Near Mars Hill, there is a cove whose darkness and isolation seem to curse its inhabitants. For Laurel Shelton, a young girl living in the cove with a brother who just returned from World War I, this curse marks her as a witch. When Laurel nurses a traveling musician back to health, she dreams of following him to New York, and for a short time, it seems that Laurel will attain happiness and break the curse. But the truth of her lover’s identity and the fervor of WWI whip a young Army recruiter into a frenzy, and the ensuing violence traps Laurel and her lover in a web of misguided patriotism that even love cannot endure.
As readers have come to expect, Rash marries a tightly plotted story with lyrical stylings that evoke the character of an old-time Appalachia that has mostly disappeared. The Cove is a quieter book than his previous novel Serena, less sweeping in its scope. This is not a failing, however, as The Cove chooses focus over epic portrayal, and the effect is a moving story of hope and love crossed with the superstitions of the time. The Cove may make the reader question whether we have left such old-world beliefs behind and whether love really does conquer all.
In the end, Rash, like any good writer, offers no answers. What he gives is a good story, wrought with nuanced skill and grace, as he lets the reader make of it what she pleases.
Ecco. 2012, 255 pages, hardback, $26.99.
Why does this Haywood County town have some of the cleanest water in the state? It’s the result of the community’s efforts to keep the forests in its watershed pristine.
The spectacular views in North Carolina’s High Country aren’t just inspiration for writers, painters, and sculptors. Those landscapes — the rugged gray face of Grandfather Mountain, the vibrant fall leaves, the deep green meadows — are brushstrokes on Earth’s own canvas.
The sprawling vineyards and wide-open skies that stretch for miles across seven North Carolina counties offer relaxing getaways — not to mention some of the state’s finest wines — for Sunday drivers aching to escape the rush of city life.
Nothing lasts forever — and that’s what makes many of our cherished moments so special.
