the Depression remembered in the town – who had suffered the deaths of two of their children before Jacob was born. Blackburn is the upstanding, loyal friend, a decent man who continues to do the right thing despite temptation and shunning by the town. As ever, Rash’s use of language is strikingly evocative, his descriptions of the natural world marking the change of seasons beautifully. The ending wasn’t quite what I expected but that’s no bad thing.
Canongate Books: Edinburgh 9781805301653 272 pages Hardback (read via NetGalley)
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This sounds good. Couldn’t help thinking Harold Pinter as soon as I saw the title
That takes me back!
Now I’m intrigued by what that deception could be. The characters do sound nicely done as you say, realistic and not ones that can necessarily be classed as black or white.
He’s much more subtle than black and white, and all the better for it!
You sold this to me as soon as you compared it with Kent Haruf. It sounds a solid, involving story. I’ll be looking out for this.
Excellent! Mark Spragg is another writer I’d rank alongside Haruf and Rash.
I’ll bear that in mind. Thanks
I’ve never read Rash but like Margaret your Kent Haruf comparison had me convinced! I’ll look out for him.
He and Haruf both write in that spare, pared-back style that pushes my literary buttons.
I’ve never heard of Rash, but anyone who gets compared to Kent Haruf goes straight on my to-read list.
Hope you like his work, Cathy. I do miss Haruf’s writing.
Well your review has definitely got me very intruiged. This really sounds compelling, great setting too.
I’ve done my job then! Such a strong cast of characters in this one.
I’ll be reading this one very soon so I’ve just skimmed your review. But I’m glad to hear that you enjoyed it. My reaction to him in the past has been rather mixed, but even the ones I’ve enjoyed less are always well written and interesting, so I always start each new one with high hopes!
I hope this one works for you. The only problematic one for me was Serena, perhaps because I’m not keen on novels that take on Shakespeare.
Serena was the one that really didn’t work for me too!
I’ve only read one book by Ron Rash, a collection of short stories the name of which escapes me right now, but it was very good. What would you suggest as a good re-entry point for him? I know you’re a big fan.
I’d recommend Above the Waterfall although any apart from Serena, Rash’s take on Macbeth, are worth reading.