New York Times Book of the Year
Publishers Weekly Book of the Year
Amazon.com Book of the Year
Washington Post Book of the Year
The year is 1929, and newlyweds George and Serena Pemberton arrive from Boston in the North Carolina mountains to build a timber empire.
Serena is new to the mountains–but she soon proves herself the equal of any worker, overseeing crews, hunting rattlesnakes, even saving her husband’s life in the wilderness. She soon learns that she will never bear a child.
Serena’s discovery will set in motion a course of events that will change the lives of everyone in this remote and unforgiving landscape.As the Pembertons’ intense, passionate marriage starts to unravel, this riveting story of love, passion and revenge moves towards its shocking reckoning.
Watch the film trailer for Serena, starring Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper.
andSerena
It’s too hypnotic to break away from. The final chapter is as flawless and captivating as anything I’ve read this year.‘
‘With bone-chilling aplomb, linguistic grace and the piercing fatalism of an Appalachian ballad, Ron Rash lets the Pembertons’ new union generate ripple after ripple of astonishment.’
‘Rash’s evocative rendering of the blighted landscape and the tough characters who inhabit it recalls both John Steinbeck and Cormac McCarthy.’
‘A spectacular book…The novel serves up plenty of satisfaction for those readers who seek, above all else, a good story.’
