Book Review~ The Cove by Ron Rash

The Cove by Ron Rash

April 10, 2012 by Ecco

Hardcover, 272 Pages

Review Copy

The town of Mars Hill is known for its superstitious people, mainly due to the fact that a place named The Cove in the Appalachian Mountains resides with them. The Cove is dreary, dark and maintains an almost constant rainy atmosphere. This is where we meet Laurel and her brother Hank, two outsiders who live in The Cove but keep to themselves. The towns folk believe the siblings to be cursed, one because Hank came home from the War without his hand and two because Laurel with a visible purple wine birthmark is believed to be the towns witch. The entire community pretty much treats her badly, labeling her with their small minded ignorance and with no friends, nothing to do outside of The Cove, Laurel is terribly lonely and living what the reader would call a depressing life of sorrow.

So on the afternoon that Laurel hears a flute playing in the distance its so unlike a normal day that she seeks out the noise. In The Cove she discovers a man, a drifter who is living in one of the caves. At first the only thing Laurel can figure out is that he is some type of escaped prisoner, or perhaps a homeless man who is mute. No matter the danger, Laurel decides to take care of him and over the course of weeks she winds up falling in love for first time, giving her a new sense of hope and the possibility of living a life shes only dreamed of, maybe one with marriage and children. When news reaches the town of this mute man wooing the local witch, things don't remain private any longer and a twist of events brings all of Laurels hopes crumbling down.....{and that's about as much as I can reveal without spoiling the main plot-line}

Initially I had a hard time getting into The Cove, I thought the opening was rather slow, its pace too leisurely and perhaps a little to dreary for me considering its defiantly a mood book. However Mr. Rash has a beautiful voice in his writing and picking up the story midway I certainly fell into this book and found myself in the gloom, in those cold mountains watching a tender love story take place. Needless to say, even with my enjoyment of the middle, the ending shocked me, I was already emotional finding out who Walter was and with the added struggles of the people during WWI, I seriously thought the ending was too much. After closing the book I was left with a sad almost haunted feel. I would recommend The Cove to readers who enjoy dark stories, in the sense of mood, not subject. Everything is chilly in this book, letters upon letters almost rain off the page, its story will leave you emotionally rattled and the chill seeped into your bones.

Rating

Recommended to adult readers and contains: Mild language, stereotypical racism and violence.

3/5- Contemporary

Thanks to Ecco & TLC Book Tours