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sunbreak's review against another edition
4.0
Many of these stories had a harsh element, that lingered in my mind a lot longer than most short stories.
kcrouth's review
4.0
A really nice collection of short stories that portray real people and their lives set in the mountains of Appalachia. The tales cover a range of topics and time periods, but portray in gritty and sometimes gruesome detail life as it really goes down. This is a very special collection, i heartily recommend it.
abbeyp's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
creativerunnings's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I loved "The Caretaker" by Ron Rash, so I looked for his other work. "Burning Bright" is a collection of short stories that all pack a punch and make you think for a second right there at the end.
Ron Rash is probably my new favorite fiction writer. He reminds me so much of John Steinbeck. He writes about the same sort of poverty, the misfits, the challenges in life. Some of his work is a little noir.
Too bad Ron Rash isn't to be found on social media. I'd be a fan!
Ron Rash is probably my new favorite fiction writer. He reminds me so much of John Steinbeck. He writes about the same sort of poverty, the misfits, the challenges in life. Some of his work is a little noir.
Too bad Ron Rash isn't to be found on social media. I'd be a fan!
valerielb's review against another edition
dark
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
emilyisreading2024's review against another edition
5.0
My favorite stories in this collection were The Corpse Bird and The Woman Who Believed in Jaguars.
briandice's review against another edition
5.0
Ron Rash takes poverty, holds it before the Reader in clarion brilliance, and states "Watch what I can do with this shit."
Sure, Christ opines You'll always have the poor among you but what difference does it make unless we can be among them? Why meth? Why live in a trailer with windows painted black, scratching out a meaningless existence playing "Freebird" once an hour to equally poor and drunk rednecks? What does it mean to be middle-aged and very unclear about where the next meal is coming from? Forget that paycheck-to-paycheck shit, this is All-Star Poor.
I don't know Rash's back story, but I wouldn't be surprised if he (or a near relative) had to steal eggs from a hen in the dead of night to survive; seriously considered meth as a way to cope with the world; witnessed the waning of a dying love. It doesn't take a good writer to shock a reader - it takes someone of Rash's talents to pin us and make us remember that the human condition comes with a fatal prognosis - and the sooner we realize this the quicker we can get on living. I'm making up a memory I'll soon enough need, the narrator of the story "Falling Star" tells us. That's wisdom beyond the room temperature IQ of Rash's protagonist, it is sage advice to the living.
jdintr's review against another edition
4.0
From a Civil War-era "Lincolnite" to modern-day meth heads, Rash mines the hills and hollers of western North Carolina for this collection of short stories.
My favorite story was "The Ascent," about a boy who gives up his meth-addicted parents for a couple he finds dead in a plane crash. It really gives a sense of the beauty of the mountains there--as well as the danger.
There isn't a bad story in the bunch. My only critique would be that while the characters are fascinating as sketches, I wasn't really left with a strong sense of Truth from them. The short story can be a powerful medium for change, and I would hope that I will find greater scope when I get into The Cove.
My favorite story was "The Ascent," about a boy who gives up his meth-addicted parents for a couple he finds dead in a plane crash. It really gives a sense of the beauty of the mountains there--as well as the danger.
There isn't a bad story in the bunch. My only critique would be that while the characters are fascinating as sketches, I wasn't really left with a strong sense of Truth from them. The short story can be a powerful medium for change, and I would hope that I will find greater scope when I get into The Cove.
pattydsf's review against another edition
4.0
Quoting from a short story collection cannot give even a glimpse into all the tales, let alone the feel of the book. Rash’s collection has a definite feel, one that I am struggling to describe.
The first story is set during the Depression, in Appalachia. The next is also in Appalachia, but contemporary times rather than historical. This pairing is not an accident. The two stories add so much to each other. I had to go back and reread parts of “Hard Times” as soon as I finished “Back of Beyond”. I would love to know if Rash wrote the two stories back to back or if he saw the similarities later. If I taught writing, I would have to talk about how these two stories work together.
The whole collection collectively enriches each other. There are links between a tale where a man is returning home from World War II and another where the main character is a woman living through the Civil War. It is stories like Rash’s that have kept me reading short stories all my life.
I think part of these connections are because Rash himself seems to be rooted in Appalachia himself. He teaches Appalachian studies and appears to be able to see the world through the eyes of that country. Appalachia may be part of the United States, but like other regions it has its own feel.
I do “catalog” my reading here and I have noticed that a number of books that I have read lately all fall into the category community, including this one. Community is a broad category, but for Rash’s short stories, I believe it is one of the links in the book. All of the stories seem to be set in a similar community and I have a feeling that Rash believes that community is important.
I know that feeling of tribe and oneness draws me to books like this one by Rash. I have never read his work before, but I am looking forward to more of his short stories. I recommend this collection to all readers of southern fiction, to those who like to meet new and different people through their reading and to anyone who wonders what community feels like.
The first story is set during the Depression, in Appalachia. The next is also in Appalachia, but contemporary times rather than historical. This pairing is not an accident. The two stories add so much to each other. I had to go back and reread parts of “Hard Times” as soon as I finished “Back of Beyond”. I would love to know if Rash wrote the two stories back to back or if he saw the similarities later. If I taught writing, I would have to talk about how these two stories work together.
The whole collection collectively enriches each other. There are links between a tale where a man is returning home from World War II and another where the main character is a woman living through the Civil War. It is stories like Rash’s that have kept me reading short stories all my life.
I think part of these connections are because Rash himself seems to be rooted in Appalachia himself. He teaches Appalachian studies and appears to be able to see the world through the eyes of that country. Appalachia may be part of the United States, but like other regions it has its own feel.
I do “catalog” my reading here and I have noticed that a number of books that I have read lately all fall into the category community, including this one. Community is a broad category, but for Rash’s short stories, I believe it is one of the links in the book. All of the stories seem to be set in a similar community and I have a feeling that Rash believes that community is important.
I know that feeling of tribe and oneness draws me to books like this one by Rash. I have never read his work before, but I am looking forward to more of his short stories. I recommend this collection to all readers of southern fiction, to those who like to meet new and different people through their reading and to anyone who wonders what community feels like.